Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?
by LongLiveTheClones
Summary: Why is Commander Appo leading the 501st at the Temple? Part one of a multi-part saga which solves the mystery of Rex's fate. Features Ahsoka, Cody, Echo, Fives, Waxer, Boil, Trapper, Hardcase, Denal, Anakin, Obi Wan, clone OCs. Cover art by gloryblaz. Rated strongly "T" for scenes of implied intimacy.
1. Chapter 1 Rex gets shot

_Updated September 24, 2013._

_Author's Note: I am in the process of rewriting the early chapters to reflect changes for the sequel. Chapters 1 - 25 have been rewritten. Everything is more subdued, and Rex is acting more in character. The newer version is shorter and a quicker read. If you preferred the old version, it still exists and I can send it to you as a .pdf. This new version sets up some fun tension that will work well in the sequel. These changes were necessary for Rex II. Feel free to PM me and I will explain the strategy. Thanks to these changes, there are plans now for a Rex III. _

_Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney, but I am most appreciative all of us get to play in the sandbox. This is my sandcastle, and I keep adding on to it. _

_The story gets more complex as it goes along. There is a character guide on my Profile Page. (You won't need it until much later.)_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter One**_

Captain Rex chewed his lip in concentration as he focused intently on the det he was currently wiring. It was the last in an impressively long chain of explosives wired all over the Separatists' storage facility. Ahsoka crouched closely behind him, vigilantly guarding his back. It seemed to Rex that the Jedi padawan was pressed more closely to him than necessary. The clone captain shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, and forced his attention back to the job at hand.

"Everything OK?" Ahsoka whispered.

Rex glanced back at her over his shoulder, still wondering why she felt the need to be _that_ close to him. He blew out a breath and turned back to the wiring. He tugged off one of his gauntlets so he could run his fingers lightly over the connectors. Rex nodded with satisfaction, as he double-checked by feel that every connector was perfect.

"We're set here," Rex said.

They carefully backtracked out of the massive warehouse in the cover of darkness. Rex took a deep breath feeling a slight bit of tension ebb now that they'd made their way back outside again. They moved away from the huge structure and sprinted for the woods nearby. As he ran, Rex reached a hand down to double-check that the remote detonator was still secure in his belt pouch. He knew he was being paranoid. He'd already checked for it at least a dozen times. There was just so much at stake with this mission. On the other side of the planet, General Kenobi and Cody were on their own mission to take out a facility even larger than this one. And, far overhead, General Skywalker was busily engaged in a diversionary space battle keeping attention away from the facilities being breached down below.

The planet, TriLuna VII, was yet another Separatist outpost in the Outer Rim. In the mission briefing, Rex had learned that the system was considered "lucky" because all seven planets in the TriLuna system had exactly three moons. Rex briefly glanced upwards and tried to find some beauty in the night time sky.

_Nope. Just looked like a bunch of moons. And, not much different from every other __kriffin' planet I've been on in recent months. They're all blending together and looking the same now. Let's blow this thing and get out of here._

Rex immediately called them to a halt using hand signals, and with another efficient movement of his hand, signaled to Ahsoka to take cover behind a nearby patch of boulders. Ahsoka had learned the clone hand signals as well as any member of the 501st. Rex slid the remote detonator out of his belt pack, and studied it for just a second.

_There is so much riding on the success of this mission. This needs to work._

Ahsoka crouched down into a ball, tucking her montrals in protectively. Rex depressed the detonator, and there was an odd moment of eerie calm before the ground rocked violently. Despite her Jedi skills and training, the padawan was almost knocked off her feet. Accustomed to being around live ordinance since early childhood, Rex had an easier time keeping his balance. His helmet dampeners kicked in protected him from the tremendous noise of the enormous factory's demise. He felt the force of the explosion vibrate through the soles of his boots, giving his feet an odd, prickly sensation.

The explosion lit up the night sky, causing the local wildlife in the forest around them to shriek in terrified protest. Immediately after, everything grew eerily silent as if all of the creatures in the wild had gone into hiding from this new threat. There were a few hisses and pops from secondary explosions.

"You, OK?" Rex's blue helmet peered into Ahsoka's face.

"I'm good," Ahsoka nodded as she rubbed at her head ruefully. "Might have difficulties hearing for the next week. But, I'm good."

Rex stepped out from behind the boulders and stood up. He reached a hand down to Ahsoka and pulled her up. The clone captain looked back toward where the Separatist warehouse once stood. In its' place was twisted, snarled metal and fireball that swept high into the night sky.

"We did it," he took a few steps more out in the open, so he could get a better vantage point of the burning factor. She could swear he almost seemed to be _swaggering_ as he took those couple of steps. She'd noticed the clones did enjoy blowing things up.

Suddenly, her Force senses gave her a warning.

"Down!" she yelled, diving straight at a startled Rex. Despite his greater mass, Ahsoka succeeded in taking Rex down to the ground. A scant fraction of a second later, blaster fire tore through the air above them.

"What are you sensing?" Rex asked, keeping to the cover of the ground, from his position underneath his commander.

"Nothing organic," said Ahsoka.

"Droids," Rex nodded, "I'll handle this." He slipped out from underneath the padawan, and rolled smoothly to his feet, pulling a droid popper off his belt. He expertly lobbed it in the direction of the blaster shots. The night illuminated with a white crackling hum before everything grew unnaturally quiet.

In the absence of any animal sounds, a thick feeling of tension hung in the darkened night. Rex and Ahsoka moved out and slipped back into the woods. The clone captain double-checked their coordinates against his HUD. They were on course for the rendezvous point. They'd completed their mission objective, all they had to do was get to the extraction point. Except they would be extracting all of the teams at the same time due to the battle taking place above so they needed to wait until Commander Cody and General Kenobi finished their portion of the mission. So, they'd been told they would be spending at least one night on TriLuna, possibly longer, while they waited for the 212th at the RV. They had enough supplies in Republic issue backpacks for several days.

Rex adjusted his pack lightly on his back as they walked along at a brisk pace. He glanced around at the local fauna visible by the reflected light of the moons. TriLuna's vegetation was oddly shaped, bleached and spindly. The whitish trees reflected the ample moonlight like a ghostly horde staring down at them.

_Not liking this place_, Rex thought, scowling fiercely at the local fauna. He glanced over at Ahsoka. The padawan seemed unaffected by their surroundings. She walking along lightly on the balls of her feet, humming a tune under her breath. Rex dropped back and decided he'd watch his commander's back. It was his duty, after all.

Although, after they'd walked several more clicks, he'd realized his mind had wandered and he was literally _watching_ her back. She was so slender that he could see the individual bumps of the vertebrae on her spine. It was not a displeasing sight. They trailed down into her muscular-

"Rex?"

The Jedi's voice so startled Rex that he stopped short, causing him to have an uncharacteristic stumble before catching his balance.

The Togrutan arched an eyebrow at him. "You alright there, Rexie?"

The clone scowled, nor particularly fond of the endearment she insisted on calling him. "I'm fine. I... er... nevermind." He was _not_ going to explain himself.

"Where did you think those droids came from?" Ahsoka asked, taking a sip of water from her canteen, "I thought all the droids were supposed to be _inside_ the warehouse, guarding the munitions?"

Rex grabbed his canteen off his belt and shook his canteen lightly; gauging how much water he had left. He made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat as he considered the question and then took a swig of water himself, swiping his lips with a gloved hand out of habit. When he looked over at the commander, he noticed that she was staring at his mouth in a rather odd way. Rex quickly jammed his canteen back onto his belt, focusing on the question at hand, "Not sure. The intel could've been wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. In any case, we should keep moving."

Ahsoka nodded, slinging her pack back on. She could just make out the details of his helmet in the moonlight. The Jaig eyes on his helmet seem to shine with a life of their own in the amber lighting of TriLuna's three harvest moons.

"Yes?" the Jedi could see he was hesitating about something.

"Thank you for getting me out of the path of that shot," the clone captain said in his deep baritone.

"Saving your life? I do it quite often you know," she rolled her eyes with dramatic effect.

"I probably would have ducked in time," Rex said with a confident shrug of a pauldroned shoulder, "But it is good to have a commander who cares." He turned to depart again. Ahsoka knew Rex had meant the words light-heartedly, but his words took on more meaning in the intimacy of the moonlit night. The young Jedi gripped Rex's arm and tugged him around to face her again.

"I do care, Rex." Her blue eyes stared into the T-visor of his helmet. Rex sucked in his breath, unsure how to respond. His mouth felt dry, and all words just failed him. For the first time in his eleven years, Rex was completely frozen into inaction. So, they stood there, just staring at one another in the golden moonlight.

He knew Ahsoka was waiting for him to say _something_. Something _significant._ But, what? He continued to stare at her, head cocked to the side, doing a tactical analysis of the situation.

_OK, still analyzing, here... Fierfek! I've got nothing here. Where's Cody when you need him? He doesn't know anything about women, does he?_

The seconds continued to tick by with agonizing slowness. At a complete loss, and with no frame of reference, finally, Rex finally looked around pointedly like he was doing a visual scan. This was a completely unnecessary move, and they both knew it. Rex's helmet allowed him to see a full 360 degrees at all times. But, Rex was desperate. He was completely unnerved.

Finishing his 'scan,' Rex said in his most professional voice, "It's all clear, Commander. We should move out."

Ahsoka turned her head away from him, but not before Rex saw the flash of hurt in her eyes.

_OK, so that's probably not how I should've handled it..._

_Mental note, performing a visual scan to get out of uncomfortable conversations does not end well._

Her back stiffened up, and she moved out ahead of him. An uncomfortable silence now reigned between. They walked on, emerging onto a barren, rocky plain.

Rex felt his hackles rise.

_This terrain just keeps getting worse and worse_, Rex thought with a scowl. _This is a great place for an ambush..._

His hand automatically went to his belt, resting onto his blasters. He shrugged his shoulders, feeling the comforting weight of the rifle nestled there. Normally, he didn't carry a DC-17, but they were going to be on the planet for at least two days. They were both wearing full packs and Rex was packing extra ordinance. Ahsoka had opted just for her customary lightsaber.

_I don't like this at all._ His gaze kept sweeping back and forth across the terrain. They needed to find someplace to shelter for the night. Originally, they'd planned on making more headway toward the RV point under cover of night.

_However, the original plan hadn't called for running into droid patrols either._

An uneasy feeling swept over the clone as he surveyed the terrain again. A feeling that something just wasn't _right. _His eyes kept surveying the terrain, while at the same time he couldn't help but think back to the conversation with Ahsoka.

He knew she was now angry with him. But, he still wasn't sure what he had done wrong. _What was I supposed to say?_ If there was one thing Rex knew about the Togrutan, she wasn't one to hold her emotions bottled in. The Jedi he served with didn't seemed very good at dealing with anger, especially considering they were supposed to detach themselves from their emotions. Rex had figured _that_ one out in his first month of serving with Skywalker. He'd learned to steer clear of him when he was in one of his _moods_. Mood Swing Skywalker. Serving with Ahsoka was different, but no less baffling.

At times, Rex felt comfortable in her presence, and other times he felt awkward. It wasn't like this around Cody, or any of the men under his command in the 501st. She was different than being around a brother.

Ahsoka spun around to face Rex, halting in place. The clone opened his mouth to object, glancing around at their surroundings with a tactical eye.

"Rex, we need to talk," her voice was calm, but her eyes had that look that said she was anything but calm right now. The Captain wanted to tell Ahsoka they needed to get moving again- away from such an open space. She paused, as if choosing her words carefully, but then her eyes flared as if she suddenly sensed something. "Droids!" For the second time that night, Ahsoka dove on top of Rex, flattening him into the dirt.

_I'll have to talk to Ahsoka about all this tackling... _Rex thought, as the air was pushed out of his lungs_. Simply yelling "Down!" would suffice. I did train for ten years at Kamino, after all. If my men ever saw this-_

Two bursts of fire skimmed right over them. Rex could feel the heat even through his armor. His attention was immediately diverted by the situation at hand.

_What kind of munitions generates __that__ kind of heat?_

Both Ahsoka and Rex immediately rolled back to their feet again, their movements completely automatic from years of training. Ahsoka came up slightly ahead of Rex, lightsaber in hand, deflecting shots back at the droids. Rex sprang lightly and athletically to his feet a half-second later, his twin blasters in hand. He immediately began sighting and firing upon targets. An impressive assortment of battle droids was steadily advancing forward, intent upon intercepting them.

"This is not good," Rex said, quickly counting up the number of droids, "we are seriously outnumbered. We need to find cover."

"Go!" Ahsoka yelled, "I'll cover you."

As a clone trooper, Rex was obligated to obey a direct order from his Jedi commander. However, he was infuriated that she was taking the risk upon herself and not letting him protect her first. For a split second, Rex was tempted to break the chain of command and defy the order.

But, all his years of training dictated that he obey a direct order from a superior. And, while Ahsoka was generally content to let Rex advise and lead due to his superior years of experience, she was still ahead of him in the chain of command.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Rex did as Ahsoka ordered. Still firing, he retreated, scanning the landscape for cover. At the edge of the field he spotted a copse of trees and a good-sized rock, just big enough for one person to crouch behind. Rex sprinted as fast as he could, making good time across the field. He took up position behind the rock.

"I'm in position, Commander," Rex said into his comlink.

As soon as Ahsoka made it across the field, Rex was going to make her go behind the rock and he would take position behind the trees. She would have the greatest chance of survival utilizing the superior cover. The 501st Captain switched from his blasters to his rifle. He sighted down the scope, taking shot after shot on the droids, drawing their fire his way.

The Jedi padawan began running, half turned backwards, so she could still deflect shots with her lightsaber. Not for the first time, Rex wished Ahsoka wore armor.

_When we get back to the ship, the Commander and I are going to discuss armor again_, Rex vowed, wincing as he watching the hails of fire surrounding the commander.

Fleet footed, Ahsoka quickly arrived at the edge of the field. She leapt behind the copse of trees, taking up a warrior's stance with her lightsaber. The menacing line of droids continued to advance steadily upon their position. Figuring handsignals would be faster than explaining, Rex curtly explained to Ahsoka she was to take up position behind the rock.

As accustomed to hand signals as any member of the 501st, the young Jedi immediately understood. And, promptly disobeyed. "No, stay where you are, Rex," Ahsoka said into her comlink, concentrating on deflecting shots from the droids.

Rex should have seen this one coming.

He tamped down his frustration, and concentrated on his shots. At the same time, he tried to think like General Kenobi, the negotiator. "Commander, it will be safer for you over here," he calmly persuaded. "I have my armor. I'll take up position behind the trees."

"Stay where you are, Rex. That's an order," Ahsoka said calmly, refusing to budge from her position.

"Commander," Rex tried one last time, skillfully picking off droids while he tried to reason with Ahsoka, "it is my duty to protect you."

"No deal, Rex," the Jedi padawan said, as she continued to deflect shots back at the army of droids swarming toward them, "as your Commander, I have a duty to protect _you_."

Rex made a sound into his comlink that sounded suspiciously like a growl. Ahsoka smiled at his over-protectiveness. The Captain watched out for her in a way that no one else did - not even her Master. Ahsoka loved this quality about Rex. She spared a split second to glance over at him now. In the moonlight, she could see the glint of his rifle flashing as he traded shots with the advancing droids.

_Kriff! How many of them are there? _The shots from the droids were coming at them so fast now, Rex didn't need to worry about accuracy anymore. Speed was paramount. In one smooth, liquid, practiced move, Rex slung the decee onto his back and switched back over to his twin blasters.

_When this mission is over, the Commander and I are going to have a talk about whose job it is to protect whom, _Rex griped as he took shot after shot at the droids. _Wait a second, I only see rollies and tinnies. Where'd the commando droids go?_

Rex had developed an extra strong aversion to commando droids since he'd been ambushed by a pair of Commando droids the previous month on the farming planet of Saleucami.

In recent months, there had been a surge of commando droids specifically zeroing in, and attempting to assassinate, command clones, such as Rex. In the past month alone, the 38th Armored Division, 187th Legion and 442 Siege Battalion had all lost commanding officers. If not for a bit of turbulence under his air speeder, Rex knew the shot that burned right through his chest would have punctured his heart cavity instead, killing him instantly. At night, when he thought about the incident, he liked to humor himself and think they just had bad aim. But, he knew that had been a very close call. He'd almost ended up as another assassinated command clone.

Rex saw yet another row of super battle droids move into position. They automatically took over the positions of the droids Rex and Ahsoka had just painstakingly eliminated.

"Well, that's just great," Rex murmured. He looked down for just a fraction of a second, quickly checking the charge on both his blasters. If the charge started running low, he'd need to switch back to his rifle. Out of the corner of his eye, Rex saw movement. He spun to the side just a fraction of a second too late.

As if in slow motion, he saw the shot coming toward him. Many thoughts spun through Rex's mind as he watched the unusually bright shot coming at him.

Once again, he thought with a military tacticians mind, _What kind of shot generates that kind of intensity? Something isn't right here…_

Everything seemed to slow-down into a sort of distorted version of time. Rex knew he wouldn't be able to dodge the shot in time, despite the seeming slowness of everything that was happening around him. Even as the shot grew ever nearer, and hotter, kriff, it was hot!, he knew he could not even try to dodge it. His heightened intelligence calculated all the angles. If this shot missed him, it would continue on through and hit Ahsoka.

_It seems to be coming so quickly, and taking forever to get here. Why is it so hot?_

_This is not good, _he thought as he felt the heat from the shot a moment before it even hit his armor.

The pain was even greater than he had anticipated. The sound caught him completely off-guard. He heard the completely unfamiliar, strange keening sound of his knee armor splintering. Then, suddenly, so many sensations were shooting through his body at once that he couldn't process them all. He didn't pass out, so much, so much as feel his body completely shut down from shock. Some part of him was dimly aware that Ahsoka had just shouted his name. He wanted to respond, but he completely lost the ability to do so. The battle continued on around him, but he was unable to move, breathe, feel, or even blink.

Rex could hear Ashoka, but couldn't get his body to cooperate in any way.

# # #

Ahsoka turned just in time to see Rex fly sideways and hit the dirt hard, landing at an awkward angle. One of his blasters flew out of his hand, landing a few feet away.

"Rex!" Ahsoka cried out in alarm.

Blood continued to pool around under him. Ahsoka felt a moment of pure panic completely overwhelm her, unlike anything she'd every felt in all her years of Jedi training.

_No, not Rex. Anybody, but Rex. Please, no. Not Rex._

"_Rex!_" she shouted into her comlink. He didn't respond at all. No verbal response. And, he didn't move at all. He just continue to lay there. Unmoving and bleeding out on the ground as the droids continued firing around them.

Ahsoka knew she should be practicing some Jedi calm right now, but she was far too panicked for Jedi calm.

# # #


	2. Chapter 2 Shattered

_Revised August 29, 2013_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_  
_**Chapter Two**_

Rex could heard a voice, but it sounded muffled and indistinct. The Captain felt as if he was cut adrift, floating in a sea of unending blackness. He had no sense of up or down. He was definitely feeling sensations from his stomach, though, and all of those feelings were decidedly unpleasant. He felt waves of nausea roiling through his gut.

_Gah. I know this feeling. My body's just been through some sort of trauma. Have I been flying with General Skywalker again?_

Rex tried to pull himself up out of the blackness. He kept getting sucked back down into inky well of unconsciousness. A part of his brain whispered to him to just stay down, but he stubbornly, pushed and clawed his way against the darkness.

# # #

Rex began to hear sounds now… the familiar sounds of battle.

Blaster shots. Battle droids… Then, he heard, the familiar hum of a lightsaber.

_Lightsaber!_

Rex opened his eyes, and saw Ahsoka's familiar backhanded lightsaber grip furiously batting back a brutal barrage of blaster shots.

With a final burst, Rex clawed his way out of the darkness.

"Rex!" she shouted, her voice was high-pitched with panic.

"I'm... OK," Rex gritted out through clenched teeth. He tried to push up from where he was lying prone on the ground to lend credence to his words. But, when he tried to move his injured leg, he was assaulted with waves of white-hot agony.

"Gah!" Rex clutched at his leg with one hand, and then cut his helmet filters as he let out a long strong of profanity. His vision began swimming again, and he took several long steadying breaths. The extra breaths did help some. He was able to pivot enough to retrieve one of his blasters, but every movement sent jarring waves of pain through his leg.

"Fek!" Rex grabbed at his knee with one hand, his other hand clutching the blaster. He glanced at his bucket, hoping he'd cut his comms again in time so Ahsoka didn't hear the profanity. He glanced over at the padawan and saw her watching him anxiously. A blaster shot narrowly missed her, just skimming by the top of one of her lekku. "Focus, Commander!" He shouted angrily into the comm, not caring in that moment that it was completely inappropriate for him to be yelling at his commanding officer. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and then added, "Cover. Get behind cover."

Once he was satisfied that the padawan had indeed pulled herself behind adequate cover once again, Rex closed his eyes, and focused on mentally tapping the pain down so that he could fight again. He took several more deep breaths, since that had worked before. With one huge effort, calling upon the part of himself that was pure Jango, Rex pulled himself upright. This time he made sure his comlink was off because he swore a long tirade as he did so, trying to vent out the pain.

He sensed danger very close to him. Rex snapped his eyes open. The moment that he was upright again, the commando droids had rushed forward again, intent on finishing him off.

"I don't think so," Rex hissed. His eyes narrowed, and he zeroed in on their head circuits. Two neat and precise shots and the commando droids were no more.

The surge of adrenaline had held Rex's queasy stomach at bay for a moment, but the moment the commando droids were down, everything in Rex's stomach came up. He ripped his helmet off just in time as everything came violently up. He hadn't even meant to heave all over the commando droids - they just happened to be right in front of him.

The Captain could feel blackness closing in again. But, he knew if he gave in to the darkness, he likely wouldn't ever wake up again. He jammed his helmet back on and yanked himself back to an upright position. Rex leaned back against the rock, panting heavily. He kept one hand tightly cupped over his knee, trying to stem the bleeding. In the other hand, the Captain clutched his ever-present blaster. With a shaking hand drenched in blood, Rex tugged supplies out of his belt pouch. He tore open a package with his teeth. Hand still trembling, he pressed a synth-flesh patch on his damaged knee. The clone lay back for a moment, taking steadying breaths.

He studied his injured leg and scowled fiercely. Even with the wound patch, blood continued to flow out from his knee. Rex grabbed a second patch, trying to reinforce the first one. The trembling in his hands was getting worse. The Captain knew the shaking was from shock. He tried to still his hands, so he could get the bandage on properly but it only seemed to magnify the trembling. He knew he was close to passing out. He finally succeeded in getting the patch on, and then jammed a painkiller directly into his leg close to the site of the injury. The clone captain leaned his head wearily back against the rock, unmoving, while watching things spin wildly around him in nauseous circles.

"Rex?" he heard the Togrutan's voice coming through his comm, but couldn't find the energy to respond. "Rex?" The query came again louder, with almost a tinge of panic.

"I'm still here," Rex finally responded, without moving at all, "Just… waiting for things…. to stop… spinning."

He closed his eyes for a long moment trying to battle down another vicious bout of nausea.

"Osik. Not working," the clone captain threw off his helmet and retched again in the dirt. He glanced up just in time to see a near miss spray the Jedi padawan with wooden shards from a nearby tree. Ahsoka gasped, and she saw Rex's head snap over and their eyes met. The clone immediately maneuvered himself back into a position where he could begin firing upon the main group of droids again. There was so much light from the three moons that it was very easy to fire upon the droids. The moonlight shone off the metallic surface of the advancing droids making them easy targets. The problem was there were just so many of them.

# # #

Ahsoka looked anxiously over at Rex. Even in the night lighting, Ahsoka could see he was still losing blood. A steady stream of red was still dribbling down his leg armor. The Jedi deflected shots in a steady rhythm. She felt like they'd been at this for hours. She could easily call upon the Force and keep going. But, she knew that the clock was ticking down for Rex. He was going to bleed out if she didn't get to him, and soon. Ahsoka's eyes narrowed as she studied the remaining droids.

"Why can't you just die like good little droids?" Ahsoka hissed out angrily. She looked back over at Rex's leg armor again. His armor wasn't just punctured and blackened, like a normal blaster impact. Rex's armor was shattered.

Understanding suddenly hit Ahsoka with icy cold clarity. Rex hadn't just been shot. His armor, and likely the leg underneath, had been shattered by the very same "clone-shredder" rounds they'd been sent here to destroy. The Jedi Council hoped that this strategic strike would buy them enough time to come up with a Phase II armor that could withstand attacks from this crippling new ammo.

Ahsoka glanced over at Rex, and felt sick to her stomach. In her mind's eye, she saw a whole battalion full of clones with their armor ripped open, and flesh shredded, by these munitions. Then, it all became personal again, and all she saw was Rex...

Ahsoka saw a new set of commando droids break away from the pack of droids, and circle around, headed toward Rex.

"Oh, I don't think so," Ahsoka said, her eyes narrowing with anger. "Not again."

Ahsoka remembered how upset she'd been after Rex's mission to Saleucami, when Rex had returned from the planet with a blast hole in his pauldron, just two inches to the left of his heart. Rex had downplayed the severity of what happened. He'd gone on to the medical bay for treatment of what he called a "flesh wound."

But, Ahsoka had cornered Kix and Jesse later on in the mess hall, and made them tell her the whole story. Ahsoka hadn't slept that night, upset over how close Rex had come to dying. She was convinced that if she'd been along on the mission, she could have protected Rex. But, her Master had sent her back to the Temple for additional training, while he had gone on a diplomatic mission with Senator Amidala.

The Jedi could feel her temper rising, even though she knew anger was not the Jedi way. How dare these droids target her Captain! Saleucami was not that long ago, and now these horrific commando droids were once again coming after Rex. She could see how taking down the Commander of the 501st would be a big coup for the droid Army. But, it wasn't going to happen while she was still alive. She took a step toward Rex, but was instantly driven back by a hail of blaster fire.

Ahsoka could feel herself getting more and more frustrated.

She heard an angry hiss coming from Rex. Her head snapped over to see what had happened. Rex was shaking his hand as if to work the sting out of it.

A lucky shot had blown Rex's rifle out of his hand.

Rex switched back over to his one remaining blaster. He glanced down checking the charge. Ahsoka could tell from his worried expression that he was almost out of power.

A new group of commando droids surged forward, once again trying to take out the injured Captain. Ahsoka felt something deep and primal inside her. The Jedi saw a second group of commando droids sweep in from the other side, catching Rex in a crossfire.

Ahsoka knew in that moment that she would fight to the death to protect him.

As Ahsoka felt the primal spark build inside of her, she also felt an answering surge of energy from the Force. The whole battle seemed to wind down into slow motion. The Jedi could see the blast shots coming, but they seemed to be coming so slowly. She couldn't ever remember such a slow battle before. She felt like she was still moving in real-time, but now, she had so much more time to react to everything.

Ahsoka ran across the 30 feet separating her from Rex, easily dodging the barrage of shots coming at her from the wall of droids. It seemed so effortless now to jump up, over and in-between the cats cradle of blaster shots.

She leapt to Rex's side, and felt a rush of energy. The Togrutan could sense everything return to normal time. She just had time to bring her lightsaber up and deflect a deadly hail of blaster shots the commando droids had sent at Rex. With a twirl of her wrist, she took out both sets of droids, artfully deflecting their shots back at them. Another group of droids surged up behind them.

She saw Rex look up at her in startled surprise, but immediately focused back on their attackers. Rex leaned underneath her, adding to her attack with his precise blaster firing. The droids continued to droid, going down in showers of sparks, sputtering and clanking.

Ahsoka peered down at Rex, leaning against the rock. Blood was pooling around his feet in a small lake of amber, looking especially dark in the moonlight. The mechanical droids could easily keep this up all day, but Rex couldn't. He would bleed to death, right here in this spot. Ahsoka had to end this - now.

_# # #_


	3. Chapter 3 Saving Rex

_Revised September 9, 2013__  
_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter Three**_

Rex looked down at his blaster, and then quickly reached for a refill pack. His hands came up empty. His gaze shot toward his other blaster and rifle, one he had dropped when he'd been hit and the other had been shot out of his hands, but they were both out of reach. Sensing the temporary lull in fire, the droids surged forward. Rex ejected his vibroblade, and stood up, balancing on his one good leg. He angled his body, trying to put himself between Ahsoka and the droids.

Ahsoka gritted her teeth in annoyance. Rex didn't need to always protect her like this. She did have skills of her own; a _lot_ of skills.

_When is Rex going to stop seeing me treating me like a kid? I'm older than he is._

The droids temporarily stopped firing, and circled around them.

Rex tried to push Ahsoka between him and the rock, shielding her with his body.

The droids all raised up their weapons arms; preparing to fire. In just a second they would be firing directly into her clone captain. Ahsoka felt Rex's steely determination as he faced down the huge circle of droids with just his vibroblade. He was absolutely prepared to die for her; right here and now.

_No!_

Ahsoka felt an overwhelming, burning desire to decimate the droids. They were tangible, finite things and could be destroyed. She needed to tap into the living Force. It all seemed so clear in that split second. Ahsoka closed her eyes, as she heard many clicks of the droids' weapons engaging. She felt Rex press his body back against her; his armor digging into her as he angled his body to provide her the most protection.

In response, Ahsoka felt the Force building up inside of her… _must protect Rex_… the Force now felt like a massive tidal surge of energy. She felt like she had to release it before it consumed her. She sheathed her light saber using the Force and raised her arms. The droids shot up into the air just as they began firing. In their circular formation, they directly caught each other in a massive cross of friendly fire. Rex put his hands over his head, trying to shield himself from a shower of metallic shards and sparks. Ahsoka threw her arms forward, her skin scraping up against Rex's armor. The droids were hit with a violent Force push, the likes of which Ahsoka had never unleashed before. The energy wave hit the line of droids like a violent landslide. With their energy weapons still discharging, the effects were catastrophic. The droids blew each other apart, creating a chain-reaction explosion, spraying metallic shrapnel everywhere.

Ahsoka thrust her arms overhead, created a Force shield from the deadly shower of metallic droid scrap. Hundreds of razor sharp metallic pieces rained down right above their heads. Rex pressed his body into hers, arms still drawn over his head. Ahsoka felt herself tiring and wondered how much longer she could maintain the shield.

Everything grew silent, and Ahsoka felt the shield drop of its' own accord. She remained frozen in the same position, trying to absorb what had just happened. After a long moment, she opened her eyes, blinking slowly, as if coming out of a trance. She slowly lowered her arms, as if just remembering they were there.

Ahsoka felt disoriented, and confused. She had moved objects of many different sizes during her Force training, but she had never used the Force _explosively_ before. Destructive, explosive uses of the Force were characteristic of her Master, but not her. What had she just done? Rex's voice snapped her out of her musings and back to reality.

"Well, that was really _something_," he said, hoarsely, turning around from where he'd pinned her against the rock. He smiled at her, looking both proud, and a little awed, "well done."

His strength suddenly flagged, and his one remaining leg buckled under him. Ahsoka grabbed his arm and threw it over her shoulder, holding him up before he completely collapsed.

"Can you walk?" Ahsoka asked, her mind switching back to more practical matters, "we need to find better cover."

"Yes," his voice was hoarse and gravely, filled with determination that said he was going to walk no matter what. He nodded his head in the direction of his fallen guns and helmet. "My gear."

Ahsoka balanced Rex against the rock, and then knelt down to retrieve his fallen blaster and rifle. The rifle had a scorch mark on the handle, but still looked usable. She dusted off his helmet, and handed it to him. Rex nodded his thanks and clipped his helmet to his belt. Ahsoka pulled Rex's arm over her shoulder again. Rex used his rifle on the other side to support his weight.

Rex nodded to Ahsoka, "I'm good. Let's go."

Ahsoka could see Rex was trying to mask his pain. She glanced around the battlefield area. There was no decent cover. They had no choice but to move on.

As soon as Rex tried to swing his injured leg forward, he hissed out in pain and doubled over. Now that Ahsoka was in physical contact with the clone captain, she could feel the pulsing hot waves of agony from broken bone, ripped muscles, and torn cartilage.

Rex slowly straightened up, his breathing ragged, "Just give me... a minute," he rasped, "I can do better. I can make it."

Ahsoka felt panic surge through her veins. She'd seen Rex injured in battle before, but it had never been just the two of them like this. Kix or Coric was always there to handle serious injuries.

"Rex. New plan… I should take a look at that leg before we move out," Ahsoka tried to sound as calm as possible. But, even to her own ears, her voice sounded strained. She eased the injured clone back to a sitting position on the rock, trying not to jostle his leg at all.

Once he was settled, Rex twisted his upper body to look all around them, "The droids?"

Ahsoka reached out with her Force senses, "We're OK for the moment. I'm not sensing anything in the immediate vicinity."

"We shouldn't stay here if it places us in danger," Rex insisted.

She placed a hand on Rex's armored chest, trying to reason with him. "I need to get a better field dressing on your wound. You're still bleeding out."

He stared at her for a long moment, then relented with an exasperated sigh. He scowled down at his leg, as if angry at it. "I couldn't get the bleeding to stop."

Ahsoka slid her backpack off her shoulders, and began sorting through it, grabbing what she needed. She took a deep breath, trying to sound calmer than she felt. "Well, hopefully I can get it stopped now." She continued to talk as she rummaged through the pack, "Should be easier without all that shooting going on." Ahsoka realized she was basically rambling, but she was trying to keep herself calm, as well as Rex. She had no idea whether it was working or not.

Rex leaned down to unhook his leg armor. He let out a long stream of curses as he began maneuvering the plate, and had to stop. Ahsoka placed her hands over his, blood streaming freely over both of their hands. She tried to ignore the sensation of his blood pooling over both of their hands. "Let me help. I've watched you gear up many times. I know how to do this."

A tiny grin quirked up at the corner of Rex's mouth, despite all the pain he was in, "You watch me gear up?"

Ahsoka started by undoing the gription plates higher up on Rex's leg, taking the plates off with great care. "We're together every single day, Rex. It would be hard _not_ to notice all these little things about you."

Rex still looked pleased, despite the lines of pain evident on his face. He continued to hold his hands in place over his terribly injured knee, blood still coming out over his hand, "So, you _watch_?"

She shook her head, not believing they were having this conversation _now_. She carefully removed his cuisses and greaves, saving the poleyn for last. All of his leg armor was either cracked or shattered. Ahsoka felt a pang of regret, knowing the care Rex lavished on his armor, and how much it meant to him.

Ahsoka put her hands on top of Rex's to remove the final piece of armor, the poleyn. He tensed up and his breathing came out as a ragged gasp.

"I'm sorry," she looked into his eyes, and noticed all the adrenaline flooding his system had caused his eyes to dilate.

"Go on," Rex said, his voice harsh and tight as he struggled to maintain control. He closed his eyes and took deep steady breaths. "I think... there's a leg fracture... or two... gah!... you found it..." His voice tightened to a strangled gasp as Ahsoka pulled off the poleyn, and she saw his fists clench with agony.

"Rex? It's off," she said, holding up the shattered piece of armor.

The clone captain was pale and sweating in the moonlight. His breath exploded out of him and Ahsoka realized he'd been holding his breath this whole time to keep form crying out in pain. For some reason, that bothered her and she wished Rex wouldn't feel the need to protect her from _everything_ all the time. She was going to be a Knight one day, and did not _need_ protecting.

Rex slowly opened his eyes, although he didn't look well at all. Ahsoka knew if Coric were here, he'd have Rex in medbay for weeks for looking like that.

"Let me see it," Rex demanded, holding out his armored hand for the shattered poleyn. He held it up to the moonlight and studied it carefully while Ahsoka dug in the bottom of her pack looking for a glowrod. She looked up as Rex spoke.

"They're field-testing the new rounds," Rex said as calmly as if he were discussing what he had for dinner in the mess on the _Resolute_. He tucked the armor into the webbing of his chest plates. He gestured for Ahsoka to give him the other pieces, and stashed all the ruined pieces of armor carefully away. "All of this could provide important as we try to figure out these new rounds. I hadn't planned on being part of the field testing." Rex let out a grim laugh, but there was no humor in the sound.

Ahsoka wasn't laughing either. "The new ammo is everything they said it would be."

"Finally, some _accurate_ intel," the clone captain griped.

Ahsoka looked up at Rex, and wished she were handling this better. She felt like she wasn't coming up with the right words at the right time. Coric would know what to do and what to say. Her fingers found the glow lamp at the bottom of her pack. "Hold the light," she said, handing over the compact luma. "I need to open up your suit." She reached her fingers down to just above his knee and took a deep breath. The whole area was soaked with blood and she knew the bones underneath were broken. She hesitated.

The Jedi stiffened up, knowing that even though the hook and latch bodysuit was designed to pull apart easily around wounds, it would still cause Rex tremendous.

"Do it," Rex said, looking down at her evenly, "or I will."

Ahsoka took a deep breath, and gently eased the tiny latches apart. Rex's entire body went tense the moment she touched his leg. She worked as quickly as she could and thanked the makers and designers of the suit that it was so well designed. As soon as she was done, she began to talk the clone through the next steps of what she was doing. "I'm going to give you a stim and a painkiller. This might sting a bit."

Rex snorted in response.

"What?" Ahsoka glanced up at it, hypos held in hand.

"Not sure it could hurt much worse, Commander." He had a bemused gesture on his pale face. "Have... at it. Sting a bit." After she'd injected him, she glanced up at him and noticed his eyes were beginning to dull over from the narcotic effects of the painkiller. He must have felt it, too, because he commented: "That's my second sharp of painkiller. Two's the-"

"-limit. I _know_, Rex. You've drilled me in this stuff time and time again."

She took the glowlamp back from Rex. More than two sharps damage to the liver, kidney or brain. Three sharps was a sure way to a fatal overdose. If you timed the sharps too closely together, you could give yourself a narcotic hangover.

Rex shrugged, "I'm nothing if not thorough-" he cut off with a strangled gasp of pain and doubled over when Ahsoka peeled back the synth-flesh patches over the wound.

Ahsoka grabbed at him, "I'm sorry, Rex. Should I have warned you?" She helped him straighten back up.

"No," Rex murmured, looking like he was going to hurl, "you did good."

Ahsoka suspected he was just being kind to spare her feelings. With Rex's leg finally exposed, and the light shining directly on his knee cap, she was finally able to get her first good look at where the clone-shredder round had penetrated his leg. She wasn't able to stifle her gasp in time.

"Just a scratch, right?" asked Rex, with a humorless smile. He couldn't get a good look from the angle at which he was reclined against the rock.

"Rex, it's... ah... " Ahsoka kept studying the wound, trying to find the right words, "it's…"

"Commander," Rex switched to his 'don't patronize me' voice. He gently, but firmly, pushed Ahsoka to the side so that he could see it for himself. Ahsoka frowned and handed him the light. Rex shined the luma from a couple of different angles as he examined it thoroughly.

He muttered some things under his breath that she was sure she was not meant to hear, although there were few few clone swear words she had not mastered at this point. In a more audible tone, he finally met here eyes and said, "There's not much left. I... uh... won't be walking to the RV point after all." There was agony in his eyes that went far beyond the pain he was currently feeling from the physical pain. She saw something much _more_ there. As soon as Rex had seen this injury, she'd felt a deep resounding _shock_ within him. This injury was significant.

The round had gone completely through his knee, taking much of the cartilage of the kneecap with it. In addition to the leg break that Rex was feeling above the knee in his femur, it was obvious the lower leg was broken as well. The only thing that had prevented Rex from already bleeding to death was basic biology; the knee naturally doesn't have a good supply of blood.

Rex handed the glowrod back to Ahsoka, scowled and slammed his helmet back on. Ahsoka could feel he was furious, and in distress. She wanted to reach out to him and find out what was going on. But, there was no time. He was still bleeding out.

"Hold these," Ahsoka said, handing him several sealed packs of sterile padding. She quickly ripped open a bacta bandage. She risked a glance over at Rex, and could feel his anger was ebbing. Although, now he seemed to be swaying.

"Rex?"

"Commander," Rex mumbled as he dropped the bandages he was holding. They hit the ground with a gentle thud. He slumped forward and Ahsoka just managed to catch hit before he, too, hit the dirt.

# # #


	4. Chapter 4 Clone Shredder Ammo

_Revised: September 3, 2013  
_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter Four**_

Ahsoka lowered Rex down to the ground, trying to ease him into as comfortable a position as possible. She took a deep breath, centering herself in the Force. She tried to focus her thoughts. All she wanted to do was panic.

She'd taken the same field training courses as every padawan at the Temple. Master Winna di Yuni taught the ones on field medicine. Barriss had excelled at them and been chosen to gone on into Jedi Healing. Ahsoka did alright in the class, but not as well as Barriss. None of that mattered now, though. She was the only one here right now and everything was up to her.

She cleaned her hands all the way up to the elbows with little bottle of sani-gel she used before she ate. She hoped it was a powerful enough cleaner to kill germs for medical purposes. She then set to work on the wound. Ahsoka chewed her bottom lip in concentration as she worked, trying to make the spray last as long as possible as she cleaned the gaping wound. She probed the wound, focusing on trying to get all the dirt out.

Ahsoka paused when she came up against something that felt _wrong_ somehow. She leaned in, trying to see inside the wound. It was difficult with the poor lighting and blood still bubbling up. She continued to probe around with her fingers. Ahsoka took another deep breath, and used the Force to extend her senses.

_Yes, OK, more wrong than the obvious hole in the middle. Poor Rex. Look what they did to you.  
_

She threw her concentration back into the task at hand. Ahsoka extended her senses and forced herself to stay intently focused on the job at hand. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed with emotions. It was not the Jedi way.

_Sith's blood. What's this?_

Ahsoka grasped a sizable fragment of armor that had embedded itself into Rex's flesh. As she removed the jagged fragment from his knee, Rex gasped and reared up. Ahsoka turned around quickly, trying to catch him. But, he had already passed out again, and had hit the ground again.

_Add headache to his list of complaints. Sorry about that, Rex._

She reached her bloody fingers up to his neck to double-check his vitals.

Fast, but, still strong.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and was glad he had his helmet on, so he escaped any more injury when he crashed back down into the ground. She held the triangular-shaped, bloody fragment up to the light for a moment before shoving it into one of her pockets.

"Clone-shredding ammo," her mouth tasted like acid and she already despised this new Separatist weapon. "This is what clone-shredding ammo does when it hits armor."

The clone-shredder ammo had been the topic of many debates in Republic meetings lately. Knowing Separatists were working on this deadly ammo and were close to rolling it out, the Republic was working on a "Phase II" armor for the clones. As far as she knew, Rex was the first clone to get hit by the deadly new ammo. She shook her head as she looked again at the damage to his knee.

"Rex," she murmured, and felt a cold chill sweep through her chest. There was just so much blood. She began applying pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding.

_Don't die on me, OK? I couldn't do this war without you. _

Rex continued to lay unmoving and unresponsive.

Ahsoka kept applying pressure to the wound, and hoped she had slowed the bleeding. It was hard to tell in the dark. She quickly applied bacta, hoping it was enough, and then sealed it to stop the bleeding. She could applying more bacta after the seal was on it. Ahsoka sat back on her heels for a moment studying his leg. The seal didn't appear to be holding. She tried applying a second seal from the medkit and held her breath and waited. So far, the seal appeared to be holding. The seal was supposed to contain the bleeding until the wound manage to clot on its' own. She applied more bacta and then carefully bandaged his leg. Ahsoka felt like she'd just applied everything in the first aid kit to his wound.

_And, I still need to splint it._

With great care, she applied an inflatable splint to his leg to hold his broken leg in place. It would at least provide some cushioning. She'd have to move him soon, and she didn't want the broken bones getting jarred when they moved.

Ahsoka took a deep breath.

_That's it. I've done all I can for now._

Ahsoka rocked back onto her heels. She was absolutely exhausted. She ground the backs of her heels into her eyes. The padawan allowed herself just a few seconds rest before pulling a small datapad out of her pack and double-checking their coordinates. She nodded with satisfaction.

_I'll start heading toward the RV point and find us a spot to lay low until it's time to rendezvous with the others._

Ahsoka gathered up the supplies, and the trash, and quickly stowed everything back into her backpack. She'd sort it all out when she was back on _the Resolute_. She gathered up the remains of Rex's armor, and stowed those in her pack as well. She slid her pack onto her shoulders. Ahsoka then took a deep breath and called upon the Force as she bent down and lifted up the clone Captain. She still let out a grunt as she hefted him up. Carrying him was awkward. He was much bigger than she was, and difficult to hold onto with all his armor on. Rex moved restlessly and groaned when he was lifted, but didn't come to full consciousness.

"Ssshhhh... it's alright. I've got you," Ahsoka said, feeling slightly breathless and winded from her burden.

Rex didn't respond.

Ahsoka began walking toward the rendezvous point.

# # #


	5. Chapter 5 Smells too good to be Cody

_**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**_

_**Chapter Five**_

Rex woke up slowly. It was difficult to open his eyes as they kept slipping shut on their own accord. After several long minutes, he was able to keep them open. He squinted, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. It was dark and he seemed to be moving. A wave of nausea hit him.

_Yes, alright, definitely moving. _

He couldn't remember where he was or what had happened to him.

He could see light shining through the trees.

_Moons? Planets? Couldn't be a space station. No one could make a space station that big._

His brain was having difficulty processing in the manner in which he was usually able to process data. He could tell he was injured. Badly. It was the only time his processing slowed to a crawl like this. His entire body was dulled by painkillers, but there was no mistaking the incessant throbbing coming from his right leg. There was also an odd feeling of pressure building on his leg, making all of the sensations even worse. Rex shifted uneasily in his great discomfort. But, moving just made everything feel even worse. He took deep breaths, focusing on not vomiting.

_Why do I feel so sick? Did I go out with Cody again? _

His helmet was off, and his head was resting against something pillowy. It felt nice even while other parts of him were miserable. Rex shifted trying to figure out what it was he was resting against that felt so comfortable. The GAR normally did not do much for the clone's comfort-

"Hold still, Rex. I can carry you, but you need to stop moving around. I'm trying to find us shelter."

Strange. He knew that voice.

_Who is carrying me? __Cody? __Smells too good to be Cody._

The lighting wasn't good and Rex couldn't see much. His brain was still muddled. He squinted upwards trying to see the figure in the darkness as his brain tried to backtrack and figure out what had happened to him.

_A mission. I was on a mission. Clone-shredder ammo. We had to destroy it. We did destroy it. We were headed to the RV point. Then, there were droids and-_

Just at that point there was a break in the trees and the light of the three moons came shining clearly through illuminating a distinct pair of montrals above Rex's head.

"Wayii! Commander!" Rex stared up in astonishment as he suddenly put all of the pieces together.

There was a small snort of a laugh, "Hello, Rex. Good to see you awake."

"You're _carrying_ me?" There was both disbelief and disapproval in Rex's tone.

The padawan glanced down at him momentarily, before returning her attention to where she walking, "Yes. We both established that you can't walk to the RV point. This was the alternative."

"Put me down," Rex growled in what he hoped came out as his fiercest command tone, but even to his own ears his voice sounded hoarse and not quite himself.

"You can't walk," the Jedi's tone was calm.

"You will _not_ carry me," Rex could tell he was badly injured, and if there was one of his brothers carrying him, it wouldn't be so much of an issue. He wouldn't like it, but this... was not acceptable. Skywalker's padawan would not carry him all the way to the RV point. He was about to start arguing again, when a new more urgent new suddenly took precedence. "Commander, put me down." He said his request now in a much calmer, less demanding voice.

"No," Ahsoka insisted, stopping now, "Rex, you'll make it worse-"

"Commander, put me down! I-" Rex began to gag, cutting off all speech.

He was quickly lowered to the ground, unfortunately jarring his leg, which made the nausea even worse. Rex's rolled to the side and his stomach churned violently. He knew what was happening. It had happened to him before when he'd gone into shock from severe injury. But, usually Coric was there and had some sort of shot in his large medkit that stopped the nausea and vomiting. When he was done, his body began to shake from exhaustion. He closed his eyes, and tried to curl his body in on itself to get away from the pain and discomfort.

"Try to take a small sip of water. You need to stay hydrated."

Rex felt himself get rolled over onto his back with great care and gentleness. The movement still jarred his leg and he cried out.

"Sorry."

The word was whispered out, and the agony sounded as bad as his own.

He opened his eyes and saw Ahsoka staring down at him. She looked horrified to have caused him pain. His eyes met hers. "It's OK. Not your fault," he rasped out. "Fekkin' commando droids." He tried to smile, but could barely force his lips to move. He generally made a point not to curse in front of senior officers, but all of his barriers were down at the moment.

Ahsoka gave him a genuine smile. She propped him up, sliding behind him so that he could lean against her. Rex sagged back against her chest without complaint. He was too tired to get any more words out. His eyes drifted shut, and he didn't move. He was strangely comfortable in this position.

"You still need to drink."

_He didn't want to drink. He just wanted to sleep. This was comfortable._

He felt the canteen prod against his lips. He ignored it at first. But, after repeated proddings, he obliged and took a sip.

"Drink a little more, Rex."

He managed a few more sips before he turned his face away. He did feel better after the liquid hit his system, and it washed away some of the acid taste in his throat. He closed his eyes again, but with the water now in his system, he found he wasn't so tired. He opened his eyes again, and studied his surroundings. He glanced up and suddenly realized he was basically almost sitting on his commander's _lap_.

He struggled to sit up, trying to put some distance between them. "I'm OK now," he said, as he tried to rise. He felt the commander push at his back to assist him to a seated position. But, as soon as he made it to a seated position, he began to sway.

"Something's not right," Rex murmured, putting one hand to his head and struggling to stay upright.

"What's wrong?"

"Pressure," Rex could barely get the words out.

"Pressure?"

"Pressure on my leg," the 501st Captain managed to gasp out before he swayed off to the side and crashed into the ground.

# # #


	6. Chapter 6 Attack of the commando droids

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter Six**_

Thanks to her Jedi reflexes, Ahsoka caught Rex before he hit the dirt. "I've got you."

Rex groaned and pressed a gauntleted hand against his eyes in discomfort and pain, the pain completely incapacitating. Ahsoka had seen Rex with all manner of battlefield injuries, and he always downplayed them. Generally, he was always trying to escape Kix and Coric for as long as possible so he could finish the battle before being evaced. He'd never been like _this_.

_Just try to think like a medic._

Ahsoka was friends with both medics and assisted them whenever she could after battle with the wounded, learning what she could and trying to bring comfort to the men. Sometimes her Master called her away and insisted he needed her elsewhere, much to her annoyance. She didn't think there was anything more important for her to do at the moment than be there for the men. She always felt like she was making the greatest difference then, even more so than when she was cutting down droids with her lightsaber. She blew out a sigh and tried to think of all she'd learned from Kix and Coric. Ahsoka quickly peeled off her pack and dug out her lumen. Then, she carefully removed the air splint that immobilized Rex's leg and kept the broken bones from rubbing and shifting. Then, she removed the outer layer of bandages before getting down to closest to the wound itself.

"I see the problem," Ahsoka said in a voice much calmer than what she was actually feeling inside, "it's completely pooled up and looks like a Gungan bubble about to burst."

She reached her hands down to Rex's face and concentrated on bringing him some temporary pain relief. She sought to soothe his tightly bunched up muscles first, and then quickly eased some of the nerve endings that firing out of control. It was just a temporary measure, but she could feel Rex's breathing ease up.

He propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at his injury, trying to take command of the situation. "Do Gungan bubbles even burst?" He stared at the wound and frowned, "The wound is still bleeding out."

"Yes, Rex, I can see that." Ahsoka could tell Rex was having difficulties speaking. "Lay down." She pressed her fingertips to his shoulders to press him down. "I'm going to release this, and then seal the wound again. Get that bleeding stopped." She hoped she sounded more confident than she was feeling.

"Yes, Commander," Rex agreed, lying back down again. She could feel his pain levels already rising again.

She gazed over at the Captain with concern and noticed his eyes were starting to look glassy. His face was getting and his breathing was shallow.

"Gungans are.. annoying," Rex grumbled, gasping as he spoke. "They're... clumsy."

She ignore his rant on Gungans and peeled back the sealed bandage, grimacing as she did so. The sealed bandage released with an odd splooshing sound. Rex gasped at the sensation, startling back with a jerk.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said, "I'll do this as quick as I can." She glanced over at the 501st Captain. If possible, he had gone even paler.

"It's - OK," Rex said, breathlessly and tight-lipped. He lifted his head and gazed down at the blood flowing freely down from his knee.

"I'll get the bleeding stopped," Ahsoka said quickly.

"Better," Rex's voice sound relieved. "Pressure's gone." His head sank back down and his eyes closed again.

"OK, I need to try to seal this again. We'll just have to keep checking it," she said, talking him through what she was doing.

"Thanks," the 501st Captain said, his eyes still closed.

Ahsoka started first with the spray sealant that was _supposed_ to stop bleeding. It usually worked. When wounds weren't so big. And, when all you were trying to do was hold somebody together from the ride from the battlefield up to the ship until they could get into surgery. This was all meant to be temporary field medicine.

Ahsoka could sense how much pain Rex was in as soon as she started applying the seal. She worked as quickly, but the seconds still seemed to tick interminably by as she sprayed the sealant over the large surface area of the knee wound.

"Sealant done," Ahsoka said, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Ahsoka heard Rex exhale loudly and noticed his lower lip was bleeding. She realized he had bitten through his lip.

She didn't have another clean cloth, so she pulled out her Jedi robe which she always kept in her pack even if she didn't make a habit of wearing it. She used it to gently dab at Rex's lip. His eyes widened in surprise. She smiled at him, reassuringly, and then cleaned off her hands. She then used her cloak to carefully wipe the blood off that had dripped onto Rex's lower leg.

"Commander, that's your Jedi robe," Rex protested, although his voice sounded hoarse and tired.

"It is," Ahsoka admitted.

He gave her a respectful nod of his head, for her sacrifice on his behalf, in the clone way, and then his eyes slipped shut again. She let him rest for a few minutes, then roused him, coaxing him to drink some water first. Then, she carefully rearranged Rex's position on the ground to make it easier to lift him. "Complain all you want, but this is how we're getting to the RV point," Ahsoka said.

To her surprise, the Captain stayed quiet and when she looked down, his eyes had simply slipped shut again. He was a lot easier to carry when he wasn't complaining and shifting around. She walked on, lost in her thoughts, sometimes studying the bright moons of TriLuna. When they were clear of the trees, everything was illuminated by their orange harvest moon glow.

She cleared her mind and reached out with her Force senses searching... _there_. A cave in the hills up ahead. She set Rex gently down on the ground so she could investigate the temporarily shelter. The 501st Captain woke up when his body settled against the ground. He looked around in confusion.

"Wha.." he mumbled.

"Hey, Rex. How you feeling?" Ahsoka asked gently, kneeling down right next to him.

"Commander?" he asked hoarsely, blinking several times.

It looked to Ahsoka like he was having difficulties focusing his eyes.

"What's going on? Where are my men?" Rex asked, still looking around. He propped himself up on one elbow, and peered behind her, then looked back at her, "why can't I see the rest of my squadron?"

Ahsoka looked at Rex with concern, frowning.

_This is not good. _ _He is totally out of it. _

Ahsoka gripped Rex's face, holding it angled, so his eyes focused directly on her.

"Rex, listen carefully. We're on a mission. It's just you and me. No Torrent Squadron. No General Skywalker. Just us. And, you were... shot by commando droids."

"Commmando Droids," Rex said, the disgust and disbelief evident in his voice, "Again?" Rex shook his head in denial, as if such a thing just weren't possible.

"I'll be back, Rex, I need to find us shelter for the night," she scrutinized him, trying to figure out how lucid he was. She didn't want to leave him alone and unarmed. After a long moment of hesitation she reached into her pack and handed him back his twin blasters. His hands automatically reached for them and they slid into his hands as if propelled there by the Force. She gave him one last look and walked away, hoping he wouldn't end up shooting her when she returned.

# # #

After the commander left, Rex painstakingly dragged himself along the ground several meters so he could survey the mountainside below. The slightest movements made his leg erupt like the kriffin' fires of Mustafar, but there was no way he was just going to sit around on his shebs when there was work to do. He used the sensitive scanners in his HUD to check for any signs of droid activity. He wasn't going to let those commando droids get the drop on him _again_. Next time he met those droids, they were going down.

There was no movement except for a bit of local wildlife. Even that was minimal. The explosion seemed to have scared most of the local wildlife into hiding.

Off in the distance, Rex could still see the heat signature from the munitions storage facility. At least that part of the mission had gone well.

Rex gasped as a muscle spasm in his leg made his entire vision go red for a moment. He pressed a fist down to his bandaged leg, grimacing. _Fek. Fek. Fek. he s_tared down with annoyance and frustration at his leg.

"Commando droids," he muttered outloud with disgust, shaking his head.

He wondered how long he'd be out of action this time. There was a terrible sinking feeling in the bottom of his gut that he might not be coming back this time.

# # #


	7. Chapter 7 Spider

_September 12, 2013_

_**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

Ahsoka walked deeper into the cave she had selected.

The small beam of the flashlight danced off the walls. Other than the overly large, complex web of some insect Ahsoka hoped she'd never meet, the cave seemed safe enough.

Ahsoka gave the webs a wide berth. _If the size of those webs is any indication, we want to avoid that critter. Hopefully, it's just one of those bugs where if you leave it alone, they'll do the same._

Ahsoka picked out a spot where they could make camp, and then retreated from the cave. She didn't want to leave Rex alone too long.

_Perhaps I should just tie him up, until it is time to be evaced out of here. It would be for his own good._

Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief to see Rex was safe. He was sitting up ramrod straight, scanning the surrounding mountainside.

"Commander," Rex acknowledged, when Ashoka sat down next to him.

Ahsoka gazed down at the valley stretching out below them, her sensitive Togrutan vision able to pick out details even in the moonlight. "I've located a spot. We should be safe enough until it's time to head to the RV."

Rex simply nodded, but didn't seemed inclined to want to speak. Ahsoka gazed over at him. There was a dark gloom hanging over his mood that bordered on deep despair.

# # #

Ahsoka eased Rex gently down against one of the cave walls. The only light they had came from the lumen in her backpack and the twin headlamps on Rex's helmet. The beams of light bounced off the walls in every direction as they moved through the cave and got settled down.

"So, this cave extends pretty far into the interior of the mountain. I only explored back for a few minutes, because I didn't want to leave you alone too long. I'm not sensing anything hostile in here other than some insect life," Ahsoka said. She decided not to mention that the local bug population spun some impressive sized webs.

Rex nodded his head, to acknowledge he'd heard Ahsoka, but remained silent. He seemed locked inside himself, sinking into a pit of despair. She wasn't sure how to get him out of it.

She knelt down in front of him, trying to find some words that would make this difficult situation better. "Rex... I know this is difficult, but Master Plo Koon used to say- oh Force!- that's one huge spider!"

Ahsoka's eyes widened in alarm, and she automatically reached down to draw out her lightsaber. She sprang lightly to her feet. Before she could charge at the enormous, eight-legged creature that had appeared the rear of the cave, Rex had already drawn his twin pistols. He fired both of them simultaneously. With an ear splitting screech, the spider detonated in a burst of flame. Spider bits flew everywhere. Ahsoka put her hands over her head to avoid being hit by flying spider parts.

Rex started laughing, as the chunks of spider rained down on them. Since he was still fully armored up, he didn't feel anything as the gooey, hairy, sticky bits showered down all around them.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, in her less than extensive coverings, got a full hit of spider goop. A particularly impressive amount of glop had found its' way into her montrals. The clone captain roared with laughter, Ahsoka turned and glared at him.

"You think this is funny?"

Rex nodded, holding his sides because he was laughing so hard.

Ahsoka reached a hand up, trying to extract some of the goop from her montrals. She only succeeded in getting it all over her hands.

"Oh, this is so gross," she said, looking down miserably at the gooey substance now stuck on her hands, _and_ her head.

She felt a hand on her montral, and she looked up in surprise. Rex was removing all of the larger pieces of spider bits out of her montrals. He had a surprisingly gentle touch. Ahsoka bent her head down, so he could have better access.

Ahsoka saw Rex reach into one of his belt pouches. He pulled out several packets of cleaning wipes. He started by completely cleaning her hands off. For some reason, having Rex gently tugging on her fingers had an odd effect on her. When he was done cleaning her hands, she had this strange urge to ask him to do it all over again. But, Rex had already moved on.

Her eyes widened as she felt him gently cleaning the gooey, sticky bits of her montrals, using the wipes. He'd finish cleaning with one wipe, toss it aside, and grab a new one. He was especially gentle around the base of both her montrals. It gave Ahsoka goose bumps, and then she shivered.

"Are you alright, commander?" Rex asked.

Ahsoka was having difficulties forming words at the moment. She wondered if Rex knew that montrals were not just for hearing and were considered a pleasure zone for Togrutans. She was sure he didn't, or he wouldn't be stroking them with his cleaning wipes.

"OK, all clean," Rex declared, gathering up all the trash, and putting it together in one tidy pile.

"Thank you, Rex," Ahsoka managed in a choked whisper, sure that she would feel those cleaning wipes on her montrals for a long time to come.

"Who knew those things were so combustible?" Rex said, staring back at the spot where the spider had been, "did you see the way it just exploded when I hit it dead on? Do you think there are any more of them in the cave?"

Rex looked around with great interest toward the back of the cave. He was clearly thrilled at the prospect of insects that blew up like bombs.

"Maybe if we get really lucky," Ahsoka said, dryly, "another one will try to attack us."

"Yes," Rex said, in a wistful tone, checking the charge on both his blasters. He tucked his twin guns back into their holsters, "Probably not, though." He let out a disappointed sigh. "Just ran the species against my HUD. They're a derivation of another type of cave spider on Ramos IX. Highly territorial. We likely won't get to see another."

"How disappointing for us," Ahsoka said dryly, staring at the pile of spider bits.

"I know," Rex sighed regretfully, obviously sorry he wouldn't have the opportunity to blow another one up.

"Never seen one so combustible before," Rex said, obviously still relishing that part of the experience.

Ahsoka smiled at his good humor, then turned to get started on setting up the camp. She was stopped by Rex's hand pulling on her own.

"Commander, thank you."

"For what?" she looked at him, puzzled.

Rex made a gesture toward his injured leg, and then toward the cave. "For getting me here. Making sure I make the RV point." He tilted his head toward her in a deep nod of respect.

Ahsoka felt a suspicious sting of moisture in her eyes and quickly blinked them away. She sank to her knees next to Rex, still holding on to his hand. "You being hurt, it frightens me. Much more so than taking on Grievous, or Ventress, or anything like that I've done. But the thought of losing you, Rex, it terrifies me. You're the one I talk to every day, Rex. The one I count on for everything. If anything happened to you," Ahsoka sighed, trying to find the words, her breath hitching, "if you weren't here, I - I don't think I could make through this thing without you, Rex."

Having said her piece, Ahsoka let go of Rex's hand. She pulled her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She just stared down at the cave floor. She felt a bit foolish, feeling like maybe she'd said too much.

The silence between them stretched on for a long, awkward moment.

Ahsoka was about to get up, and get on with the job of setting up their camp, when she felt Rex grip her hand again.

"I'm not going to die, l'il one," he said, in his deep, husky voice.

Emotions overwhelmed Ahsoka. She automatically leaned in for comfort against Rex's armored chest, wrapping her arms around him.

"Promise me that you won't die," she said, her voice muffled against his chest. "That you'll always be here. I can't do this without you." She grabbed on to him desperately, holding him tightly.

Rex hesitated, then tentatively put his arms around Ahsoka, his touch was light. He didn't say anything and didn't pull her any closer.

"Promise, Rex, you have to promise," Ahsoka prodded.

"Ahsoka," the 501st Captain said in the tone he had that was partial-lecturing and she knew he wasn't going to make that promise. And, then to her surprise, he burst out laughing. She stared up at him in surprise, wondering if he'd suddenly gone delirious again.

She saw Rex reach toward her face. Ahsoka realized there was something stuck on her cheek. She scrunched up her face, sure she didn't want to know what it was.

Rex carefully scraped the item off with one gloved hand. He held up the spider eyeball for her inspection. He shrugged innocently.

Ahsoka shrieked and jerked back.

"Not funny, Rex!" she smacked Rex hard in the shoulder plates, which just made Rex laugh all that much harder, seeing how riled up she was about the whole thing. He started holding his side, he was laughing so hard.

He then playfully put held it up to the T-visor of his mask, a third eye. It looked hideously monstrous. Ahsoka grabbed her backpack, and dumped it out, periodically glaring back at Rex in annoyance. She rummaged through her pack, searching for a spare cleaning wipe. Locating one, she proceeded to throughly clean her face.

Rex set to cleaning his armor, chuckling with amusement as he removed the goo from his amor. When Ahsoka would glare at him, he seemed to find that even more entertaining, so she just ignored him. He seemed so enthralled by the whole experience, she wondered if he was going to get a tattoo to mark the experience or paint one of the LAATs with a huge flaming spider.

# # #


	8. Chapter 8 Human Shields

_**Updated: September 13, 2013.**_

_**Chapter 8**_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

Less than half an hour later, Ahsoka had nearly finished setting up their camp. Rex had grown silent again, positioning himself up against a cave wall cleaning off his armor. Ahsoka had to admit she'd been somewhat grateful for the diversion the spider had provided since it had temporarily lightened Rex's mood. He seemed to have a fondness for detonations. Although, she'd noticed that was a common themes with all clones. She positioned the two portable lights from their camping gear in strategic positions around the cave.

"How's that?" she asked, trying to draw Rex out of his silence.

It took the clone captain a long moment to look up for what he was doing. He seemed to be completely lost in his thoughts. He blinked, and then seemed to register that she'd spoken. He looked around and then nodded, reaching up to switch off the twin headlamps on his helmet.

"Hand me your bedroll," Ahsoka said. "I'll set the beds up over here."

She pointed to a spot toward the middle of the cave, away from the damp walls. She planned to put their bedrolls side-by-side. Clone brothers always slept side-by-side, and Ahsoka generally slept right alongside either her Master, or the clone troops. She had no intention of sleeping anyplace except right by Rex's side.

Rex reached into his pack and grabbed out the compact bedroll. He tossed it easily and accurately to Ahsoka and then went back to cleaning his armor. She had thought he was going to completely tune her out again, so she was surprised when he spoke, "Commander, when we return to _The Resolute_, you must not, under any circumstances, tell any of my men that you _carried_me."

Ahsoka blinked at him, and then couldn't help herself, she laughed.

Rex glared at her. He was absolutely serious.

"OK, OK," Ahsoka said, trying to put on a straight face, "the officially story is you hopped across TriLuna, all by yourself. Shattered leg and all. Yes?"

Rex gave a grave nod, "Exactly. Thank you, Commander."

"Don't mention it," Ashoka said, although she was having difficulties not rolling her eyes at Rex's stubbornness.

He put back on his cleaned armor and starting disassembling his blasters to clean them. Normally, the action seemed to soothe him, but now she could sense he was agitated. Having nothing else to do, she sat on her bedroll and watched him work. He quickly finished one blaster and then set to work on the other. Once finished, he put the blasters back in their holsters, then took them out, checked the charge settings and put them back. He crossed his arms restlessly, blew out a long breath irritably, then took his blasters out of their holsters' again, and checked the charge settings again. She could feel the undercurrent of tension running through him. He was growing increasingly frustrated at not being mobile.

"Rex?" she ventured from her bedroll.

"What?" he snapped, pulling his blaster out again, and starting to disassemble it once again.

She considered sending him some calming feelings through the Force, but decided against it at the moment. The timing didn't seem right. She tried to think of the right words to make the situation better, but came up blank. "Ah..."

Rex stared at her, the expression on his face less than pleasant. "What is it, Commander?"

A voice on Rex's comlink interrupted the tense moment.

"Captain Rex, this is General Kenobi. Do you copy?"

Rex immediately brought his wristlink up to his mouth, and in his normal crisp command voice said, "Rex here, General."

"What's your status?" the Jedi Master asked.

Rex's voice was all calm and professional, with no hints of agitation as he reported in to Kenobi. "Mission completed, sir."

"That is good news. Well done, both of you. What's your position now?"

If the clone captain was pleased by the praise, he didn't show it. He was completely stoic as he reported in, "We've taken shelter in a cave in the hills for the night. We're on track to meet you at the RV tomorrow."

"Yes, well, we have to push back the RV time," said Master Kenobi's voice over the comm. Ahsoka's eyes grew wide and alarmed, and her gaze immediately flew to Rex's splinted and bandaged leg.

Rex calmly responded: "Acknowledged. Is everything alright, sir?"

"It is taking longer than expected to make these two factories go away. There are prisoners inside. Human shields. We believe they are our own troopers."

"There are _clones_ held prisoner inside the factories?" Rex questioned, a hint of anger in his voice, showing the first emotion he'd had in the entire conversation.

"Yes, Cody did some scouting around. A large number of them, too," said Master Kenobi.

Rex's fists clenched and unclenched against the floor of the cave, before he asked, "What's your plan, General?"

"We'd like to attempt to free the prisoners before we blow the factory. Since you're done over there, we could use your assistance."

Rex sucked in his breath. Ahsoka saw his body immediately go taught, and felt tension ripple through him.

Ahsoka immediately intervened: "Rex is injured, Master."

Cody's voice immediately cut into the comm: _"_What happened?"

Rex shot Ahsoka an impatient look. Ahsoka gave him a look back that said: 'what was I supposed to do?'

"Rex? Ahsoka?" Cody prompted.

"Yeah, Cody, we're here," Rex said, unfolding his arms so he could speak properly into his comlink, "Intel was off. All the droids were not in the factory when it blew. We ended up in a heavy firefight and I was ambushed by commando droids."

"Commando droids?" Cody questioned, "again?"

Ahsoka could feel the tension and frustration rippling through Rex again at Cody's comment.

"Yes," Rex growled, "again."

But, she had no choice. She had to continue on and tell Cody and Obi Wan the rest of it.

"There's more," said Ahsoka.

"Commander," Rex said in a warning tone.

Ahsoka wouldn't meet his eyes. She had to do this.

"Ahsoka, what is it?" Obi Wan asked, the concern apparent in his voice.

"It's not an ordinary wound. He was hit with a clone-shredder round," Ahsoka said, slowly and carefully, so that there could be no misunderstanding.

There was silence on the other end of the comm. It went on for so long that the padawan wondered if they had lost the connection. Finally, Master Kenobi came back on. "Ahsoka, how bad is it?"

"It's _bad_," Ahsoka said, "went right through his knee. He can't move his leg at all."

Obi Wan came on the line: "I'm going to call Anakin."

The comlink call ended. Rex just stared at Ahsoka for a moment, and then turned his face away from her, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Rex," she said, quietly, "I had to tell them."

She didn't think he was going to respond, so she was surprised when he actually answered. When he spoke, his voice wasn't angry. It was almost devoid of emotion entirely, which was worse. "No. You didn't have to tell them. About the clone shredder. Now, Obi Wan and Cody are trying to arrange transport for me, rather than focusing on their end of their mission."

Ahsoka looked directly at Rex: "I won't apologize for trying to save your life, Rex."

He shook his head sadly, "You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" Ahsoka looked at him, confused.

His voice was still completely devoid of emotion, "It's not about me. About us. The clones." He made a vague empty gesture with one hand, then let his hand fall limply to his lap. "The mission. It has to come first, otherwise when we die, we die for nothing." He looked directly at her, "When you take that away from us, you dishonor everything we stand for." He looked at her, and shook his head again.

Ahsoka felt a sinking feeling in her gut, like she'd horribly disappointed Rex. She wanted to fix things, but she didn't know how. "Rex, I'm sorry. I..."

The clone captain just shook his head and then turned his face away to stare at the cave wall again.

Rex's comlink chirped again a few minutes later. "Captain Rex, come in," said Obi Wan.

"Rex here, General."

"I just spoke to Anakin. I've made him aware of your situation. Unfortunately, he's completely tied up at the moment. The Separatists have fully engaged him. His diversionary tactics have worked a bit too well, I'm afraid. We both feel that any air traffic coming or going from the planet would very likely be shot down."

"Understood," said Rex, in his usual crisp, professional tone. His voice was completely different than the tone he'd used with Ahsoka just a moment before. "I'll be fine, General. Not to worry, sir. I'm sorry I can't be there to help with your end of the mission."

"I wish you were here, too, Rex. You're a good man in a fight."

"Thank you, sir."

"We'll rendezvous directly at your position once we've blown the factories, and liberated the prisoners. Not necessarily in that order."

"I'll be expecting you well before breakfast time, then, sir," said Rex, deadpan.

Both Obi Wan and Cody laughed.

"Good luck, sir," said Rex, and Ahsoka was able to detect the undercurrent of emotion in his voice this time.

"Thank you, Captain. Rest up. We'll be with you as soon as we possibly can," said Obi Wan.

"Ahsoka, take good care of the Captain," Obi Wan instructed.

"I will, Master," Ahsoka promised.

"K'oyaci, Rex," said Cody.

A ripple of emotion passed across Rex's face. "You, too, Cody." He closed the connection, ending the call.

# # #


	9. Chapter 9 Burn

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 9**_

Rex sagged back against the damp wall of the cave. Ahsoka could clearly tell he troubled by the whole exchange with Master Kenobi and Cody. She knew that he felt it was his _duty_ to be helping free the clone prisoners, and not doing so, was a failure on his part. She sat down next to him, also leaning back against the wall. It was uncomfortable against her back and she shivered from the dampness. "It'll all work out, Rex."

Rex glanced over at her for just a moment, and then lifted one armored shoulder in a shrug. "Yes, Commander," he said politely, but without much enthusiasm.

Several minutes passed as they just sat there, and Ahsoka felt herself grow more and more chilled from the damp wall against her back. "Rex?" she finally said.

He glanced over at her again and raised up an eyebrow.

"What does 'K'oyaci' mean?" Ahsoka asked, pronouncing the unfamiliar word carefully.

Rex tilted his head to the side as he looked to her. "It has multiple meanings. Good luck. Hope you survive. Don't get your fool self killed. Mando'a is a colorful language."

"Ah," Ahsoka answered. She'd often considered learning the ancient language, but hadn't wanted to intrude upon something that seemed private to the clones.

After several more minutes, Rex shifted uncomfortably, grimacing as he moved his leg. Ahsoka could feel his pain levels were spiking up again and she immediately went to check the status of his injury. She reached into her pack for the medkit and laid it out on the ground next to the splint on Rex's leg. She set to work undoing all of the gauze again. The sealed bandage underneath was completely ballooned up with blood again.

"Rex, this is no good," Ahsoka shook her head, "you're still bleeding out. The sealant isn't doing its' job."

As she watched, Rex pulled his helmet back on and switched on the headlamps to provide better lighting. He studied his knee.

"The wound just won't clot," Ahsoka shook her head, worriedly.

He tilted his head and his voice took on an eerie calm, even with the filtered sound coming through the helmet, "You're going to have to stop the bleeding, Commander."

"How?" Ahsoka stared down at the wound, "I've already tried everything in the medkit. The only other thing I have with me is my lightsaber-" She cut off as a horrified thought struck her. "Oh no, Rex. You couldn't possibly be thinking-"

He switched off the headlamps, and pulled the helmet off. Her gaze suddenly flew to his and she saw the calm, emotionless look in his face. It was the same one he always had when about to go meet the enemy in battle when facing impossible odds.

"No, Rex. Don't ask me to do this," Ahsoka pleaded.

Rex held out his hand, "Give it to me. I'll do it."

"You can't," Ahsoka gasped, "You'll pass out and cut your own leg off!""

Rex continued to hold his hand out, and look directly at her patiently waiting. The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly.

"OK, I'll do it," Ahsoka said, in a tortured whisper.

Rex gave her a slow, respectful nod and then leaned his head back. "Thank you."

"N- now?" Ahsoka asked hesitantly. "You want to do it now?"

Rex grimaced again from the pain, "Waiting is not going to make this any easier."

Ahsoka checked her chrono, "It's too soon to give you another full dose of painkiller. Perhaps I could give you a half-dose before we do this..."

Rex shook his head. "No. No more. At some point during this I'll likely pass out anyway."

"Great. Just great. I'm liking this more and more," Ahsoka said, dryly, already feeling her stomach knotting up with tension.

"Commander, this will work. Have confidence in yourself," his voice as calm as if he were coaching a bunch of shinies before a battle.

Ahsoka couldn't believe he was giving her a pep talk before _this_.

He gestured to how he was already sitting, "This is fine. Commander, just get it done."

Ahsoka nodded her head so vigorously she felt her montrals shake. She spread out their bedrolls onto either side of him, so no matter which way he fell when he passed out, he'd have something soft to land on. Rex put his helmet back on.

She unclipped her light saber from her belt, and placed it down next to her, on one of the bedrolls. She grabbed her Jedi robe, and tore a few more strips from it.

"OK, here goes," she said.

Rex was silent. Ahsoka knew why he put his helmet back on - he was trying to make things easier on her again. His helmet was sound-proofed. He was sparing her from hearing him scream when she applied the light saber to his leg.

She wanted to tell him to take the helmet off. She felt that if he was going to suffer this much, then she should suffer, too, and hear his screams. But, part of her knew that Rex would then just try to hold everything back, and probably bite through his tongue or something. He would be protective of her no matter what.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, then removed the sealed bandage from Rex's knee. Rex started, and jerked his leg. He didn't make a sound, but she could feel how much the movement hurt him.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said.

"No, it's OK," Rex gasped out, "I'm good."

The pooled blood ran down his leg. Ahsoka gently cleaned some of it away so she could get a better view of his knee. But, as soon as she started to touch too close to the knee wound itself, Rex's whole leg jerked in reaction. She'd feel his pain levels spike at the same time. The damaged nerves were firing erratically.

"Rex, no!"

Halfway through the burn, Rex reached his hand directly into the path of the lightsaber.

# # #


	10. Chapter 10 After burn

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 10**

"Rex, no!"

Ahsoka was concentrating intently on cauterizing the wound with her lightsaber. Her focus was so single-minded that she almost didn't catch Rex's hand reaching up to push away the lightsaber from his leg.

She sent a forced command into his mind, '_Sleep!'_ Normally that command knocked non-Force sensitives out immediately. But, she felt Rex's body freeze up, and hesitate in confusion. _'Commander?'_ he questioned back.

Ahsoka gritted her teeth in frustration, not even able to comprehend how he was able to respond back. Leave it to Rex to be difficult now of all times. She sent the command again. _'Sleep!' _

Rex's head drooped in response. It seemed to Ahsoka that he had been close to passing out anyway. She finished cauterizing the wound, and then shut her lightsaber off. She set it down on the cave floor, not wanting to touch the weapon at the moment. She reached up and grabbed Rex by the shoulders and eased him off to the side so that he was more comfortably laying on one of the bedrolls. Then, she just leaned down on top of him, taking several long heaving breaths.

The cave smelled like burnt flesh. Ahsoka's stomach churned at the smell. She refused to allow herself to get sick. _I did what I had to do to save Rex's life.  
_  
She retrieved the field medical kit, and checked Rex's vital signs. Heart rate: strong and steady. Respiration: normal. Blood pressure: as near to perfect as a human can have, perfectly normal for a clone. Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief, everything looked good.

_Oh, wait, almost forgot body temperature._

She reached inside Rex's bodysuit so that she could place a body temperature sensor right up against his skin. She frowned when she got the reading back.

_Elevated body temperature. Is it hot in here? _

As a Togrutan, she naturally ran hot and was resistant to temperature changes. As she focused her senses, she realized it was definitely on the cool side. Ahsoka rummaged through the medical kit, frowning. _There's almost nothing left in here. Oh, come on, there must be at least a dose or two of antibiotics in here... _

Ahsoka found what she was looking for and pulled two syringes up to the light, checking dosages. She injected one directly into his leg, and saved the other for later. She leaned back against the cave wall, taking another moment to rest.

"Ah, Rex, how do we always manage to get ourselves into these messes, huh?" Ahsoka said, gazing at Rex's unconscious form. She wrinkled her nose. The smell of burnt flesh wasn't a new smell to Ahsoka. It was a common enough battle smell.

When Ahsoka had first met Rex on Christophsis, Rex had told her that 'experience outranked everything.' Over the course of her first few weeks, she had quickly learned many things about battle, such as battles smell awful. Human bodies sliced, blown and burnt open had an unforgettable smell.

But, it did feel different somehow since the burnt flesh belonged to Rex and she'd been the one who'd burned him. She'd applied the light saber lightly, in a grid-like pattern, forming a square. She effectively sealed off the large area that had still been bleeding out. The wound was finally sealed. Ahsoka had been shaking internally while she did it, but, outwardly she was deadly calm. Her hands were completely steady. She'd applied her saber with the utmost care and precision just as she made been trained to since she was a young child.

Still, somehow this felt like one of the hardest tasks she'd ever been called upon to do as a Jedi. Even though she'd tried to apply to the saber as lightly as possibly, trying not to burn him too deeply, she worried about the long-term effects. What if Rex had permanent damage from this? What happened to clones who were too injured to fight? Ahsoka didn't even want to pursue that line of thinking. It was too awful to contemplate.

Ahsoka shuddered as she thought of Rex's hand reaching right into the path of the lightsaber blade trying to push it away. The pain must have been getting too much to bear. Either consciously or subconsciously, he was trying to push away the instrument that was torturing him. It was then that the strangest thing had happened. Rex had responded back to her through the Force link. Ahsoka had heard his voice in her mind, as clearly as if she was communicating with her Master. She had no explanation for it.

She gave him another sharp of painkiller because she couldn't bear the thought of him being in pain when he woke up. As soon as she gave him the dose, she heard Rex's voice warning her about timing the doses too close together. When had she given him the last dose? She tried to do the mental calculations in her head, but she was too exhausted to think at the moment.

She decided to head outside to meditate to try to clear her head. Her nerves were totally frayed and she needed to clear her mind. The timing of the painkiller was nagging at the back of her mind, and she wondered if she'd just made a mistake.

_# # #_


	11. Chapter 11 Mistakes

Revised September 14, 2013.

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 11**_

Rex came to slowly, feeling like his consciousness was shrouded in fog. His mouth felt totally dry, and his tongue felt unpleasantly cottonlike. His limbs felt totally weighted down, and he didn't have the strength to move them. He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to cooperate. Last time he'd felt this shabla awful, he'd woken up in a medcenter, pumped full of painkillers. He'd broken a number of bones, the most he'd ever managed to break at one time. His squadron had been on the receiving end of a particularly nasty barrage of artillery shells. He'd lost a number of good men that day, and more were lying badly injured in beds all around him. He had that same feeling of being drugged up now, except he had no memory of being evaced out of a battle someplace. Rex took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. He inhaled cold, musty damp air, where he expected to smell the familiar anti-septic smell of a Republic medical facility.

Rex tried again to open his eyes, but his heavy eyelids refused to cooperate. The musty smell reminded him of the monastery at Teth.

_Teth!_

Rex fell headlong into a flashback of Teth. Dark, bitter memories came flooding back at him with a rush of adrenaline. In his mind's eye, he saw Torrent Squadron barricading themselves inside the monastery.

Through a bleary, drugged, pain-filled haze, Rex saw the door of the monastery implode in. Super battle droids came in, like something out of a nightmare, wave after wave, systemically cutting down all of Torrent Squadron. Rex relived every death, watching his brothers die. He heard their pained cries as they were hit, and crumpled down to the damp, musty stone floor to die.

No! Rex's mind began to rebel, trying to reshape the reality. He had replayed, and relived, this scene so many times in his mind. He'd come to the guilt-ridden realization that he should have set explosive charges by the door of the monastery. The roof would have come down on the battle droids when they broke through the door, and many more of his men would've been spared.

_Maybe it's not too late! _Rex realized with a sudden rush of adrenaline. _I can still set those charges! _Adrenaline pumping, Rex scrambled to his feet, throwing himself upwards with a battle cry. His battle cry immediately mingled in with a cry of pain as Rex's shattered leg collapsed under him.

Ahsoka was sitting outside, knees drawn up to her chin, when she heard Rex's blood curdling cry. She rushed back into the cave, and saw Rex curled up into a ball, eyes squeezed shut. He was clutching at his leg, his face drawn tight with pain. He was in so much pain at the moment, that he couldn't think or focus on his surroundings. Ahsoka felt his distress, and force-leapt to Rex's side to get there faster. She grabbed him by the shoulder, intent on offering him help as soon as possible.

Rex felt somebody jump on him. He was still completely lost in his flashback on Teth. Someone was attacking him! Ventress! Instinct took over and Rex reached for his blasters. Rex reared up wildly, grabbing Ahsoka. He drew one of his blasters, and shoved it right up against Ahsoka's forehead.

"Rex!" Ahsoka shouted.

The clone captain's finger trembled on the trigger, a micro-second from firing.

"Rex!" Ahsoka shouted again.

Rex opened his eyes, blinking rapidly.

Ahsoka reached out to him with the Force. He was blocking her out. She couldn't get through to him.

"Rex!" she shouted again, "Rex! It's me, Ahsoka!"

She tried again to reach him with the Force, but his mind was completely shielded.

"Rex! It's me, Ahsoka!"

Ahsoka saw recognition sink into Rex's eyes. His hand shook wildly and then he tossed the gun away. He fell backwards against the cave floor. Ahsoka was still pinned tightly against his chest by one of his arms.

"Fierfek! I almost killed you!" Rex shouted, angrily.

Rex lay back, and put one hand across his eyes, as if the light was suddenly too bright for him. He was breathing raggedly. Ahsoka was still lying across his chest. His face contorted in a grimace, and he gritted his teeth. He began to clench and unclench his hands again. Rex tried to stifle his groan, but couldn't quite manage it. She wondered if he was even aware that he was holding her splayed across his chest. Ahsoka knew more painkillers were out of the question, but, there was another way she could comfort him, if he would allow it.

"Rex," she said gently, "I know you're hurting. You're badly injured. Let me help you, please. I can only help you if you let me in. Please, let me do this."

Ahsoka gently placed one hand on his forehead.

She reached out to him with the Force, but, she felt that odd shield up in his mind again. _How does he do that? Figure that out later. He's in terrible pain, right now._

"Rex, let me help," Ahsoka reached up with her other hand, and ran it across his scalp. Rex shivered at her touch. She reached out to him with the Force, again. With her other hand, she kept massaging his scalp, and then brought her hand forward, working the relaxation points on either side of his temple. She felt Rex relax under her hands. His pain filled eyes met hers, and finally he nodded his head. She reached out to him with the Force again, and finally connected with him. She drew her breath in sharply. It was not what she expected at all. Connecting with Rex was not like connecting with other non-Force users. But, it also did not feel like connecting with fellow Jedi.

This connection was different than any connection she'd ever felt before. She didn't know quite what it meant with regards to a Force connection. She worked with Rex, going deep down into his leg, showing him how she calmed down the muscles that were spasming out of control. Rex learned very quickly.

She took Rex's pain and shared it between them. Rex initially resisted, but, through her gentle persistence, finally relented to equal sharing. Once they were sharing the pain, she was able to show Rex how to compartmentalize the pain so it was not so overwhelming. She was even able show Rex how she used the Force to take pain and use it as an ally. Ahsoka had never been able to share anything like this with anyone outside the Jedi order.

It was strangely intimate.

Ahsoka felt a twisting binding interconnection between her and Rex. The longer she held the connection, the stronger it became. She was puzzled by this connection between her and Rex, but thrilled by it at the same time.

As Rex's pain eased, she felt his entire body relax. He still didn't seem to be aware that she was splayed across his chest.

She reached her hand down and grabbed Rex's hand. After a moment's hesitation, she felt his strong, much larger hand, completely intertwine with hers. They were completely connected. She opened her eyes. Rex was looking at her with his beautiful brown expressive eyes.

Ahsoka removed her hand from his forehead, and gently ran it down the side of his face. Rex's eyes widened in surprise at her touch, but he didn't object. Ahsoka continued to explore the lines of his beautiful, exotic face with her hand.

Rex continued to watch her curiously. He seemed amused. When she gently cupped his cheek with her hand, he leaned slightly in to her touch. She pulled herself up his body a little bit so that she could more easily explore his face, careful not to touch his injured leg at all. When her body dragged across his, he sucked in his breath sharply. But, she could tell it was not from being in pain. She saw passion flare in his brown eyes, and it gave her a great sense of satisfaction.

Ahsoka smiled, supremely pleased with his reaction. The other clones gave her heated looks, but, not Rex. He always barked at the men when they looked at her that way, although, he'd find some other excuse to yell at them. She traced the outline of each of his eyebrows. He closed his eyes. She leisurely explored the blond stubble on top of his head. By scooting up on his body, she had placed them face-to-face. It had gotten to the point where Ahsoka had been going out of her way to show off some of her better attributes around Rex. Frustratingly enough, he never seemed to notice. Ahsoka had begun to think the man was made of stone.

Rex's eyes were staring at her with an intensity she'd never seen in them before. She leaned toward Rex, bringing her face closer to his. She hesitated just a few inches from his face, trembling and afraid. She knew she was about to cross a line from which there was no turning back.

Rex watched her carefully. Ahsoka hesitated, so uncertain, about making this final leap. Rex just watched her curiously, patient as always.

He was allowing Ahsoka to decide on her own if she wanted to cross this line.

The moment seemed to hang between them suspended in eternity.

Rex's comlink beeped, startling both of them. Ahsoka and Rex just stared at each other, frozen in what they were doing, unsure what to do about it.

The comlink beeped a second time, sounding louder than it had ever sounded before.

"Rex, come in. This is General Skywalker."

The clone captain just stared at his comm like he'd never seen it before.

"Rex, this is General Skywalker, come in. _Rex, are you there_?" Anakin's voice sounded genuinely worried.

The clone captain awkwardly shifted his arm, having to move Ahsoka (still on his chest) before he could get his comm to his lips. "Rex here, General." It was the first time Ahsoka could ever remember hearing Rex sounding less than composed when he answered a comm.

"Rex!" Anakin exclaimed, "are you alright? I was getting worried when you didn't answer the comm. What's your status? Where's Ahsoka?" Rex could hear background sounds of a starfighter's engines being pushed to their absolute limits. He could hear the sounds of shields absorbing heavy fire.

"She's right here, sir," Rex glanced down at Ahsoka still splayed across his chest, not showing any signs of wanting to move or get up. "Status: Mission complete. Factory is destroyed. We found shelter near the RV site. Standing by."

"Excellent work on the factory, Rex," General Skywalker said, as the sounds of discharger shields and laser fire intensified, "Whoa!" There was a pause and Rex could tell the space battle was absolutely intense. "I'm sorry we can't get down there to evac you out. Obi Wan updated me on your medical situation. Hang on a sec." There was the sound of engines screaming way past the point of design specs. "Hang in there. We'll get you out as soon as we can. Ah! Blast. Have to go. Skywalker out." The comm cut out abruptly.

The call from General Skywalker had immediately cut through the previous pleasant bubble surrounding Rex and Ahsoka. The clone captain bodily lifted the commander off his chest using just his upper body strength, and set her aside as if she'd just fallen there by accident. "Commander," he said stiffly and formally, and then turned his face away.

"Rex," Ahsoka said, in a voice that clearly said '_we should talk about what just happened._'

The 501st captain gave her a stern look and just shook his head, making it clear that the matter was not up for discussion.

# # #


	12. Chapter 12 Sunset

_Updated: September 14, 2013_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 12**

After the call from her Master, Rex ignored Ahsoka until he eventually fell asleep again. Ahsoka didn't think she'd be able to rest at all. Her mind was racing with what had _almost_ happened. But, the moment she laid her head down on her bedroll and closed her eyes, she was out. She woke up hours later to the slight sounds of Rex trying to get up without waking her up. She had to give him credit. Even with his armor on, he was almost completely silent when he moved. It must be yet another skill they learned during their long training at Kamino. If it wasn't for the slight pained exhales of breath he was making as he was trying to stand, she would never have heard him. But, he couldn't get any weight on his leg, and sweat was already breaking out on his brow as he attempted to get up.

Her eyes popped open: "Going somewhere, Rex?"

Rex started at the sound of her voice. He let out an annoyed sound of defeat, "Fek."

He'd made it as far as getting to one knee and had dragged his injured leg out straight in front of him. Ahsoka knew how hard it was to be laid up for hours at a time.

"Just where are we going?" she asked, sympathetically.

"I have to..." his face went red with embarrassment. His eyes briefly met her eyes before he looked away again. He looked miserable. Ahsoka instantly understood and didn't make him elaborate any further.

She sprang lightly to her feet, "OK, then. We'll go out and take care of... this. You can't walk on your leg. I'll carry you. Let me get you into a good position to lift you."

Rex instantly shied away from her, backing up to the cave wall, "No. Absolutely not." His voice dropped at least an octave into his deepest command tone. "You will not be carrying me outside for _this_. I will walk."

"Rex, be reasonable," as soon as the words left Ahsoka's lips, she realized she was setting herself up for a battle.

"It is bad enough that you carried me away from the battle site," Rex grumbled.

"When you were unconscious," Ahsoka pointed out.

"But, you will not carry me now," Rex insisted.

"Despite the shattered leg?" Ahsoka blew out a breath and tried once again to reason with the stubborn captain, "Rex, it's just you and me here. No one will ever know."

"_I_ will know," Rex insisted. Their eyes met and locked and she realized he was not going to back down on this issue.

"Fine," Ahsoka said, "let's go before I change my mind."

Rex gave a solemn nod and leaned forward again so that Ahsoka could help him up.

"How's the leg?" Ahsoka asked, deciding it was best to switch to a different topic.

The clone captain stood up with her assistance. "Better. Thank you, Commander. I can't feel as much in my knee. It's kind of... numb."

Ahsoka handed Rex his rifle, so he could use it for support on one side. Rex slung his other arm over her shoulder. She wasn't sure how to react to Rex's news. If he couldn't feel the pain receptors in some parts of his knee, did that mean he now had nerve damage? Ahsoka felt sick with dread at the thought. She knew that some forms of nerve damage were irreversible.

Rex leaned leaved very heavily on Ahsoka, and their progress was slow. But, they finally made their way out of the cave and Rex kept all his weight off his shattered leg.

The sun was high in the sky now, obscuring TriLuna's famous moons from view. Rex and Ahsoka stood at the mouth of the cave for a moment looking out at the planet.

"Not much to look at," said Ahsoka, surveying the trees, rock, bushes and scrub grass that made up TriLuna.

"_That's_ a good sight," Rex said, pointing out toward the ruins of the warehouse, still smoldering.

Ahsoka took a moment to admire the results of their work, staring at the smoke still wisping up into the atmosphere. She couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness, though, knowing how badly injured Rex had gotten as a result of the mission. Rex picked up on her mood.

"It'll be OK, Commander," Rex said, quietly.

Ahsoka turned, her blue eyes wide and unsure, betraying her vulnerability. She looked down at his leg worriedly, "Rex, what happens if..."

She couldn't go on, because her eyes were welling up with tears. She stood there for what seemed like an eternity just letting the tears spill out. Then, she felt Rex slowly pull her against his armored chest and lightly wrap his arms against her. She wouldn't exactly call it a hug, because she'd received tighter embraces from Fives and Hardcase at times. But, it was comforting, all the same. Rex had always been her rock. Ashoka felt like she leaned on him too much, literally.

She blew out a sigh. "Come on, let's get you to your bushes, and then back to bed."

Rex didn't say anything and she noticed his face was flushed.

"Rex, are you sure you're OK?" Ahsoka asked, pulling away from him, and peering up at him.

Rex turned his face away, and jammed his helmet on.

"I'm fine," he said, almost testily.

She wondered what was up with him _now_. She helped him over to the bushes. The wind was starting to pick up, rattling through the trees and scrub brush.

"You can leave me," Rex said, waiting for Ahsoka to go away. There was still something there to his voice, something completely off.

Ahsoka looked like she was going to protest, so Rex cut her off. "Go, commander!" She walked back over to the entrance of the cave, and gave Rex his privacy.

"Commander," Rex called out a moment later, indicating he was done and needed help getting back to the cave. He was holding on to a tree for support, and his hands were trembling.

"You, OK?" Ahsoka asked.

"Just tired," Rex said, his voice sounding not quite himself.

Rex was completely silent on the walk back into the cave. His movements began to get slower and less coordinated. He stumbled once, which was definitely an odd thing for Rex. He always seemed to move with an effortless grace, even when he was injured.

He stumbled again before he reached his bedroll, almost taking Ahsoka down with him. "Almost there," Ahsoka said, encouraging him on. Ahsoka felt Rex getting weaker and weaker. It reinforced her belief that this trip outside had been a very bad idea, but she decided to save her lecture on his stupidity for later. She tried to lower Rex gently onto his bedroll, but he tried to do it himself. He ended up more crashing down, than lying down. Rex let out a pained grunt, as he hit the cave floor.

"Rex!" Ahsoka knelt down next to Rex, panic welling up within her.

"Fek," Rex grumbled, and then proceeded to mumbled a few other words under his breath that she couldn't even begin to translate. Even through his helmet, his voice sounded off.

"Is it your leg?" Ahsoka asked, kneeling down beside him. He hadn't seemed to hit his leg when he went down.

Rex shook his head, and tried to roll onto his side. "No, something's... wrong."

Ahsoka felt a stabbing fear of panic run through her. He finished rolling onto his side, facing the cave wall, away from Ahsoka.

"Rex, your helmet. You're not planning on sleeping in it, are you?"

He reached up, fumbling with the seal, his movements becoming less and less coordinated. Ahsoka helped him take it off, and set it aside. Even in the uneven lighting of the cave, Ahsoka could see that his face was completely pale. She gasped. His eyes met Ahsoka's, and she could see that his eyes were bright with fever. He closed his eyes, shivering with exhaustion. Ahsoka grabbed him by the shoulders and rolled him back onto his back so that she could reach him more easily. He didn't protest. He just rolled compliantly under her arms. She grabbed out the medpack and began taking his vitals.

"Rex, you're burning up! Why didn't you tell me?"

He reached one hand up to Ahsoka, but his movements were uncoordinated and his hand dropped limply down again. Ahsoka sat beside Rex, temporarily paralyzed by fear. She couldn't even think of what to do. She should have expected something like this. Rex had enjoyed a temporary improvement, like being caught in the eye of a storm. Rex now looked so deathly ill, his face so white and still.

She stared down at his pale, feverish face, and cupped a hand to his cheek. "Rex, please, hang in there," she begged his unconscious form. Ahsoka grabbed her Jedi robe - the robe she used so little. The last time she remembered wearing it was in the gunship on the way to Teth. Her master was standing on one side of her, and Rex was standing on the other side of her, telling _her_ to hang on. He'd always been there for her.

Ahsoka began to tear her robe into usable strips. Her Jedi robe was made of tough, reinforced fibers. It wasn't easy to tear. But, with time and persistence, she tore more and more off of it, anyway. She tore off strip after strip, until finally, her Jedi robe was just a bunch of shredded fragments. She tossed these scraps aside, where they fell, discarded and forgotten.


	13. Chapter 13 Fever

_Updated: September 15, 2013._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 13**

Rex was running a fever. Ahsoka had given him the second and last shot of antibiotic from the medical kits. She furrowed her brow as she did a quick inventory of the medical supplies. They were out of almost everything. She wondered how Master Kenobi and Commander Cody were with the mission to rescue the clones and blow up the factories.

_Not to rush you, Master, _Ahsoka thought worriedly, _but, I think Rex might be in real trouble._

Ahsoka used the remaining water from her canteen to soak strips torn from her robe. She shook the canteen, judging its' remaining contents. Right. Of course. And, she was running out of water, too. She picked up Rex's canteen. There was a small amount of water left in his canteen, but she wanted to save that for Rex to drink when he woke up.

_I'll have to find a source of water locally to replenish the canteens. But, that will mean leaving Rex alone and unattended._

Ahsoka methodically washed Rex's face, head, and neck, trying to cool down his fever. Each time she finished, she dipped the strips in water, and started again. Rex began to murmur restlessly in his sleep. Ahsoka felt his brow again.

_Sith spit! His fever is spiking even higher!_

Ahsoka removed his chest, arm and hand armor, then carefully rolled him onto his side, so she could remove the back gription plates as well. Once all the gription plates were off, she removed his tight-fitting, black undersuit. Ahsoka had helped with enough emergency triage on the battlefield over the past year that she knew the all the ins and outs of clone armor.

In the beginning, the clones had tried to protect her modesty, and shooed her away. But, she kept coming back, wanting to help. Feeling the pain coming off the injured clones, she _needed _to help. After the first few weeks, the five oh first had gotten accustomed to having her around and once she'd proven herself as competent as any trooper in battle, they'd treated her as one of their own. Somehow, this felt different as she took off Rex's armor. Everything always felt different when it was Rex.

She felt nervous as she undressed Rex, which she knew made no sense. She was his medic, until they evaced back to _the Resolute_. So, while he was unconscious, it was her job to tend to all parts of him that needed tending. So, there was no reason she should feel uncomfortable about performing these tasks. But, her common sense, her brain, and her body just didn't seem to be on speaking terms at the moment.

She'd seen Rex's bare chest before, but, not too often. Just a flash, here and there, when he was suiting up. But, there was one notable exception- a most memorable incident in the workout room. Ahsoka smiled, as she remembered how annoyed Rex had gotten with her that day.

They were on _the_ _Resolute_, enjoying a rare bit of downtime between engagements. It was early in the morning, and Ahsoka had headed to the workout/training room to practice her katas. She thought she'd have the room to herself. But, when she'd arrived, Rex was already there, busily engaged in a training session with men from Torrent Squadron. They were all bare chested, focused intently on one-on-one wrestling matches and some sort of hand-to-hand combat that involved a lot of body-slamming, grunting, and falling to the floor. It all looked exhausting, difficult and painful, and yet, they seemed to be having a good time of it. Typical.

After a brief glance and shaking her head in bewilderment, Ahsoka just smiled and then walked right by them. She headed to the corner of the room where she always practiced her katas. She pulled her exercise mat off its' hook on the wall, and dropped it on the floor. She removed her shoes, and stepped onto her mat. Then, she bent over, and leisurely began stretching out her sinewy muscles.

She sensed somebody behind her. From her upside down position, she peeked between her knees to see who was watching her. Rex stood directly right behind her, arms folded across his bare, glistening chest. He looked decidedly annoyed.

"What's up, Rex?" Ahsoka asked from her upside-down position. Rex jerked his head off to the side, indicated he needed to talk to her. Ahsoka slowly straightened, vertebrae-by-vertebrae, and then gracefully spun around to face him.

Behind Rex, Ahsoka noticed a good number of the men had stopped their wrestling matches, and instead, were observing her. Ahsoka attributed their attention to her new workout attire. She had sewn it herself, using some spare material. Normally, Jedi try to keep their possessions to a bare minimum, but, well, this was spare material was just going to be discarded anyway. Ahsoka didn't see any harm in having a few extra workout outfits. Surely a few little outfits weren't the path to the Dark Side! Ahsoka felt she had a hidden, untapped talent when it came to both designing, and sewing fashionable, workout attire. Her form fitting workout wear was not only comfortable, but made her feel sleek and graceful. It was almost a shame, really, that she was a Jedi, and could not share this particular talent with a wider audience.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noted a number of Rex's men eyeing her outfit appreciatively. _  
_

"You can't be in here," Rex said firmly, in his deep baritone.

"And, why not?" Ahsoka challenged, folding her arms across her chest, in an unconscious imitation of Rex's stance.

"You're, ah, distracting the men," Rex growled out.

Ahsoka suddenly became aware that crossing her arms across her chest pushed her breasts up to the upper limit of her form-fitting halter top. To her amusement, she noticed even Rex's gaze briefly strayed over her fabric straining, breast-accentuating attire.

She subtly took a deeper breath, throwing her shoulders back just a little bit more. Her bosom pushed forward just that much further. _  
_

"We're training in here," Rex stated, his voice sounding strained.

He was now making a point of looking straight ahead, and not down at her outfit.

"I won't get in the way," Ahsoka said, giving Rex a chummy, comforting little pat on his bare bicep.

As Rex watched in dismay, Ahsoka resumed her exercises. She bent over and started doing deep knee-bends. Her form-fitting outfit left little to the imagination. The bottom half was no better than the top. Ahsoka's shapely bottom seemed in danger of escaping out of the tightly fitting material stretched over her rump. Rex turned around and saw that even more of his had stopped their training exercises. They were all just watching Ahsoka do her deep knee bends with silly grins on their faces.

"Get back to training!" Rex barked out. Rex spun back around to face Ahsoka. In the time he had turned his back, Ahsoka had switched over to doing squat thrusts. The squat thrusts were even more outfit- threatening than the deep-knee bends. Her bosom looking in danger of sprouting out her top at any moment. The bottoms looked ready to tear from the strain on the most inadequate and indecent fabric. Rex feared he'd have to stuff portions of her anatomy back into her most unsuitable clothing at any moment.

Rex could see out of the corner of his eye that all of his men had once again paused in their training. This was just too entertaining for them to miss.

Everyone of them were smiling, and intently watching Ahsoka deep-knee bends, their eyes intently tracking each movement. Ahsoka finished her last knee bend and sprang lightly back to her feet. The men all applauded. She smiled, and gave a little wave worthy of a queen holding court. Rex covered his face in frustration as he watched everyone of his men return that silly little wave.

"Body armor," Rex growled, his face still in his hands.

"What?" Ahsoka asked in confusion.

Rex pivoted to face her. His traitorous eyes briefly dipped down to her outfit, before he could get them back up to her face again.

"You need to start wearing body armor- on the battlefield, _and_ here on the ship," Rex said gruffly, "I'll order you some immediately."

"I'll never wear it," Ahsoka said defiantly.

"Oh, you will. If I have to stuff you into it myself!" Rex grabbed Ahsoka firmly by the arm. He studiously avoiding looking at her, and dragged her toward the door, "Come back in two hours. You may have the entire gym to yourself, then."

"Oh, no! I'm working out now!" Ahsoka said, pulling away from Rex. She lifted her arms over her head, and then stretched to the side. All of the men of the five oh first were watching her stretch. She smiled and gave a small wave, and as one, they all waved back. Rex's temper finally snapped. He lifted the commander up and escorted her out into the hallway. He set her down again and released her.

"But, Master told me to practice my Katas everyday!" Ahsoka protested. Being a Jedi, and one very talented in spacial movements, Ahsoka could have escaped Rex's grasp if she wanted to. But, truth be told, she was enjoying this little exchange with Rex.

"And, practice them you shall," Rex said, giving her a formal salute for good measure, "with the entire facility at your disposal, in two hours. Good day, Commander. I will arrange for your armor fitting."

Ahsoka smiled at the memory, as she rested one hand on Rex's hot, fevered chest. She completely dodged all of the armor fittings until Rex gave up.

She sighed and glanced down at his chest. Armor hadn't stopped Rex from getting a good number of scars all over his body. She'd never noticed how many scars he had. Did he have all these scars when she'd seen him bare-chested in the training room? No, she would have noticed that. He must have gained these scars in combat since then. Had the war really been that hard on him in such a short amount of time?

Bacta could heal a great variety of wounds, without leaving a scar behind. But, bacta has its' limitations. It won't prevent scarring if it isn't applied in a timely manner. Rex had a bad habit of putting of always putting his needs last. He'd make sure everyone else was treated before him. And, he was also prone to ignore a wound, not letting on that he'd been injured. He was good at that, always "soldiering on." Having seen all of this new scarring, Ahsoka vowed to keep a closer eye on him. It had to be very painful for Rex to always continue on, even when injured. Why did he drive himself to such extremes? It almost seemed like a form of self-punishment. Ahsoka wondered what demons were haunting Rex that made him drive himself to such extremes.

Ahsoka traced the lines of the scars on his chest as she cooled him down. So many battles tried to imagine a different life for Rex. _Why can't I picture it? _If Rex had a different life, who would watch my back? Who would keep my life out here in the Rim from being endless cycles of dreary tedium? _Come on, Ahsoka, you can't have it both ways. Either Rex has his own life, or he spends his life in servitude to Jedi. Which is it? _

She wondered if any of these clones would ever have a chance at any other sort of life. It seemed like an impossible dream.

She sighed and went back to removing his armor and bodysuit and cooling him down.

# # #


	14. Chapter 14 Trouble

_**Revised: September 14, 2013.**_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 14**

Rex woke up slowly and glanced around. It took him a long moment to figure out where he was. Then, it all came back to him, the factory, the commando droids, the lightsaber... He groaned, and scrubbed at his face with one hand. He glanced over and the commander was instantly by his side.

"Rex?" he glanced up and looked into the concerned face of his commander.

"Eh... Commander," he glanced up at her, wondering why she was _that_ close to him. Normally he preferred a bit of a personal space.

"How are you feeling, Rex?" she asked. The worry in her voice was easy to detect.

Rex did a self-assessment. He'd certainly been better. But, not as bad as before he'd passed out. "Fine," he said, with a nod of his head.

He saw the commander roll her eyes at him. She seemed to do that a lot lately. "I get it. You have two states. 'Fine' and 'Unconscious.' No middle ground with you."

Rex chuckled. His commander did seem to know very well. There was something comforting in the thought. He glanced toward the entrance of the cave and noticed the reddish light coming through. He felt stronger, and never was one for sitting or laying around. "Can we get some air? I think the sun is setting."

She frowned at him. "I don't know, Rex. Our last outing resulted in you collapsing from fever."

He turned the full force of his brown eyes on her, "Just to the cave entrance? No further."

She looked at him for a long moment, and then sighed. She relented, but wagged a strict finger in his face, "Alright. But, at the first sign of a problem, tell me. No overdoing it again to the point of collapse."

He wondered why it was that just a 'look' could sway his commander. Odd. He had known how to do that instinctively, too. He wondered what else he could do? This was actually rather amusing.

"You'll probably want to put these on if you're going outside," she tossed him his bodysuit bottom. Wait. What the frak?

He lifted the blanket covering him and then realized he was not wearing anything underneath. "Commander, explain this." He tried not to lose his temper, but he was quickly becoming agitated and his breath was coming in quick gasps.

"Calm down, Rex. You were running a fever. It was the only way to cool you down. Nothing else was working. I'll help you get dressed again," she reached for the blanket to tug it off his bare form.

"You will _not_," Rex said firmly, gripping on to the blanket with a death-like grip.

He stared at the commander, then made a hand gesture to mean that she was to turn around while he was getting dressed. He was able to get the suit over his uninjured leg, but could not maneuver around his broken, damaged leg. He cursed as he tried to move.

"I heard that Rex," Ahsoka said, without turning around, "are you so stubborn that you'd rather injure yourself than accept help?"

_Yes_, Rex said to himself, then thought of all the times he'd lectured his shinies about being total di'kuts and not relying upon each other when they needed help. He blew out a long breath. He was always tell them that such stupidity would get them killed.

"No," he finally relented, "I... could use your assistance, Commander." Each word felt like a leaden weight. Fek. In a way, having to accept help like this was a lot harder than getting shot. With the help of the commander, he was able to get dressed again.

He tried not to notice how her touch on his skin made him feel. His skin seemed felt odd whenever she touched him. Maybe it was nerve damage. Or the fever. He opted not to put on his bodysuit top. Normally, he would always be properly attired around the commander, but already he felt hot. Too hot. He could feel his fever was coming back. Sitting outside for a few minutes in the evening air would feel good. Maybe it would cool him down.

He was tired of sitting around this cave. He was getting restless. It was bothering him more than he was willing to admit that he hadn't been able to go help General Kenobi and Cody. Maybe if he could go just go sit and watch the smoldering factory for a bit. Take his mind off his shattered leg for a bit.

The commander put an arm around his waist, and he was surprised how strong she was. They slowly started to make their way toward the cave entrance. She was taking most of his weight. They were almost there and he could actually see the red of the sunset. He could just start to see the smoldering factory and then his good leg decided to give out on him.

_Shab._

"What is it?" the commander stopped, immediately concerned.

"Just give me a moment," Rex said, not willing to admit defeat, determined to make it outside. He put a hand up to his head, fighting for balance. _ Shab. Shab. Shab. Come on trooper, stay on your feet._

Everything started to spin, and he felt himself wavering on his feet. He took several deep gasping breaths, fighting back nausea.

"Come on, Rex, we're going back," he felt Ahsoka turn him around and maneuver him back into the cave. He didn't protest and let the commander guide him along. As soon as Rex was back down onto his bedroll, he immediately rolled over onto his side, and curled his body up. He squeezed his eyes shut, and took deep breaths, just fighting his roiling stomach.

"Rex?" the commander asked.

"Shab," Rex murmured hoarsely, "I wish everything would stop spinning."

He barely finished his sentence before he began to gag. The commander grabbed a small piece of metallic camping cookware that she'd left next to his bedroll for just such a purpose. He felt the commander lift him up. Gah. She was strong. He couldn't even move at the moment. She pivoted him so that he could use the container she'd placed next to his head. There wasn't much in his stomach except for water, but Rex had long ago learned that even that _hurt _when propelled up with enough force. When his body was done torturing him with the nausea, he just lay there, miserable and spent, on his back, staring up at the roof of the cave. He felt the commander wiping down his face with a clean cloth. He covered up his eyes with one arm and groaned softly.

"You shouldn't have to see me like this, Commander," Rex grumbled, his voice harsh and raspy.

"Like what?" Ahsoka challenged.

Rex's laugh was bitter. He moved his arm to peer at her with one eye, "I'm not exactly at my best right now."

The commander pulled his arm away so she could look into fully into both of his eyes.

"Rex, do you walk out on me when I get hurt?"

He shook his head, offended she would even suggest such a thing.

"Exactly. You've saved me more times than I can count. You've never let me behind because I'm too much trouble."

"You _are_ a lot of trouble sometimes," Rex said, trying to sound stern, but he couldn't and his voice took on the normal teasing tone he used with the commander. He tried to smile but he was just too tired. And, then he couldn't stay conscious any longer. His eyes slid shut and the fever took him.

# # #


	15. Chapter 15 Teth

_Revised: September 15, 2013._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 15**

Ahsoka chewed her lip worriedly, feeling Rex's brow again. His fever had spiked higher. Sweat was beaded in his brow, and he thrashed restlessly back and forth on his bedroll. She carefully undid all of the bandages on his injured leg. She bit her lip, and without realizing it, parroted a favorite expression of Rex's: "This is not good."

Rex's leg was puffy and swollen with angry red streaks began to creep up his leg from the wound site.

Ahsoka looked back up at Rex's face. He was caught in the middle of fever-induced dreaming. He had a look on his face not of physical pain, but of deep emotional distress. With a pang, Ahsoka wondered what could be causing Rex such pain?

# # #

Rex was dreaming of Teth again. All of Torrent Squadron was creeping up the side of the monastery. Some were in AT-TE walkers, but most were pulling themselves up using their DC-15 cable launchers. And, a seemingly endless supply of droids was doing an excellent job of cutting down Torrett Squadron.

"Hurry up, Rex!" General Skywalker zipped by on a stolen droid hovercycle. His voice was exuberant, as it often was, when he fought. Normally Rex tolerated the General well enough, but today, Skywalker's almost childlike-enthusiasm was hitting a raw nerve. Rex just didn't get how Skywalker could so _enthusiastic_ when Rex's men were getting shot off their cables, and plunging to their deaths, in ever-increasing numbers. The closer Rex and his men got to the top of the monastery, the larger a target they presented to the droids shooting down at them from above.

_Can Skywalker not see how many men we are losing? Is he not hearing their cries as they fall? Falling means dying here... I sure hear them._

Rex shook his head and took a deep, steadying breath, "Yes, sir," Rex ground out. "Working on it," he grumbled to himself, trying to catch his breath as he both climbed and fired back at the droids above. There was an entire squadron of battle droids just shooting down upon them point blank. They were totally vulnerable, and completely exposed. The stonewall seemed absolutely endless as they continued to clamber up hand-over-hand. Skywalker continued to zip about on his hovercycle.

Rex watched in horror as one of the AT-TE walkers faltered, and then reared up, like a dying beast. It succumbed to fire from above and fell backwards off the wall. Even above the din of battle, Rex could hear the screams of the men inside. The screams were immediately silenced when the AT-TE slammed roof first with a metallic crunch into the ground far below.

Rex turned his attention back above, and narrowly missed getting his head taken off by a blast from a droid. He narrowed his eyes, took aim, and watched with satisfaction as the droid went tumbling off the top and fell to the ground below. Rex look up to the skies above, scanning for friendlies.

_Where is the air support? It's insane to try to take a fortified position like this without air support!_

Rex's men were getting mercilessly slaughtered here. It was absolute carnage. Rex blinked to change the view in his HUD. But, he didn't need the tactical display to tell him that his squadron was getting cut to pieces. All around him members of the 501st continued to fall.

Rex heard a cry of startled dismay as Aleto, who Rex had known since his days on Kamino, took a full blast of fire in the chest. Aleto arced up and spun slowly on his grappling hook. His arms flailed wildly, as his body struggled to get air. He'd probably taken a full hit to the lungs. He was dying, and Rex couldn't do anything to help him. He couldn't call for a medic. He couldn't call to have Aleto extracted. He could only watch him spin around on his cable and die a painful, suffocating death.

And, as always, they wouldn't be offered the time or the opportunity to dispose of his remains. So, his body would just remain hanging there when they left, for who knows how long? Until future owners of the monastery did some housekeeping, or until nature ran its' course and the metallic cable one day rusted through and he fell to the ground. Aleto would just be a skeleton corpse, in damaged white armor, hanging suspended forever more on a cable. All of these thoughts flew threw Rex's mind in the span of a few seconds, and Aleto wasn't even dead yet. His arms were still flailing as he desperately tried to suck in air. No, wait, he's stopped struggling. He has officially gone from being a man to a corpse. Another brother gone. Rex wondered how many brothers he would lose today.

A stat counter on the right side of Rex's HUD ticked up one notch, marking another KIA. Rex tried not to look at the total KIAs so far that day, but he couldn't stop himself from looking. He cringed inwardly when he saw the number. It was even worse than he'd anticipated. Much worse.

Rex took another deep, steadying breath. _Finish the mission. Grieve for your brothers later._Rex arms automatically continued climbing and firing, the actions so instinctive after years and years of training. Rex's rifle belched out a stream of continuous fire at the tidal wave of enemy combatants above. Rex heard Skywalker call to his Padawan, as he gracefully force leapt his way up the side of the monastery. His moves defied gravity and the laws of physics in that bizarre way that only Jedi could.

_Weird, unnatural creatures, Jedi,_ Rex thought, shaking his head, as he continually tracked the movements of the Jedi, his men, and the droids shooting at him from above.

"Gotta' keep up!" Skywalker shouted to his Padawan.

_OK, now that was taking it a step too far. Had Skywalker really just challenged his Padawan to a race to the top of the wall, treating this like a game? _Tick. Rex's KIA HUD went up another notch. Rex's resisted the temptation to look and see who had just died. He narrowed his eyes, and looked at Skywalker instead. Rex's men were dying at a rate he hadn't seen since Christophsis, and now it seems the Jedi want to compete as if they had more to prove to each other rather than any real stake in the actual battle.

Rex gritted his teeth, as he kept climbing, trying to tap down his annoyance at his Jedi General. He tried very hard to see the good in the continued to climb, shouting orders to his men as needed.

"Look out!" he heard someone call a warning, just as a damaged battle Super Battle Droid came crashing down the wall. Several troopers pitched themselves to the side on their suspension cables, just managing to clear themselves out of the way before the Battle Droid thundered past. Rex heard a sickening crunch, and a cry of agonized pain. One trooper did not react fast enough. He heard the sound of a cable snapping, followed a moment later by the distinctive thwack of armor hitting the ground far below. Rex bowed his head for just a brief moment.

Tic. Another KIA registered on his HUD. Rex tried to stop himself from looking to see who it was, but his eyes traitorously glanced over anyway. He couldn't seem to help himself. It was Mich. He was relatively new, having joined up after Christophsis. Most of the squadron was new after Christophsis- another classic Skywalker battle that wiped out most of Torrent Squadron. Ah, yes, Mich. The singer. Known for singing bawdy songs with questionable lyrics.

Just last week, Mich had made up the funniest song while they were all showering. It was a clever rhyme describing droids, and how they lacking they were in the, er, man-parts area. And, how vastly superior clones were in this department. And, perhaps Mich even exaggerated the size, prowess and laws of nature in describing what the clones could do in this area. But, it was such a funny song that he had everyone in the showers singing along…

Rex kept climbing. His arms burned, his legs burned, his back burned, and he was breathing so hard it was difficult now to get oxygen into his lungs. Rex saw Trooper Romor take fire in the head- his bucket shattering from the shot. Rex's gut twisted as he watched Romor's body spin around on his cable. Romor was also 'new' since Christophsis. He liked a different Bolo team from Rex. They always chatted about Bolo, and had a good-natured, ongoing rivalry, always talking up their teams. In addition to the trademark 501st blue, Romor had added a few red stripes onto his armor, the team colors of the R-Duba Rancors. Rex knew Romor had painted those extra stripes just to irk him. When he'd catch Rex looking his way, he'd smirk and tap his red stripes. Rex stared over at Romor now. Hits to the head could be horribly messy. You couldn't even pick out the red stripes on his armor anymore. Rex turned his attention away from the bloodied body dangling on the cable, and back to the living. Romor was no more. Another brother he'd need to mourn later. His arms continued to pull him on the cable, as he continued to target and take down droids.

Rex looked up, tracking the progress of his General.

_Thanks for watching out for us, General. We're fine down here. Couldn't use any help from a Jedi right about now. No worries, Skywalker. You just run along and play with your padawan._

Rex kept climbing, like a man possessed. He lost track of time, and had no idea how he kept missing the hails of blasterfire that showered all around him. Somehow he just seemed to be able to dodge the fire, climb and shoot. His reaction time had always been just a little bit superior to his brothers, and he'd never really known why. He just continued on.

As he watched his brothers die, one after another after another, he was prepared to be struck down at any moment. He'd lost the fear of dying the first time he'd held a brother in his arms, and felt his life slip away. That seemed like a lifetime ago. With the way he was rapidly aging, it _was_ a lifetime ago.

Rex was completely resigned to his fate- _this_ would always be his life. And, his life would end in a hail of blasterfire on a battlefield like this one. He simply ploughed on, getting on with it. Part of him just didn't care anymore. As he watched his men get struck, part of him welcomed a nice clean kill shot right between his eyes. Or, directly to the heart. The heart would be better, actually. He felt like he'd lost the ability to feel a long time ago.

_Go on, tinnies. Do it. I'm tired. I can't do this anymore. I'm done._

Is that what his men were thinking, too? Was that why his KIA ratio was so high? Had his men all just given up?

No! Rex refused to believe the 501st had come to that. He gritted his teeth, and stubbornly dodged a large piece of debris that came tumbling down from the wall. He ignored the burning pain in his tired limbs, and continued to instinctively dodge the hail of blasterfire, always missing getting shot. Part of him still wanted to live.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rex saw Ahsoka leap on top of an AT-TE walker. The first AT-TE had succumbed to blaster fire coming down from the top. Ahsoka stood, balanced on the front of the walker, defiantly deflecting away all the fire directed at the walker. She was determined that the second walker was not going to meet the same fate as the first.

_Rex realized in that moment how much Padawan Tano - Ahsoka - had changed._When Rex had first met her on Christophsis, she was all cocky arrogance- determined to prove herself to Skywalker.

But, she's definitely different, Rex realized, as he saw her valiantly defending the AT-TE._The little'un is growing up. She gets it now._At that moment, Rex felt fiercely proud of the little Jedi. Somehow, in the midst of all the death and discomfort, he found thoughts of Ahsoka to be both comforting, and inspiring. With a renewed sense of determination, he focused his attention on the droids above, and kept climbing.

Without warning, Rex's dream abruptly shifted. He was no longer scaling the monastery wall. Several hours had passed, and he was inside the monastery now. He can smell the musty, dampness of the ancient stone fortress. He will forever associate that smell with everything that happened that day at Teth.

Ventress had an iron grip on his throat. He was slowly, and painfully, suffocating to death. Despite the pain, Rex glared at her, focusing his thoughts at her.

_Go on. Kill me. You've killed all my men. Be done with it. You venomous chakaar. You have no real power over me._

His vision was blacking out. He heard himself making strange gasping noises and choking noises. Rex knows he has many brothers waiting for him on the other side. He's ready for this to be over. Without warning, Ventress released her deathly grip on his throat. Rex actually felt a stab of disappointment, rather than relief. Suddenly, cold tendrils invaded his mind.

"You will contact Skywalker now."

He heard Ventress' voice, but also felt the sound echoing inside his brain. _You - you - will - will - contact - contact - Skywalker - Skywalker - now! now !_

_Kriff! She's using Jedi Mind control! _

Of all the Jedi abilities he'd heard about, mind control was the one he'd discussed the most with Cody, Echo and Fives. They all agreed it was the most creepiest and most insidious of the Jedi's many unnatural abilities.

His hand automatically reached for his comlink. But, like an epiphany, Rex suddenly realized he can resist by not resisting. By being aware that she was influencing his actions, he could control her influence. He must have some resistance to her dark powers, otherwise he would have obeyed the thoughts without even realizing they were not his own. Instead, the moments the thoughts entered his mind, he recognized them as mind control.

Ventress' gaze bore She was expecting a quick response.

"I will contact Skywalker now," Rex parroted back. He echoed her words, twisting them around just enough to warn Skywalker of her presence. In his mind, he continued to push against her presence, shielding himself from the icy tendrils. As he did so, he felt as is a door was opening up in his mind—something hidden and powerful coming to life. Can Ventress sense it? Rex studied her carefully… No, she is absolutely obsessed with finding Skywalker.

It seems Ventress' mind attack has unleashed something new in Rex's brain… No. New, isn't the right word. More like something dormant. And, it frightens Rex. No, not frightens. More like _terrifies_ him. It's too much. He feels this new something in his brain is so overpowering that it is in danger of consuming the rest of him - wiping out the person that is uniquely Rex.

When Ventress had gotten what she wants from Rex, she tossed him aside with a wave of her hand. He slammed into the stone wall of the monastery. Rex both heard and felt a rib crack with a splintering pain. Then, his head hit the wall and he blacked out as he slid to the floor.

When he 'd woken up, the chaos in his head had silenced. He heard the voice of one of his men calling to him, wondering if he was dead. No, not dead, and thankfully, his head seemed back to normal again. He could just pretend that didn't happen.

But, Rex started having nightmares after Teth. In the nightmares, what happened with Ventress didn't stop. The Sith keeps clawing relentlessly into his mind time and time again, the icy cold tendrils forcing changes in his brain, morphing him into something twisted and horrible until there is nothing left of the person that was once Rex. Every time ends the same, Rex awakens screaming and yelling in denial. "No, no, no, no, no, no! Stop! Stop! NOOOOOOOO!"

His men learned to ignore it, pretend they don't notice the demons that haunted their Captain night after night after the Battle of Teth.

But, Cody once forced Rex to talk about it. He caught wind of it from one of Rex's men, and arranged for their squadron's to share barracks. When Rex's night terror began, Cody was prepared. He hauled Rex right out of bed, yanking him up by the back of his shirt. All of their men diplomatically pretended to be sleeping. Rex's men, in particular, were glad Cody was stepping in. Not only did this mean they might have a chance of getting more sleep if Cody was successful, but they were all worried about their Captain. Rex was very well liked by his men.

Cody bodily dragged Rex into a munitions storage room, and locked the door. He turned on Rex.

"Now, are you going to tell me what is keeping you, and the rest of your squadron up at night, or I am going to have to beat it out of you?" Cody said, not unkindly.

Rex just shook his head, not knowing how he could put what was happening to him in words. Cody was his friend, but he also outranked him. If people knew what was going on in Rex's head, they would think he was crazy. Wouldn't they? Would he be stripped of his position? Did it matter? Did he still care? Did any of it matter anymore?

"Rex, what happened inside B'omarr, once you and your men barricaded yourselves in? I've talked to your men. They said this started right after Teth."

Rex just shook his head, and sank down on a wooden crate full of droid poppers. He put his head in his hands. He was just so tired. It had been so long since he'd had a decent night's sleep. He couldn't think clearly anymore. He was just getting by on caf and stims at this point.

Cody grabbed Rex by the shirt again, and hauled him up. "Rex, stop being such a stubborn di'kut! Your men said that-" Cody's voice softened, "- Ventress tortured you."

From outside the storage room, Echo and Fives stood watch over the entrance to the storeroom. They stood back against the wall, barefoot, in just their bodysuits. In case anyone, including the Jedi, came by to investigate the unusual noises coming from the storage room, they were prepared to run interference. One way or another, they were insuring Rex got the intervention he needed from his best friend. Their eyes met and they looked significantly back and forth as they overhead Cody mention Rex's torture at the hands of Ventress. They were the ones who had brought Cody into this. But, they'd discussed it at length, and decided something had to be done. And, this, they'd agreed was the best way to handle the matter. No Jedi involvement. Just handle it amongst the brothers.

Inside the storeroom, Rex's eyes flashed to Cody's, and then he looked away again, "You've obviously already interrogated my men, Cody. What do you want from me?"

Cody slammed Rex up against the wall, realizing he was going to have to do this the hard way. "You're no good to anyone this way, Rex! You're also keeping everyone else up at night! Tell me what happened!"

Cody put one arm across Rex's chest, pushing him even harder into the wall.

Rex refused to speak, merely glared stubbornly back at Cody with a look that said: 'I'm made of the same stubborn stuff, you are, brother.'

Cody pulled Rex back, and shoved Rex even harder into the wall, knocking the air completely out of him. Cody brought his forearm up to Rex's throat, choking him. As was Cody's intent, being pinned up in this manner, caused Rex to suddenly flash back to Teth. Rex suddenly snapped.

He began to fight back against Cody in a rage. He yelled, bringing his legs up, catching Cody in the stomach. Cody was much more alert, not having suffered the effects of weeks of restless, sleepless nights. He slammed Rex down to the ground, and pinned his arms behind his back. He sat on the small of Rex's back to hold him in place.

"Rex! Tell me what happened!" Cody demanded.

"Let me go, you miserable chakaar!" Rex yelled.

Cody pulled Rex's arms even tighter behind his back. Rex yelled out in pain.

"I'll pull both your shoulders out of their sockets if I have to, " Cody threatened.

Rex struggled against Cody's grip, but he only caused himself more pain.

Cody began to tug harder. Rex bellowed in pain. Cody grabbed Rex's head, and knocked him against the floor of the storage room. The knock in the head did it.

"She went into my head!" Rex shouted out. "She did some kriffing Jedi thing and she went into my head!"

"Mind control?" Cody asked, puzzled.

Rex tried to nod, but couldn't from the way Cody had him pinned on the floor. Cody let go of Rex's head, and eased up his painful grip on Rex's shoulders.

"What did she do to you?" Cody asked, not unkindly.

"I don't know," Rex confessed. In a low voice, Rex finally told Cody the whole story, starting with when they barricaded themselves inside the monastery. He described being force-choked by Ventress, and her attempts to use mind control on him.

But, he couldn't fully describe the experience to Cody, because he didn't understand it himself. So, he left out the part that terrified him the most- the feeling that he was now somehow different than all of the other clones on some fundamental level. The feeling that something had happened to his brain on Teth, and it could never be undone again. He's never told anyone that part, not even Cody. If any of the other clones ever found out about that last part, his life as Captain of the 501st Battalion would be over.

After that night talking with Cody, the dreams became less frequent. He'd unloaded some of the grief for the men he'd lost. Cody understood the burden of command.

But, something about lying on the cold damp floor of the cave on TriLuna was bringing on flashbacks of lying on the floor of the monastery at B'omarr. And so, the icy tendrils began attacking his head one more time...

Ahsoka felt the top of Rex's forehead with the back of her hand. His forehead felt burning hot against her fingers. She'd removed his shirt again, and was wiping his face and chest to cool him, but still his fever raged on.

Her fingers were chilled, from the dampness of the cave, and holding the wet cloth. She left the compress in place and let her fingers idly wander through his blonde scalp again.

_Why blonde?_ she wondered. She'd seen clones with just about ever hair color. It was a source of endless fascination to her- how the clones chose to express their individuality.

She'd seen Rex with standard clone crew cut, a short-lived blue hair style, and now this short cropped blonde. The blonde seemed to be a keeper, as he'd had it for a while. How much time do the clones spend thinking about their hair anyway? Do they discuss it amongst themselves? Do they share hair styling tips? When do they even find the time to color their hair?

As she pondered clone hair, her fingers kept tracing a lazy pattern through Rex's scalp.

He was shifting restlessly in his sleep, murmuring. She picked out the words "Separatist scum" and "_Skywalker._"

_Interesting._

Her fingers continued to weave their pattern. Rex grew increasingly restless, turning his head side-to-side. Ahsoka felt a bolt of panic, wondering if his fever was turning into something worse, like a seizure. She sat there, paralyzed, feeling she wasn't doing anything to help Rex.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Rex shouted, and woke up with a single long shout of anger, pain, frustration, rage and denial that tore at Ahsoka.

Rex lay there, breathing heavily, squeezing his eyes open and shut, as he tried to focus. Rex's eyes snapped open. He looked up at her, but Ahsoka couldn't tell if he was really actually seeing her.

"Rex?" Ahsoka said gently, placing one hand on the side of his face.

Rex startled and recoiled. "Don't touch me!"

Ahsoka pulled back, shocked. But, her Jedi training quickly took over.

"Shhhhh, it's OK, Rex," she said, sending feelings of peace, calm and tranquility toward him.

But, it had the opposite effect on Rex. She felt him grow even more agitated. He put both hands up to his head, as if warding off an attack.

"Stop that kriffing Jedi Mind control!" Rex said, angrily, looking up at her with angry, bloodshot eyes.

"Sorry, Rex, I was just trying to-"

"Jedi!" Rex spat the word as if it was a curse, his fevered eyes blazing, "Chakaars! All of you! Teth! Skywalker!" He shook his head, and then growled out the word, "Ventress."

Rex propped himself up on elbow, using his other hand to point an accusing finger at Ahsoka. His eyes were completely wild. Ahsoka had never seen him like this. It was like looking into the eyes of a complete stranger, rather than the man she regarded as her closest friend. His voice was an angry hiss: "You Jedi just go around manipulating other people. It's unnatural. It's wrong. _You're_ wrong," he pointed an accusing finger at her again,"I've watched my men get slaughtered time and time again because _you_ don't know what your doing! _You_ are getting all my men killed!" Rex's arm began wavering unsteadily as he lost strength. His head rolled back and he collapsed unconscious again.

He dreamed of Teth. He was once again scaling the wall.

# # #

_Author's Note: I wrote this chapter after reading about the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) suffered by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war/conflicts, (whatever we're calling it these days. Still traumatic.) Rex lost a great deal of men under his command in several key battles during the first year of the war. No matter how strong, or resilient someone is, these losses will take a psychological toll. Teth had to be particularly difficult because Rex survived when so few of his men didn't, (only five men survived out of the entire squadron.)_


	16. Chapter 16 Ventress

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 16**

Ahsoka had to walk out of the cave. She needed a few minutes away from Rex. She sat outside their shelter and wrapped her arms around her knees and stared in the cool night, lost in thought.

_Do all the clones feel the same way? Behind their polite, obedient facade, do all the clones secretly despise their Jedi generals? Do they regard all of us arrogant and incompetent?_ _Do they blame us for how long the war is dragging out? Do they blame us for the high number of troop losses? As clone casualties mount, behind those helmets, are they regarding us with contempt?_

Ahsoka looked out at the ugly scrub brushes and rock of TriLuna.

_What was taking Commander Cody and Master Kenobi so long to take out their weapons factories?_

They needed to get out of here. Rex needed to be back in the medical bay on the Resolute. Back with his own kind. Away from her. She put her head down, feeling a deep weight of sorrow in her heart. She blew out a deep, long breath. But, it was not in her nature to feel sorry for herself for long. Her inside voice soon chastised her, giving her a harsh reality check. She had to get back inside to Rex. She had a duty to do. Ahsoka went back in the cave.

Rex's face was flushed, and his brow fevered. She placed her hand on his brow.

"Rex?" she said gently.

No response.

"Rex?"

He was still out from the fever. As she began cooling down his chest and shoulders, she heard him murmur: "Ventress..."

_Ventress? __You're dreaming of Ventress? __It better not be an erotic dream._

Rex's hand twitched as if he was reaching for his blaster. Ahsoka looked around, double-checking that his blaster and rifle were out of his reach. No weapons until he was lucid again. Her comlink beeped. She quickly arose and went outside to answer it.

"Ahsoka, this is Obi Wan Kenobi. How are you two doing?"

"I'm fine, Master Kenobi, but Captain Rex isn't doing well. He's unconscious and running a high fever," Ahsoka reported.

"We won't be able to rendezvous with you for several more hours at the earliest. I just spoke with Anakin. He's still completely tied up on his end with the air battle. The Separatists have called in reinforcements. Can you two hold on for another 6 -8 hours?" Master's Kenobi's voice was calm and reassuring, as usual.

"I'll do my best, Master," Ahsoka said, she cast a worried look in Rex's direction, trying to draw strength from hearing the familiar Jedi's voice, "Rex's fever worries me, though."

"Have you tried doing Force healing?" the elder Jedi asked.

Ahsoka paused, thinking about the suggestion, "No, Master."

"Give that a go. We'll be in touch again when we have an update on our ETA. Good luck."

"Understood. Thank you, Master," Ahsoka said, respectively, ending the comm call.

Force healing. Ahsoka stood at the foot of Rex's bedroll staring down at him. Master Kenobi made it sound so easy. Rex was moving back and forth restlessly, muttering restlessly in his fevered sleep.

_This would be a lot easier if I knew he wasn't so opposed to Jedi, and Force techniques._ Ahsoka knelt by Rex's side, making herself comfortable. _Master Plo Koon said Force Healing comes from deep within - the inner self. What exactly does that mean?_

Ahsoka had done Force healing before, although she didn't consider herself particularly adept at it. Only those who wished to become Jedi Healers spent a great deal of time perfecting the skill. As she prepared to lay her hands on his head, she thought of the hateful reaction he had last time she touched him. _Rex, I'm trying to help you here, so don't break my wrists, or anything, OK?_

She placed her hands on either side of his temples. His skin was very hot to touch against her cooler Togrutan skin.

_I hope this works. _

She began to slowly enter his mind, glad that he was deeply unconscious and not cognizant enough to bar her way. She could sense that he was dreaming. She had to admit she was curious to know what he was dreaming about, but, that would be a violation of trust. She was here without permission, and only to help heal. His brain was hyper-aware of the injury, sending extra white and red blood cells to the damaged areas. As Ahsoka fell deeper into her meditative trance, she traveled through his body, following blood vessel after blood vessel. Finally, she arrived at the site of the injury.

The area was overfull with white blood cells, swarming around an obviously broken femur, a oddly crumbly knee cap, and other strange bits that struck Ahsoka as being non-organic in nature. Ahsoka moved in closer to one of the foreign, non-organic bits. The white blood cells were swarming these pieces as well, in a frenzy, trying to expel them from the body.

_Sith spit, more pieces of armor! _

These bits were much smaller than the chunk she still carried in her pocket, but there were a great number of them. Rex's armor hadn't just broken from the initial shot, it had shattered inside his knee, just like his knee cap.

_This new clone killer ammo is absolutely and devastingly brutal. It is designed to maim and cripple our army in the most painful manner possible. Ahsoka counted up the number of pieces still floating around in his knee, mixed in with free floating bits of fragmented cartilage. There's so many! Ahsoka didn't think there was much she could do with Force healing. He needs surgery, very soon, or...- -_

_Or, what? Don't think about that, just do what you can now, and then make sure he gets off this stinking rock._

She focused her healing powers on Rex's shattered knee, the knee, concentrating on reducing the infection- pushing back the clock, buying Rex more time before it turned into sepsis- fatal blood poisoning.

She could feel his fever slowly coming down. She began to tire, but she wouldn't stop. She then focused on taking some of her strength, and giving it to Rex to bolster him up.

As she grew more tired, she felt herself losing her focus, drifting away from his knee and back up into his mind. She tried to stay focused, but she was just so weary.

As she was drawn back into his mind, she found herself in the grips of his dream. She found herself -

- on Teth.

She was once again scaling the vertical wall, but everything looked different. Instead of leaping easily from vine to vine, she was climbing very slowly, holding on to a cable. Everything was taking so much longer, and seemed so much more difficult.

As she turned her head to the left, she saw someone she knew get killed by a spray of fire. She felt a deep sense of sorrow, even though she couldn't actually remember who that person was - only that she knew him. Her HUD display registered the death, and steadily ticked upwards. She felt a profound sense of sadness, as if she had failed somebody she was responsible for.

My HUD?

It took her several moments to make sense of it and realize she was now reliving the scaling of the Bo'omar monastery on Teth through Rex's eyes. By the time the difficult ascent was over, over half of the 501st Battalion was gone. Now that she 'knew' everyone of them, she felt horrifyingly sick inside at the terrible loss of clone lives. Why hadn't she felt that way the first time? The dream shifted, and suddenly she found herself slumped on the cold floor inside the monastery. Around her were more slain bodies of the 501st.

Ahsoka felt her hand grip the blaster as she tried to kill Ventress, and failed. She felt herself getting lifted up by Ventress, the life getting slowly choked out of her. It was a terrible feeling, yet she was ready to die. She was so disenheartened about the loss of her brothers, that she was ready to accept death right then and there.

Then, she felt icy tendrils crawling through her brain.

"Where is Skywalker?" Ventress was right in her face.

She was amazed to feel the resistance Rex was putting up to Ventress' forced mind invasion. The more Ventress pushed, the more Rex's mind shielded him from Ventress' attack. His mind did it naturally, instinctively. He'd instinctively raised a Force shield! Rex parroted Ventress' words, warning Skywalker of her presence, even as the use of the Force shield starting awakening other areas in his brain. Other untapped, unused areas suddenly all flipped on at once. The effect was overwhelming. Ahsoka could feel Rex's panic as foreign sensations overwhelmed his brain, hitting him all at once. She felt his internal scream. He was too weak to actually cry out in his sleep. It was actually a great relief to be slammed into a wall by Ventress and knocked unconscious.

Ahsoka collapsed, asleep, completely spent, on Rex's chest.

"Commander?" Rex looked up at her, confused.

Ahsoka lifted her head, and looked around. She lifted her head and hands off of Rex's bare chest.

He looked at up and she could see that he was lucid again. It appeared that she'd gotten her normal Rex back again.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rex asked, starting to look concerned.

"You had a high fever," Ahsoka started out.

"Again?" Rex asked.

Ahsoka continued to look at him.

Rex studied her carefully, "What is it, Commander?" He immediately grew suspicious, "Did I say something when I had the fever?"

Ahsoka stayed completely silent, not sure how to answer that. Now, Rex looked very concerned, "Commander, what did I say?"

"It was nothing," Ahsoka said, looking away, "just random mumbling. Nothing important. How are you feeling?" Ahsoka asked, changing the subject. She scooted off his chest and felt his forehead. His fever was still down, but she knew it was only a temporary fix.

"Better," Rex said, scooting up on his elbows, "I take it I have you to thank for that?"

Ahsoka smiled and shrugged.

"What did you do?" Rex asked.

"Just tried something new," Ahsoka waved a hand dismissively, "are you hungry? Thirsty?"

She held up the water bottle. Rex accepted it and took a drink. She offered Rex a rations bar, but he turned it down.

"Commander," he said in his no-nonsense command tone, "what is it you're not telling me?"

"Nothing..."

"Commander."

"Honestly, Rex, it's nothing important."

"Commander," Rex pushed himself to a sitting position. He moved his leg very carefully and slowly, but still hissed in pain from the slight movement.

Ahsoka fetched him another painkiller out of the pack. Rex didn't object when she injected him in the neck with it.

"Your leg is a mess," Ahsoka said, as she administered the shot, "try not to move it."

"It feels like it," Rex agreed with a grimace, "but, you are changing the subject. Out with it, what is it that you don't want to tell me?"

"OK, fine!" Ahsoka said, tossing the empty injector back into her pack. She sat very close to Rex, facing him directly, "I did Force healing on you."

"You did what?" Rex exclaimed, in a surprised, cautious tone.

"Force healing. Your fever was spiking very high, and I didn't know what else to do. Master Kenobi suggested it actually. I used the Force to enter your mind and heal parts of your body. I discovered you still have some armor bits inside your knee and that's what is causing your fever. I was able to buy you a little bit of time, fighting the infection, bringing the fever done, working to prevent sepsis."

Rex regarded her at first with suspicion, and then with amazement. He did have a dim recollection of being very out of his head with fever.

"Well, I can't say I relish the idea of having you inside my head, but, I suppose it beats dead," Rex said finally.

Ahsoka gave him a small smile, hoping he would now just drop the subject.

"However," Rex said, "I need to know, while you were inside my head, what else did you see? How deep do these connections go while doing these healings? Can you see everything in my head? Everything I know- all my knowledge, all my memories?"

_Oh, I should have known he wasn't going to just drop it._

"No, Rex," Ahsoka said, "nothing like that. It's not like copying a databank."

"So, you didn't see _anything_ in my head?" Rex asked, his eyes boring into hers.

_Oh, I hate it when he does that. _

"I wouldn't say that... "

"Commander."

_Curse him for having such a sexy voice._

"You were dreaming Rex, and I stumbled into your dream on my way out. I didn't mean to. I was very tired from doing the healing, and just ended up in there. It was not my intent at all-"

"What did you see?" asked Rex, in his warning tone.

"Teth," Ahsoka whispered, tears in her eyes, "I saw Teth."

Rex cursed under his breath, and looked away.

Ahsoka grabbed his hand between both of hers. "Oh, Rex, I never knew it was like that. I mean, I knew we took heavy losses, but I never actually KNEW them. And then when I saw it again from your eyes, I knew them, I knew all of them. It was horrible! I watched them die, one after another, and I knew who they all were! I mean, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to watch that many Jedi be killed like that-"

"If they were Jedi, would their deaths have mattered more?" Rex asked in a warning tone. With that he went completely silent, and wouldn't speak anymore.

# # #


	17. Chapter 17 What happens in the cave

_Revised: September 15, 2013._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 17**

The awkward silence in the cave was oppressive.

Ahsoka felt like she should apologize, but she wasn't she wasn't she wasn't exactly sure where she'd gone wrong. She looked over at Rex, and noticed that he was studying her. His eyes were too bright, already getting glazed with fever again.

Before she could speak, he could again. His voice was hoarse and raspy from fever and illness. "Commander." Even as ill as he was, there was no denying the commanding presence in his tone. Ahsoka just lifted up an eyebrow and let him speak. She didn't know what to say anymore. She felt like everything she said was wrong.

The clone captain blew out a long raspy breath. "I'm..." he hesitated, which was completely out of character for him, and then finally said, "I'm sorry."

She stared at him wide-eyed, not sure she'd heard him correctly. "You're what?"

He scowled darkly, "You heard me. Don't make me repeat it."

His look at that moment was so fierce, and so like her _Rex_, that she wanted to laugh, "Yes, I did hear you." She felt a lightness inside that everything might be alright between them. "Just what are you apologizing for?"

Rex reached a hand up and rubbed wearily at his face, "I shouldn't have gotten angry at you. You were trying to help." With great effort he pushed himself up to one elbow and looked down at his injured leg, studying it for a long moment before looking up at her, "What you did likely saved my life. I should be thanking you."

Ahsoka looked at him, surprised. Just when she thought she knew Rex, he would pull something like this and surprise her all over again. She was stunned speechless for a moment. "Ah... apology accepted." She could see his arm trembling from the effort to remain upright. She reached over and gently eased him back to a fully reclining position again. It placed her almost fully on top of him as she leaned over him to do so, and they were almost face-to-face. She stared down at him and it suddenly seemed very quiet and hushed in the cave. She noticed that his eyes were even brighter with fever now.

He was gazing up at her curiously.

On instinct, she reached down and started massaging his temples. He leaned into her touch, and moaned from the pleasure of it, relaxing into the soothing motion. She felt his body go almost completely slack under her touch and she wondered if he was asleep.

"Rex?" she whispered.

His eyes opened a fraction, and she noticed they were even brighter with fever. "Mmmmm?" his voice sounded lazy and drowsy, and not like usual self. He didn't seem aware of the position they were in, or if he did, he wasn't alarmed by it.

Part of Ahsoka was whispering that this was _not_ a good idea. But, another part of her couldn't help her curiosity. It was natural to be curious about such things at her age, wasn't it? She leaned down and kissed Rex for a second time.

At first, he didn't respond. He seemed more shocked than anything else. But, then, some sort of instinct must have kicked in, because Rex reached a hand behind her neck and started kissing her back. Ahsoka was surprised because Rex had told her before that they _weren't_ going to do this. And, now he was kissing her. He was truly actually kissing her. She moaned and threw herself into the business of kissing him back.

Her moan seemed to have shocked Rex into his senses, even with his fevered haze. He pulled forcibly back, pushing Ahsoka off of him.

"Commander, no," he gasped, panting, his eyes darker than she'd ever seen them before. As she was dragged off of his body, she felt _something_ on his lower half that hadn't been there before. She knew enough about male anatomy to know it meant that Rex desired her. She was not so sheltered and naive to not recognize the signs. But, she resisted the temptation to stare, granting Rex his privacy and instead focused on the dark intensity of his eyes. She'd never seen his eyes turn such a dark shade. "We _cannot_ _do_ _this_." His voice sounded strangled, and he was definitely struggling to get his breathing under control. "Please, Commander," and Ahsoka had never actually heard him plead with her before, "give me a few minutes."

# # #


	18. Chapter 18 Tension

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 18**

Ahsoka walked away and went to sit outside the cave. The sun had risen and TriLuna didn't look much better during the day than it had at night. It was still an ugly place of brush, shrub and spindly trees. The factory was still smoldering in the distance. Her mind was racing with what had just happened in the cave.

_It meant something, right?_

She'd always had strong feelings toward Rex. He'd always watched out for her, everything since she'd met him at Christophsis. He'd always been the one to guide her and care for her, in a way that was vastly different from her Master. This war couldn't drag on forever. When the war was over, Rex would... Ahsoka frowned. She had no idea what would happen to Rex after the war. Nobody ever talked about that. After the war, she was to become a Jedi Knight. She ground the palms of her hands up against her eyes.

OK, maybe she hadn't thought this through. But, sometimes things still had a way of working out. The worked in mysterious ways. Even Master Yoda said that. Rex was just being practical. He always wanted to protect her. Surely that alone was a sign that he truly cared about her? Ahsoka groaned, wondering if she had truly messed up this time. She glanced back toward the cave. She had to get back in there. She straightened up her spine, and walked back in. First order of business would be to apologize to Rex.

But, she never did get to utter the words she'd rehearsed in her head.

When she arrived back by Rex's side, he was out of his head with fever again. She knelt down by his side, and started the process of trying to cool his fever down again.

_Hurry up, Master._

His fever kept spiking higher and she began to worry if the others didn't complete their mission soon, that Rex would not be alive by the time they all evaced out.

She was so consumed with worry that when her comm finally went off, the sound was startling in the oppressive silence of the cave.

"Commander Tano, come in."

She brought her comm up to her mouth, her hands trembling, switching on the link.

"This is Commander Cody," came the voice on the other end, "we're on our way."

# # #


	19. Chapter 19 Reunited

_**Updated: September 15, 2013**_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 19**

Rex was in the middle of a fever-induced dream. He was inside the damp, cold interior of the B'omarr monastery. He could hear the hubbub of many clone voices talking at once. But, how could that be? Ventress had killed his men.

Cody? Why was he hearing Cody's voice? The 212th had finally arrived! About fekkin' time they sent in the air support!

Rex awoke with a start, and raised up his head. He blinked in confusion trying to figure out what was going on.

Cody, Obi Wan and what appeared to be an entire squad of clones were talking, working, and walking in and out of the cave. Other than Cody, Rex didn't recognize any of the clones.

This wasn't B'omarr.

The cave. He was still in the fekkin' cave on TriLuna.

He put a hand and scrubbed at his face, trying to make sense of everything. There were three medic clones, all from different divisions, working on Rex's leg and discussing the injury in low guarded tones.

"Hey, you're awake," said a fourth medic, that Rex hadn't even noticed before. He was kneeling right by Rex's shoulder, taking his vitals. Rex nodded to him in acknowledgement, but then turned his attention back to the medics examining his knee. He could tell from their grim, guarded expressions that it wasn't good. They waved over Obi Wan and Cody.

The fourth medic strategically moved his body, blocking the others from view, as he asked Rex various questions, and continued taking his vital signs. Cody and Obi Wan got up and walked away after the medics had spoken to them, and conferred quietly in a corner.

Rex didn't even know if Cody and Obi Wan had noticed he was awake. He watched Cody and Obi Wan confer, and noticed their expressions were grim. Suddenly, Cody turned his head, aware he was being watched. He smiled broadly at Rex, and walked over to him. He knelt down by his side.

"You're awake," Cody said, putting a hand on Rex's shoulder.

"Cody," Rex said. He wanted to reach up and grip his friend's arm, but there were so many medics working on him at the moment, that he could barely move.

General Kenobi came over and studied Rex in that calm Jedi way of his. "Captain Rex, I wish I could say you were looking well. But, I have definitely seen you looking better. We'll have you back on the Resolute shortly. Sorry it took so long for the evac."

Rex had to give the General points for honesty. He maneuvered his limbs around the medics working on him, so he could get his arm into his chest webbing and pull out the pieces of leg armor he'd stashed there. "Cody, General Kenobi, this is is my poleyn and cuisse. Or what's left of it after it was hit by the clone shredder round."

Cody instantly accepted it and studied the pieces, passing them on to General Kenobi. They both studied them gravely and intently. Cody gave Rex a nod of thanks, and then carefully stashed the pieces into his own chest webbing. The pieces would be vitally important to study.

There was a commotion in the back of the cave. Cody looked back, rising up. "What's going on?"

A group of clones had discovered the remains of the flaming arachnid. Cody walked over and nudged it with his boot. He looked back over at Rex, "Your handiwork, I assume?"

Rex smiled, glad for a change of topic that wasn't so grim. "Giant flaming cave spiders. They explode when you shoot them."

The clones listening in on the conversation murmured in awe. The concept of exploding insects clearly went over very well with this group. One of the clones who had been studying the remains walked up to Cody: "Sir, is there any chance we could go hunt-"

"No," Cody said firmly, "our evac is already on its' way." He nudged the remains with his boot again, and looked down at Rex. "So, they actually explode?"

Rex made some hand gestures, "One shot dead center and it is like there was a det planted inside of it. Remarkable."

"Perhaps next trip," Cody said, gazing toward the back of the cave. "Like a det, huh?"

Rex grinned, "Best thing about this planet."

"Sir? We've created a stretcher to get you to the RV point. I'm Ilum," introduced one clone with red armor, and he pointed to the clone next to him, "this is Ithor. Commander Cody rescued us out of the factory back there."

Rex nodded, "Thanks. Glad for the ride." It was a far better alternative than being _carried_.

The other three medics finished examining and re-wrapping Rex's knee. Rex winced as pressure was applied to his knee.

"Sorry, Captain," one of the medics said, "there's a lot of swelling."

Rex just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He tried to stay awake, but passed out long before they reached the RV point.

# # #

The two medic clones, "Ilum" and "Ithor" are named after planets in the Star Wars galaxy. When I originally wrote this chapter in November of 2010, I asked readers to submit clone names to help name future clones. I received such excellent responses that almost every clone and character name from this point in the story onwards came from reader submissions.


	20. Chapter 20 Meet the Human Shields

_Updated: September 15, 2013._

_Original author's note from November 2010: A huge thank you to everyone who submitted clone names. Your submissions were outstanding._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 20**

"Well, Anakin, your timing is excellent. Well done. We're just headed to the rendezvous site now," Obi Wan ended his comlink call, and turned to look at Ahsoka, walking beside him.

"Are you OK, Ahsoka?" Obi Wan asked, as they carefully made their off the mountainside, and down to the LAAT landing area directly below, "you've hardly said anything. It is most unlike you."

"Sorry, Master," said Ahsoka, "just worried about Rex."

"Oh, I'm not complaining about the peace and quiet. It's just uncharacteristic for _you_."

Ahsoka could tell Master Kenobi was teasing her to cheer her up. She tried to think of something witty to say in reply, but her mind came up blank. She was totally drained. She felt someone come up and walk on her other side and looked into the familiar visage of Cody's yellow and white striped helmet. She felt a feeling of solidarity with Cody. He was just as worried as she was. It was comforting just having him there.

They emerged into a broad, flat clearing. It had taken them no time at all to get to the RV point. Ahsoka could already hear the LAATs descending down from above.

After all the time they'd spent on this planet, it seemed strange for the battle to finally be over.

She peered upwards, having veered mixed emotions about returning to the Resolute. All the gunships coming down looked like a giant flock of mechanical birds swooping in to gather up their prey. Ahsoka backed up to the very edge of the clearing to make more room for the gunships to land. She didn't know they had this many landing craft aboard the Resolute. She quickly counted them up. No, they definitely didn't have that many. Other Jedi cruisers must have come in over the past few days to help her Master engage the enemy. Ahsoka briefly wondered how many lives had been lost during that battle. She stole a quick glance over at Rex on the stretcher. He was either unconscious or sleeping. Probably unconscious. There was a lot of noise with all the Larties coming down. It would be hard to sleep through something like that.

With all of the troops Cody and Obi Wan had liberated from the factories, they needed a number of gunships to evac everyone off the planet. Ahsoka stuck close to the stretcher containing Rex, making sure she got into the same gunship as Rex and his assigned medics. She wanted to check on Rex, but the medics positioned on either side in her usual spot. After days of constantly caring for Rex, she wasn't needed at all.

Partway through the flight back, Rex's eyes popped open, bright with fever.

"Commander?" he called, looking around, from where his stretcher had been lain out on the floor.

Ahsoka pushed her way between the medics, and knelt down next to Rex.

"I'm here, Rex," Ahsoka said, leaning in close to him.

Rex lifted his head, peering around in confusion, "Where are we?"

Ahsoka noticed his forehead was completely beaded in sweat. She slipped her backpack off her shoulders, and searched around in it for something to wipe the sweat off his face. Before she could find something, one of the medics handed her a clean cloth. She smiled at him in gratitude.

She leaned forward, and cleaned Rex's face, removing all the sweat, "On our way back to _the Resolute_."

"Ah," Rex said, simply. He looked around in confusion, "Who are these troopers?"

Ahsoka smiled at him, "Cody and Master Kenobi made some new friends." Ahsoka a group of troopers with maroon backplating, "This is Dodge from the the 21st Nova Corps Galactic Marines." Rex nodded, and the Marines saluted him sharply. She indicated a yellow and white striped trooper, "Karst from the 7th Legion." She indicated some clones with bright green markings. "Si and Shader. Sky Troopers." All of the troopers gave Rex a respectful nod, which he returned.

Rex gestured to Dodge, the Galactic Marine, to come closer.

"Sir?" the Marine said, kneeling down right next to Rex.

"Care to explain to me how you ended doing Guard Duty for the Seps?" Rex asked.

The Marine scratched at the back of his head, "Ah, how we all ended up on that planet? It's a long story, sir."

Rex peered down meaningfully at his leg, and then back up at the Marine, "Strangely enough, I have free time on my hands. I want to know how the Seps are suddenly using troopers as human shields."

# # #


	21. Chapter 21 Medbay

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 21**

As it turns out, Rex didn't have much time on his hands. He hadn't heard the whole story of how the Marine ended up on TriLuna before they touched down on _the Resolute_. But, Dodge promised to touch base with him in medbay if he'd be spending any amount of time on the ship before taking off again.

It seemed to Rex that the moment the larty landed, time sped up to a frenetic energy level. The gunship's doors opened and he was first one out. A medical team was already standing by to take him away. He was hoisted onto an anti-grav stretcher. Rex had to give the medical team credit- they moved him with such efficiency, he didn't feel any pain at all in his injured leg. Although, he was beginning to feel like a piece of cargo- being rapidly transported from one place to another. The moment he was hauled onto that anti-grav stretcher, he was immediately on his way to the Medbay.

The anti-grav stretcher felt like it was moving even faster than usual, and the overhead lights seemed to be zooming by. Staring up at them as they zipped through the various corridors of _the Resolute_ was making Rex nauseous. He could just make out the forms of people getting out of there, and giving them curious looks. He wondered what he looked like after days on the planet and being blasted by a clone-shredder round. According to General Kenobi, he'd seen better days. He knew he'd come close to dying, more than once. So, he supposed he looked a sight. He hadn't shaved in all the time he'd been on the planet, so he was sporty the scruffy look by now.

Rex blew out a long sigh, still trying to keep the contents of his stomach down. He supposed he had just gotten used to a slower pace with the commander on TriLuna. The pace on _the Resolute _suddenly seemed stressfully hectic. His head felt like it was spinning. The antigrav stretcher abruptly halted. They'd arrived at the Medbay. Rex immediately recognized the antiseptic smell and the harsh lighting. He was quickly transferred off the antigrav stretcher and onto an examining table.

Two medical droids undressed him with frightening efficiency. Rex still didn't understand what all the rush was about, considering how many days it had taken to evac him from the planet. Rex found himself naked and shivering in an examining room. Everything was super-clean, gleaming and metallic. Rex felt exposed. Like battling tinnies naked. A third medical droid, one that seemed almost as big as an SPB, rolled in with an dazzling number of probes in place of arms.

_Fek. Could they make this process any more intimidating?_

Rex felt his adrenaline rise when the droid cut off his leg bandages utilizing a tool that resembled a small super-sharp buzz saw. He wanted to run, except he couldn't because his shabla leg was broken in multiple places.

The droid extended a long metallic probe and poked his knee with the probe. Rex yowled with pain. The droid did it again, probing another tender spot in his knee. When the droid drew back, and went to examine another area, Rex reared up and grabbed the probe.

"No! Stop!" Rex was surprised how weak and hoarse his voice sounded.

The droid swiveled its' metallic head, and regarded Rex with dull silver eyes. Even though the eye color was different, and the metallic head shape was different, Rex was still reminded uncomfortably of commando droids. "Hold still. I must complete my examination. If you'd like, I could render you unconscious," the droid said, in a flat metallic voice.

"Gah! No, but stop poking me. Fek!" Rex released the probe. He turned his head, and looked out the open door of the examining room. He looked into the medical bay, hoping maybe Cody or the Commander had come by. Maybe they could intervene or something on his behalf.

"Yow!" Rex cried out in pain again. The droid had caught him by surprise, while Rex had his head turned looking out into the medical bay. Rex turned his full attention back to what the Monster Medical Droid was doing. Rex settled back against the padded headrest, and this time just bit down on his lip when the droid poked him. Rex tasted blood on his lips. _Ah, this is no good, I'm going to bite right through my lip._

Rex yowled in pain again as the droid poked him in another incredibly sensitive area. Rex balled up his fists, and grabbed the sheets. Finally, Rex's patience was completely gone.

"Would you STOP that?" Rex yelled, rising up off the pillows and yelling directly into the droid's dull metallic face.

"My examination is now complete," the Gargantuan MegaMedical Droid announced. Patient exhibits extreme sensitivity in all remaining quadrants of the knee."

The Colossal Medical Mammoth rolled away.

_All remaining quadrants?_ Rex thought to himself. _That's one way of putting it._

"Hey, can I at least get a blanket or something?" Rex shouted after the massive droid. The droid simply ignored him, and kept rolling away.

Rex lay back with a sad, resigned sigh, wishing Ahsoka was there with him. He'd kept telling her to stop fussing over him the whole time they were on the planet, but now that she wasn't around, he found himself feeling rather, well, neglected.

Rex crossed his arms across his bare chest, shivering. A couple of the other patients in the medbay looked over at him sympathetically. Rex nodded his head in greeting. Most of the guys in the medbay were his guys from the 501st.

Rex tucked his hands under his armpits, trying to conserve bodyheat. His teeth began to chatter from the cold. Did they have to turn the damn air conditioning up so much in this place?

"Hey, Captain," he heard someone whisper loudly. He looked over and saw Flex, a gunner from the 501st through the door in the medbay. Flex, and several other troopers, had sustained burns and shrapnel injuries when their AT-TE hit a mine the previous week. Flex rolled up his blanket into a tight roll, and secured it with a piece of bandage. He made a motion like he was going to throw it. Rex put his hands out. Flex lobbed it over to Rex, and Rex caught it easily.

"Thank you," Rex loudly whispered back, and immediately unrolled the blanket and wrapped it around himself. He wasn't exactly sure why they were whispering. Perhaps it was because a lot of the other brothers in the Medbay were asleep. But, if they'd just 'slept' through all of Rex's yelling just now, they were more likely unconscious than just asleep.

Rex wrapped himself up tightly in the blanket. As soon as his bodyheat warmed up the blanket, he stopped shivering. He looked back over at Flex and nodded his thanks again. In that moment, Rex realized what a lucky man he was. His brothers were always watching out for him, and he had millions of brothers. There might be things he greatly disliked about the war, but, he didn't dislike being a clone. He wouldn't trade his brothers in for anything.

Rex looked back over at Flex again, and wondered why he was still in the Medbay. With bacta, Flex's burns and shrapnel injuries should have been healed by now. He was too far away for Rex to hold a conversation with him, and Rex didn't want to shout: "Why are you still here?" across the room. But, as soon as Rex got the chance, he was planning on paying a visit to Flex's bedside, and find out why he hadn't been returned to active duty.

# # #


	22. Chapter 22 Surgery

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 22**

Outside the medical bay, Ahsoka waited tensely with Cody. She'd heard Rex shout in pain multiple times. It took all the restraint she had not to go running through the door, lightsaber in hand, and melt into slag whoever and whatever was hurting Rex. She'd taken to just pacing up and back in the corridor, because she had too much energy to stand still.

She'd heard Rex shout something else at the medical droid, but couldn't quite make out what it was. Obviously, things were not going well in there. Everytime she heard Rex's voice, she would stand rigidly still right in front of the Medbay door, ready to rush in.

Cody put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She could tell from the tense expression on his face that he'd recognized Rex's voice as well. She forgot sometimes that Cody had known Rex longer than she had. She supposed she was a bit possessive of her friendship with Rex. OK, things had progressed to more than just _friendship_ at this point. But, she needed Cody. He was the only one who cared about Rex as much as she did.

Ahsoka gave Cody a tight-lipped smile. Cody gave her shoulder a quick squeeze, then released his hand.

Ahsoka knew she should be exhibiting "Jedi calm" right now, but calm was never one of her strong suits. She paced back and forth, following the exact same path up and back every time, endlessly pacing.

# # #

Rex wished he could see Ahsoka before he went into surgery. But, the titan medical droid, who identified himself as a prototype 2-1B medical droid, abruptly refused his request. The medical droid explained Rex's fevers were due to sepsis, blood poisoning, in his wounded leg. He needed immediate surgery before the blood poisoning spread, and proved terminal.

He didn't feel like he was dying. He was just cold and uncomfortable from being stuck here in the medical bay.

Rex was prepped for surgery, and set up in a sterile field under lights that were much too bright. He squinted into the too bright lights, shivering in the cold sterile room. His leg was sprayed with an antiseptic spray that felt blasted against with an icy tingle. He recoiled at the sensation. Rex adamantly refused to give up his blanket when they tried to take it away. He insisted that he get to keep it, to at least cover his chest and shoulders. He wanted at least some part of him to be warm.

"Take my blanket and I'll blast you into spare parts," Rex threatened, using the voice he used to threaten new recruits to the 501st. The droid just stared at him, with its' unblinking eyes. He looked as if he was assessing Rex's mental state. _That voice works much better when I'm not naked, flat on my back, and talking to a droid, _Rex thought wryly, noticing the droid was just staring at him, as if he was mentally unstable. Rex had to admit his ego was hurt by this. As Captain, he was shown great respect and his words always carried power and authority. He wasn't getting any of that here.

Rex thoroughly disliked having surgery. It seemed that every few months, some part of him was getting torn, ripped or broken. It was probably a good thing that he was never going to grow old. His joints had taken such a beating in his short life he wasn't sure he'd hold up well in the long term. Rex wasn't sure how long GAR clones could be expected to live. It was a pointless question to ask. In his line of work, clones never lasted long. He didn't have to worry about wearing out his joints.

He felt one of the droids finally come back in a needle slide into his neck. He drifted off into oblivion.

# # #


	23. Chapter 23 Replacement parts

_Updated: September 15, 2013_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 23**

Out in the hallway, Ahsoka continued to wait with Cody. The minutes seemed to tick by with agonizing slowness. They paced up and back in the hallway. They heard a noise from around the corner and the corridor was suddenly filled with a dozen members of the 501st. They crowded into the hallway with Ahsoka and Cody, an impressive sea of armored blue and white.

Echo walked up to Ahsoka and Cody, greeting each of them politely. Then, he turned to Cody, "We just heard Rex is back, and that he's injured. We all came down to see how he's doing. What's his status?"

Cody shook his head, "We don't know anything yet. Still waiting."

"Mind if we wait with you?" asked Fives.

Cody nodded his head toward the wall. Fives leaned up against the wall next to Cody. The rest of Torrent Squadron joined their vigil outside medbay, leaning up against the wall, waiting for word on their Captain.

It made Ahsoka's heartache to see Rex's brothers automatically lean up against the wall with that same casual, sturdy-legged stance that Rex always used.

The clones were completely silent as they waited. Although, Ahsoka suspected they were talking privately amongst themselves using their helmet comlinks.

She didn't mind being left out. She didn't want to talk to anyone now anyway. The hallway was too crowded now for her to pace back and forth. So, she found a spot in the hallway where she could stand comfortably and just let her mind drift. Time continued to pass. She couldn't help but think back to some of the things that happened on the planet. She reached a hand up to her lips.

"Commander?" the voice was Rex's. No. Wait. It wasn't. It was Fives. He was holding up a cup to her. "It's tea, Commander. Your preferred drink? Yes?" He gave her a a charming smile that was very much Fives, and not at all like Rex. She nodded gratefully, and accepted the cup. "Thank you, Fives."

She sipped the beverage and was surprised by how much it helped. She hadn't realized how tired she was. She quickly finished it off and tossed the cup in the nearest flash bin. The medbay door finally opened. An overly large medical droid swiveled his dome back and forth, taking in the large number of people congregated in the hallway.

"You are _all_ waiting for Captain Rex?" the droid asked.

"Yes," the entire group answered as one.

Ahsoka rushed forward, nearly ploughing into the droid, in her haste to get word on Rex.

"You may enter now."

Cody looked at the clones, and pulled rank, "Ahsoka and I are going in first."

The other clones nodded, remaining in their position on the wall in the hallway.

Ahsoka followed closely behind the large droid, feeling strangely nervous. She was reassured by Cody's presence right beside her. Normally, she'd always regarded Cody as "Rex's friend." She wouldn't say they were particularly close. But, now, she was coming to rely upon Cody as an important friend, during a time when she needed the support.

The medbay was crowded, as it had been constantly since the start of the war. They threaded past bed after bed, filled with injured clones. Dressed identically in standard blue medbay attire, it was much harder to tell the clones apart. Ahsoka looked around anxiously for Rex. She worried that she would walk right past him, and not recognize him. She peered around for his blond head, not seeing him anywhere in the sea of injured men.

The meddroid led them through the twisting maze of narrow, identical beds, until they finally arrived at Rex. He was still sleeping, dressed in medbay attire. His leg was wrapped from hip to foot, and propped up with a drainage tube leading out of it. He looked thin, so his cheekbones were more angular than usual, and his pallor was pale. Ahsoka breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was still good to see him, even in this condition.

The meddroid turned to leave.

"Wait," Cody demanded of the droid, "what's his condition?"

The droid paused, "We completed only one surgery, at the Captain's request. We removed all the remaining fragments, and have treated him for infection and fever. Since he declined the second surgery here onboard ship, the decision about removing the leg, and getting a replacement part will be done at the ArmyMed Facility on Coruscant. The Captain will be transferred off-ship tomorrow."

The droid began leaving again.

Ahsoka's head was spinning from all the info, and she couldn't even come up with a response. Cody was able to respond faster.

"Wait! Come back here… replacement parts?" Cody shouted to the retreating droid. But, it was too late. The droid ignored him and continued to toddle away.

"Hey, Cody, people are trying to sleep here, you know," came a raspy voice.

"Rex," Ahsoka turned to the sleeping clone captain.

Rex cracked his eyes open, blearily.

"Yeah, it's me," he said, "...I think. Water?"

Cody grabbed a nearby cup before Ahsoka could get to it, and swooped in, lifting Rex's head, helping him drink. By the ease with which he did it, Ahsoka could tell he had done this for Rex, and many other brothers, countless times before.

"Thanks," his injured brother said, leaning back, his voice clearer, "much better."

"How are you feeling?" Ahsoka asked, not sure what else to say.

"Like they've given me one too many hypos," Rex grumbled. "Parts of me are numb that I didn't even know I had."

Cody smiled, then turned serious, "What was the droid going on about just now?"

The Captain scowled, "Oh, that."

"Yes, that," said Cody, "what's going on?"

Rex sighed, obviously trying to pick the right words, "OK, this shabla tinny thinks the best way to fix my leg is to take it off and replace if with an artificial one."

Ahsoka let out a gasp before she could catch herself.

Cody looked at her sharply.

Rex said: "Yes, well, snip-happy droid here wanted to take it off already in this last surgery. I told him if he did he'd have a date with my DC-15, and that I'm very good at shooting droids. He was still going to do it anyway, but I told him if he did, I'd set the entire 501st on him."

Cody smirked, because he could easily picture Rex arguing threatening the medical droid.

Rex shrugged, "So, we compromised and decided he'd just take out the shrapnel in my leg. There were still some pieces of my leg armor in there. But," Rex scowled, and then sighed with annoyed resignation, "I still have to go talk to the people at Coruscant ArmyMed Center about whether this leg is fixable or not."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, as Cody and Ahsoka both struggled with the right response. Ahsoka couldn't help but envision what it would have been like to walk in just now and see Rex with a missing leg. Her stomach felt completely tied up in knots as she realized he could still lose his leg, and that he was being transferred off the ship.

Cody finally said: "ArmyMed is an excellent facility. A year newer than Polis Messa. State-of-the-art."

Rex gave a thin-lipped smile and just nodded, "So I hear."

"Ah... we should probably go... the corridor is filled with 501st waiting to see you. You up for more visitors?"Cody asked.

"Of course," Rex said, hoarsely, but cheerfully. His voice dropped a bit, then he confessed, "I'm not sure how long I'll be at ArmyMed." He exchanged a look with Cody, and Ahsoka wasn't sure what to make of the look. They were communicating something in that moment, an unspoken understanding. "And, Cody, bring me my blasters and kit."

Ahsoka looked at Rex, puzzled. "Why do you need it?"

Rex gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "To shoot the droid, of course."

She knew he was joking, but there was something there. Something was going on. Rex and Cody seemed to know something that they didn't want to tell her.

Ahsoka and Cody left so that the rest of Rex's visitors could go spend time with him. On their way out, the medical droid summoned them to its' tiny, white cube-like office. There were no chairs. The office was purely utilitarian, designed with a droid's needs in mind. There was a desk, set-up perfectly to the droid's height, with imaging equipment, processing equipment, and a communications screen. Cody and Ahsoka stood crushed up against one wall in the tiny room, while the droid doctor pulled up a 3-D hologram of Rex's knee injury. It was a very sophisticated image- it rotated this way, and that, in a rather unsettling way, actually - but it did a good job of showing muscles and tendons, attached to a partial image of a leg bone. It looked like a perfectly healthy, muscular knee. Ahsoka furrowed her brows in confusion.

"This is the Captain's knee, as it looked before, an image taken at his last physical. I extrapolated this image from his full body scan," the droid explained.

"Oh," Ahsoka said soundlessly, cringing at what she knew was coming next.

"Here is a re-creation of the way we think the projectile impacted with the Captain's armor," the droid slowed everything down into an excruciatingly slow 3-D recreation, "and then the shot went right through the knee cap. As you can see, it destroyed most of the kneecap as it punctured through. And, then finally it hit the femur, fracturing that bone, before exiting out here in the back."

Ahsoka didn't want to continue to watch the painfully slow 3-D re-enactment, having seen it all happen live. But, she forced herself to watch, feeling it was the least she could do. She owed this to Rex, who had lived through this, and was still living with it. So, she watched every slow, painful, 3-D moment of it.

She watched the perfect 3-D graphics of the white plastoid armor overlaying the perfectly formed, genetically perfect knee. Then, the dramatically slow-motion shot of that clone killing-ammo coming in for its' date with destiny and striking Rex.

Ahsoka cringed as the 3-D shot impacted on the armor shattering it in all directions. She couldn't help it. The shot continued on inwards through the knee, exploding bone, cartilage, muscles and tendons. Cody held perfectly still, not showing any outward signs of emotion, but Ahsoka could _feel_ his reaction. _Rex was like that, too,_ Ahsoka realized, _so good at hiding behind the helmet._

"A rather neat and tidy exit wound, actually, considering all the damage to the front... Would you like to see it again?" the droid asked enthusiastically.

"No," Ahsoka and Cody said simultaneously. They looked at each other, and exchanged a look of perfect understanding, then looked back at the droid again. Ahsoka realized again there was a lot more to Cody than she'd given him credit for.

"Well, alright then," the droid said, clearly disappointed they did not want to see the whole thing again, "I'm just going to back it up a bit to this important point..."

The droid froze the image, just as the shot was exiting the knee.

"As you can see," the droid said, using a built-in laser pointer, "a great deal of shrapnel entered the knee. Now, Captain Rex informed me that Commander Tano provided him with emergency first aid on-site, and removed a large piece of foreign material from his knee-"

Ahsoka's hand automatically reached into one of her hidden pockets and she ran her fingers over the fragment of armor she'd removed from Rex. The blood had long-since dried on it, making it just an oddly rust-colored whitish triangle, with sharp edges. She wasn't sure why she still carried the thing with her, but somehow, she hadn't been able to bring herself to part with it either. She forced herself to focus back on what the medical droid was saying.

"-there were also a number of smaller fragments which remained embedded in the tissues surrounding the knee."

Ahsoka cringed and sucked in her breath as the 3-D model lit up with all the tiny fragments now highlighted in fluorescent colors.

She still felt guilty for not having been able to remove those fragments.

Cody put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Ahsoka reached up and briefly gripped Cody's hand. These displays of compassions were unusual for Cody, but Rex always did bring out the best in people. Ahsoka forced herself to focus again. The med droid was still talking. She was so far behind on sleep, and food, that she was having difficulties concentrating.

"- fragments resulted in the Captain's high fever. We're treating the fever, however, there is still the danger it can turn systemic. Systemic infections can be fatal. This is why I recommended immediate amputation of the leg. It would greatly reduce the risk of systemic infection."

Ahsoka's stomach churned again at the words "amputation of the leg."

The 3-D image began to change, the bright dots disappearing one by one.

"Less than an hour ago, we performed surgery on the captain, removing all of these fragments," said the droid. "So, setting aside the systemic infection concerns, there is still the matter of the knee injury itself."

The 3-D image grew larger and more detailed, showing just how damaged the knee actually was.

The meddroid provided a detailed description of the damage to the knee. Ahsoka felt like she was following it at first, but then Ahsoka started tuning out all the medical words as cold dread filled her. OK, it was bad - very bad - she got that. Ahsoka felt like her eyes were glazing over as the droid went on and on. She tried to pay attention, but, this medical terminology was... uggh.

"Excuse me, Doctor," Cody said, intervening, "your attention to detail is greatly appreciated. But, could you bottom-line it for us?"

"Bottom-line, due to the excessive amount of nerve damage, it is highly unlikely the Captain's leg will regenerate successfully, even with extensive time in a bacta tank."

"Meaning?" Cody prompted.

"As I informed the Captain, his best option is to remove the leg, and put on a replacement part."

"Replacement part?" Ahsoka echoed hollowly.

"Yes," the droid said, matter-of-factly, "put on a replacement part. I'm sure the medical team at ArmyMed will concur with my assessment. It is very rare that I make an error in my processing," Ahsoka could tell the droid was annoyed that Rex had gone against his medical advice, "Captain Rex could save himself time by having his replacement part installed here. I am highly skilled, and I have clone replacement parts in the store room here. Your Captain is lucky - we just got a big shipment in. Store room is freshly stocked."

"Lucky?" Cody echoed, in a deadly cold voice that signaled this tinny's days could be numbered.

"Yes, parts are available now in much greater quantity and quality than at the beginning of the war. Thanks to all clones being a standardized size, we've been able to build and stock standardized replacement parts for almost all clone appendages. Still working out the logistics on a couple of the trickier appendages. Some appendages are harder to re-attach when they come off than other ones. But, this part replacement program is very exciting," the droid was almost gleeful as he worked up to his subject material, "Clones have a huge advantage over other organics, who often have to wait for custom limbs to be made-to-order. By amputating all clone limbs in a precise manner, we can attach standard, or stock, replacement parts. We can get clones back to work in a fraction of the time it used to take! It is a most exciting medical advancement! If you'd like, Commanders, I'll take you on a tour of our new stockroom. It is amazing how many parts we currently have in stock! Think how reassuring it will be next time a clone is injured in the field! You can reassure them a perfectly suitable replacement part is waiting for them back onboard! Come, I'll take you on a tour of the parts room," the droid turned around and began rolling out the door.

Ahsoka shuddered at the thought of seeing all manner of body parts stacked up in a store room. She could feel that Cody was seething.

"Another time, perhaps," Ahsoka said, quickly.

"Your loss," the droid said, swiveling his dome back and forth, "this part replacement program is the most exciting thing to happen since the war started."

Cody's hand had dropped to rest on top of his blaster. Ahsoka quickly put her hand on top of his and shook her head.

"You were giving us an update on Captain Rex's treatment options," Ahsoka quickly prompted, turning back to the droid. If she didn't watch them very carefully, between Rex and Cody, this medical droid was going to end up as slag.

"OK, then. Yes, well, as you know, Captain Rex declined the replacement part, and opted for the riskier course of action. He has decided to try bacta therapy with this limb, even though I told him it has a high probability of failure," the droid said, waving a hand dismissively at the 3-D holo of Rex's badly damaged leg. The droid gave it one final, almost contemptuous glance, and then switched off the display. "So, as I mentioned, he'll be transferred over to Coruscant ArmyMed Center as soon as we dock. We can't tie up the bacta tanks here. ArmyMed is willing to take on the more... borderline cases. For a time."

The med droid swiveled so that it fixed its' metallic gaze on Ahsoka and Cody, "Since you two are in command, I feel it is my duty to inform you that the Captain's current course of action could, and more likely, _will_ result in him being permanently disabled and removed from service."

Ahsoka felt the floor drop out from under her.

Cody swore under his breath.

"That is all. Good day," the droid and made a hasty retreat from his office.

They heard a disturbance out in the hallway.

The droid was yelling: "What are you doing? This is a medbay, not a cantina!"

Rex definitely had more than a few visitors by his bedside. The dozen or so 501st men from the hallway were all crowded around his bedside. Ahsoka had never heard the song before, but the lyrics sure were _colorful_. All of the clones seemed to know the lyrics, though. A great number of the patients had joined in on the singing as well. Everyone was smiling, and the more the meddroid fussed, the louder they sang, and the more everyone smiled.

In the middle of it all, still looking pale and tired, but very happy, was Rex. He was in his glory, surrounded by all his brothers, and Ahsoka knew that Rex was at his happiest, with his brothers by his side. Cody started laughing. He pushed his way through the crowd. When the men saw who it was, they parted and let him through. Cody ended up right by Rex's side, and he joined in the singing as well.

The meddroid was waving its metallic limbs, trying to stop the group, but the more he fussed, the louder the group continued to get. The group was just finishing up, and giving themselves a loud cheer, when Admiral Yularen stormed in.

"What is going on here?" Admiral Yularen shouted. All singing immediately stopped. "I just received reports of a disturbance in sickbay. TwoOneBee called it a full stage riot."

Cody walked up to the Admiral. "Sir! Captain Rex here was injured on the TriLuna mission, and has to go stateside tomorrow for treatment at ArmyMed. We were just giving him a proper send off," Cody explained.

"Oh," the Admiral said, "yes, I heard you were injured, Captain," he looked at Rex's bandaged leg, "terrible thing that new ammo. An excellent job to all of you on that mission for getting those facilities destroyed." He looked at Cody, Rex and Ahsoka, "Once you are all well again, we'll have a proper celebration to mark the completion of that mission. In the meantime, carry on then. And, best wishes to you, Captain, in your recovery. We'll be eagerly awaiting your return."

Rex nodded respectfully, "Thank you, Admiral." There was something sad in his voice.

Admiral Yularen stepped back, and actually joined the crowd around the bed.

"Just one more song, and then we need to let Rex get some rest," Cody announced. The group groaned, like Cody was shutting down a good party.

"Yes, but if you could just sing the song a bit louder this time," Rex requested from his bed. Rex shot a look over at the medical droid, who had retreated to a corner. The rest of the group turned as one, and shot the droid the same look. The effect was very comical, as all the identical faces all turned to stare at the droid, as if indeed they were facing him on the battlefield. The droid chirped and then beat a hasty retreat. He retreated so quickly that he smacked full-speed into a wall. Everyone laughed, especially Rex and Cody. The Admiral did his best not to laugh at the droid, so he hid his laughter behind a supposed fit of coughing into his hand. Ahsoka actually felt a smidge of pity for the medical droid, because he was so helplessly outnumbered at the moment.

As a group, they sang one last song, a fighting song, and even Admiral Yularen joined in. And, as Rex requested, they did sing it very, very, loudly.

Ahsoka never did forget the look on Rex's face at that moment, how he lit up as he sang with his brothers, and looked around at all their faces. It was so clear in that moment, the bond shared between Rex and his brothers. Rex's eye caught hers, and he actually winked at her. She smiled broadly back at him, and she realized that it was going to be very difficult to fight the feeling she felt for him.

In that moment, surrounded by everyone who mattered to him, Ahsoka realized, Rex was happy. They finished out the last verse of the song, and the room quieted down. It once again started to feel like a medbay. You could again hear the beeping of life support machines across the room someplace. Ahsoka briefly wondered what that dying soldier across the room thought of all this singing.

One by one, the singing men from the 501st came by to clasp Rex's arm, Mando style, before filing out. Cody said his good byes, too, talking to Rex very quietly in Mando. Ahsoka would have given anything to know what they were talking about, because again she felt like they knew something very critical that they just weren't telling her. Cody gave Ahsoka a respectful nod, and then left her alone with Rex.

Now, finally alone, Ahsoka had no idea what to say to Rex. An awkward silence stretched between them.

"I should go," Ahsoka said, seeing how tired Rex looked, "You just had surgery."

Rex gave her a respectful nod. "Thank you again for everything. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

She wanted to say more to him, but the medical droid came in and shooed her away. The moment was lost.

# # #


	24. Chapter 24 Last night

_Revised: December 21, 2013_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 24**

# # #

Later that night, Ahsoka lay in her quarters on the _Resolute__**.**_ She'd taken a badly needed shower, and eaten her first full meal in several days. She'd forgotten to ask Rex if he'd eaten. Surely they'd fed him, right?

By all rights, she should be sound asleep right now. But, she lay on her narrow bunk, in her tiny room, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't stop thinking about Rex.

Finally, she gave up on sleep. There was only one place on the ship she wanted to be right now. She quickly dressed and moved silently as only a Jedi could. Unnoticed, she slipped into the medical bay.

The lights were dimmed low for sleep. She made her way over to Rex's bed and expected to find him awake. She thought he would greet her with his customary curious look. But, that didn't happen. He was asleep with his face too pale, and an uncomfortable grimace crossing his features.

As Ahsoka studied him, she was reminded of how much weight he'd lost over the past week. He'd always been lean, with broad shoulders, and rippling chest and arm muscles, like all clones. But, all roundness was gone from his face, replaced by sharp angles. The standard-issue medical garb fit him improperly, since he'd dropped below average weight for a clone. She longed to take all of it away - the discomfort, the weight loss, the fever. She wanted to return Rex to the way he was before the commando droids had taken out his knee. But, then again, she wouldn't have had precious time alone with him either if the events hadn't happened the way they did. Was it too high a price too pay?

Ahsoka moved silently through the medbay, scrounging for a chair. She finally found one, and pulled it close to Rex's bed. It was a very fit since all the medbunks were close together. But, she managed to wedge it into place. She sank down into the chair, and made herself comfortable. It was cold in here. Ahsoka shivered, and wrapped her arms tightly against herself. She yawned hugely, realizing finally her complete state of exhaustion. She felt her head drooping. She placed her head down on her arms, resting on the edge of the mattress near Rex's shoulder. When the tip of one of her montrals brushed up against Rex, her whole body tingled form the contact. It reminded her of the few brief touches they'd shared on TriLuna. Finally feeling at peace, she fell into an exhausted slumber.

# # #

Rex woke up to feel a comforting, familiar presence against his shoulder.

"Uh, Commander?" he frowned, puzzled, keeping his voice barely audible.

Ahsoka opened her eyes just a slit, trying to stifle a huge yawn. "I couldn't sleep." Her voice was as soft as his, and she leaned her arms back throwing her torso into a feline-like stretch. Rex tried not to notice how the gesture showed off her entire upper anatomy.

Rex focused his attention on his feet, avoiding looking at Ahsoka. "You should go."

Ahsoka shook her head. "I want to be with you a little longer. You're leaving tomorrow."

Rex scowled. "If someone finds you here, it could spell trouble for you."

The Jedi padawan smirked. "No one will catch me. And, I'll stay a respectable distance back, Rexster. I promise." She shifted her body off the edge of his medbay bunk and scooted the chair back a more respectable distance.

Rex rubbed at his face. "Commander."

"Please, Rex."

He gazed at her, her blue eyes pleading with his brown ones. "Alright," Rex relented, realizing he had power over every trooper in the five oh first, but this padawan was another matter entirely.

Ahsoka curled up in her chair and quickly fell back asleep, a small smile on her lips. Rex stayed awake the rest of the night and watched her sleep, not quite able to figure her out and where she fit into his life. Occasionally his glance would stray down to his heavily wrapped wrapped leg and it was clear to him that his entire future as he knew it was in jeapordy.

# # #

Ahsoka awoke as the first of the morning cleaning droids came scurrying through, a precursor to the organic crew to follow. She slipped out before anyone discovered her presence. She leaned over him, giving him a strained smile and quick hug before disappearing off. She even managed to stash the chair back away. Rex smiled as he watched her, admiring her stealth. But, as the medbay door swished shut behind her, his smile faded away. It would be likely be a while before they'd see each other again. The thought bothered him more than he cared to admit. He stared at the ceiling, overtired from not having slept, but feeling apathetic and detached.

A B-1 medical droid came over to check the bandages on Rex's leg, and the drainage tube. It worked silently, injecting Rex's leg with something that stung fiercely, before moving on to the next patient. The clone captain lay back, trying to ignore the sting, and stared at the ceiling again. He had little else to do.

Eventually, he heard the sounds of the docking thrusters being engaged. _The Resolute_ was docking at Coruscant. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or upset. Being moved out of the medbay would break up the tedium, but it only meant going on to another medical facility and further away from everyone he knew.

Several minutes passed before a tall spindly service droid appeared at his bedside.

"Clone CC-7567 Transfer Approved," the droid tapped on a datapad, "wait here for transport to Coruscant ArmyMed."

_Wait here. Like I'm going to walk off._

The shape of the droid reminded him too much of a commando droid. Rex wished he had his blasters handy. He knew there'd be consequences for needlessly destroying service droids, but it would make him _feel_ better right about now. Destroying tinnies always brightened his day.

His musings were interrupted by two cheerful clone medics who came from ArmyMed. He'd have to guess they were shinies by their youthful exuberance. The shinies kept up a steady stream of upbeat conversation as they loaded him onto a special medical transport shuttle. Rex wasn't sure if they were talking to him, or back and forth to each other. He wasn't in the mood to talk, and they didn't push the issue. He watched the _Resolute_ disappear in the distance as the shuttle smoothly accelerated away from the large cruiser and headed into the crowded skylines of Coruscant.

Rex got the strangest feeling, as he watched the ship disappear from sight. A nagging feeling that he might never see the ship again, either he was looking at a ghost ship, or he was the one who was never coming back. His grim thoughts were interrupted by a chipper voice.

"Not to worry, Captain, we'll take good care of you. We'll have you checked in to ArmyMed in no time at all," said one of his cheerful escorts.

Rex glanced up, but said nothing. He scowled fiercely. He disliked Coruscant. Battlefields at least followed some sort of rules of warfare. Coruscant always struck him as barely contained chaos with too many beings crammed together in never-ending metropolitan insanity.

He felt naked without his armor, without his helmet, without his blasters, and his rifle. He finally asked about his kit, and the medics assured him his gear was being transported with him. He could feel his frustration mounting as he was taken further away from the five oh first. He clenched his hands into fists. One of the medics noticed.

"Do you need a pain shot? We are authorized to administer them," he asked kindly.

Somehow, his gentle demeanor added to Rex's frustration.

"No, I'm fine," Rex closed his eyes, wanting to shut all of it out. He wanted to wake up and find himself back in the barracks aboard the _Resolute_. He felt the shuttle set down on the roof of the ArmyMed building.

"We're here, sir!" said one of the cheerful medics. "Welcome to ArmyMed!"

"Shhhhhhh!" hissed his companion, "the Captain is sleeping!"

Rex sighed, and opened his eyes, "Not sleeping."

They headed off the shuttle and onto the roof onto the medical complex. An automated entry door at the end of the platform slid open. They wheeled the bed inside, and the doors slid shut behind them, completely sealing off all daylight. And, so, Rex's new existence began.

# # #


	25. Chapter 25 ArmyMed

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex"**

**Chapter 25**

Rex lay back on a rubbery mattress in a small treatment room at Army Med. He stared up at the ceiling. It was not a very interesting ceiling, but, he had nothing else to do. He'd fallen asleep for a while, which was a good way to pass the time. He was starting to feel better without that extra shrapnel in his leg. But, now he was awake and didn't feel like napping anymore. He'd been officially admitted early that morning. It was close to noontime, and he was still waiting in the same room for his first evaluation. Ah, yes, this is one thing he clearly remembered from every stay in a military hospital- hours and hours of waiting around with absolutely nothing to do.

If he had his gear bag, he could find something to do. Clean something, fiddle with something, read something. But, his bag was nowhere to be seen.

So, he lay back, hands behind his head, and just stared at the ceiling. Yup. Hadn't changed much in the past five minutes. Rex ran a mental comparison to the ceilings of other treatment centers he'd been in. They all looked remarkably similar. Must be a master blueprint somewhere. Treatment rooms must be plain, functional, and devoid of aesthetics.

Rex quickly got bored of lying down again, and sat back up. He looked around the room, thinking it wouldn't take much to make the room more visually appealing. The first thing to change would be the color of the walls. Dull grey? Uggh. That's a tinny color. Why not blue? And, a poster or two of someplace visually appealing that folks always talk about visiting one day, like Alderaan, or something.

Rex studied the room some more. Yes, it wouldn't take much... he could see angles, floor plans, even building re-designs in his mind. He hadn't realized until that moment that he was even interested in architecture. He yawned and lay back down again, trying to sleep out of general boredom. Fek. He wished he were anywhere but here.

# # #

"Ahsoka!" Anakin said, aggravated, "Hey! Ahsoka! Have you heard anything I've said?"

_Huh? How long has he been talking to me?_

Earlier that morning, after she'd left MedBay, she'd hurried back to her quarters for a quick shower. She was hoping to grab something from the Mess Hall and then share it with Rex. She'd forgotten to ask him if he'd eaten anything at all yesterday, but with the surgery, she suspected he hadn't. She quickened her step, eager to get back to Rex as soon as possible. She wanted to spend every minute with him that she could before he was transferred off the ship today. She tried not to think about that. She was almost at the Mess Hall when she felt a familiar presence. _Oh no._

"Ah, there you are, Ahsoka," Anakin put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and steered her into the Mess Hall, " I was just about to comm you. Obi Wan and I are meeting for breakfast. Then, we're headed straight into the strategy session. The time of the meeting has been moved up. We have a great deal of planning to do. Come join us for breakfast."

The way her Master said it, it was not a request. Ahsoka felt all of her plans crumbling away.

"Master, I have some things I need-"

"Your plans can wait. Obi Wan is already here. We both want to be debriefed about your time on TriLuna," Her Master kept his firm grip on Ahsoka's shoulder and steered her right onto the food line behind a line of waiting clones. Ahsoka fumed at his manhandling of her. She should be used to it by now. In the beginning, she hadn't minded it. She felt it was her Master's way of guiding her. Now, she was just annoyed by it. Four hours later, Ahsoka was fidgeting with the controls of her datapad. She sighed, and rubbed one of her booted feet against her other leg, scratching an itchy spot on her calf. She stared at her fingernails, trying to figure out which ones might need trimming. She idly ran her fingers up and down the cup of her empty caf mug. She stared at all the little scratches etched into the conference room table.

"Ahsoka," Anakin said, aggravated, "Did you hear anything I just said?"

_How long has he been talking to me? What were we talking about? The new mission, right? We've been talking about the new mission?_

"Of course, Master," Ahsoka said quickly, glancing down at the notes on her datapad, rather than meeting the eyes of her Master, "I've been taking notes."

"Are you OK?" Master Kenobi asked, in a gentler tone than the one Anakin had used, "you seem... distracted."

"Do I?" Ahsoka asked, stalling for time.

"Yes, you do," said Master Kenobi, "even without the Force, it's obvious. You haven't stopped fidgeting since we started the meeting. You're even more restless than Anakin at this age and that's saying a lot."

"Nice, Master," retorted Anakin, dryly.

Ahsoka tuned out the two Jedi Masters, figuring they were going to engage in another one of their lengthy verbal sparring sessions. Instead, she was completely tuned into all the shipboard sounds of _the Resolute_. She was listening for the sounds of ships taking off from the hanger deck, wondering if Rex was onboard one of the ships. What was he thinking now? He'd left, and she hadn't even come by to say goodbye? How awful...

"Ahsoka!" Anakin's voice startled Ahsoka to the point that her hand jerked and her caf cup tumbled over.

Commander Cody, sitting next to Ahsoka, caught the cup, and set it back upright. He gave her a sympathetic smile. She immediately saw in his gaze that he got what was going on with her.

_Finally! Someone with a clue!_

"Ahsoka!" her Master repeated.

"Yes, Master?" Ahsoka could tell her Master was angry with her now. She braced herself for his oncoming lecture. Surprisingly, it never came. Master Kenobi intervened on her behalf.

"I think now would be a good time for a break, Anakin," said Obi Wan, "Ahsoka, would you be kind enough to run down to the medical bay and get an update on Captain Rex's condition?"

_Thank you, Master Kenobi._

"Why don't we just com-" Anakin started.

"Great idea, Master. I'll get going," said Ahsoka, and she was out the door before her Master could finish her sentence. Ahsoka raced through the corridors, dodging the busy crews. A few of the 501st troopers tried to say hello to her, she tried to smile in return as she ran by, but she was in such a hurry, it probably came out as more of a strained grimace. The wait for the hololift seem interminable. She was considering sliding down one of the emergency access tubes when the lift finally arrived, completely filled up with two hoverloaders of supplies.

_Ah, just my luck, every lift is tied up with supplies! _Ahsoka waited, very impatiently, while supplies were offloaded. She was so impatient, that she helped offload the supplies with the Force, and then ran into the lift. Finally down on medbay level, she sprinted for the medbay. She ran through the medbay doors and into the medbay. She immediately noticed that the medbay wasn't nearly as full. The room had a whole different "feel" to it than the day before. There were much less troopers in it, and the ones who were here, weren't injured nearly as badly. Ahsoka got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. But, not giving up hope, she sprinted in the direction of Rex's bed. She sprinted closer, noticing all the beds around him were now empty.

She rounded the corner, and there was... an empty bed, stripped of its' sheets. Just a bare mattress. Ahsoka sank to her knees. She knew this was a possibility. So, why did it hurt so much? She tried to stand up again, but she just couldn't. Not at the moment. He was gone. He was actually gone. Suddenly, she felt an armored hand on her shoulder. It startled her so much that she let out a shriek. She lost her balance and fell backwards into a white set of armored legs.

"Sorry, Commander, I didn't mean to startle you," the familiar voice instantly tugged at Ahsoka's heart strings. But, it wasn't quite the right voice. Rex's voice was just a little bit deeper in pitch, always gruffer, like he shouted too much.

Ahsoka looked up into the familiar helmet of Commander Cody. Ahsoka teared up. She couldn't help it.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force back the tears. _ Jedi don't cry. Jedi don't cry. Jedi don't cry. _She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes again_. _Cody had taken off his helmet, and his eyes met hers. His brown eyes were warm with compassion, understanding the pain of being separated from someone you care about. Cody extended a hand to help her up. Ahsoka gripped his hand and just stared up into his face for a moment.

"Cody," Ahsoka said simply.

"Yes, Commander," Cody said, pulling her upwards and setting her back gently on her feet.

He gave her a reassuring smile, it was slightly different from Rex's smile, yet the similarities were there, and Ahsoka didn't know if all of this made it better or worse, somehow.

"You, OK, Commander?"

"He's gone, Cody," Ahsoka said, her voice hitching a little, "and, no, I'm not OK." She blew out a long breath, and then let out a long string of curses, making sure to work in all of Rex's favorites.

To her surprise, Cody laughed at her language, and the laugh was so very familiar that it hit Ahsoka like a physical blow. They might talk a bit differently, but they laughed exactly the same. "Impressive, Commander. Come on, I'll walk you back to the briefing room."

Ahsoka sighed miserably, her shoulders drooping low as they walked out of medbay.

As they walked out, Cody finally said, "Briefings aren't all bad, you know. We clones have a way of livening them up, sometimes."

Ahsoka looked over at him incredulously, "Seriously?"

His voice dropped low, "You ever play 'annoy the Jedi?' You take care of General Skywalker. I'm the Master at working General Kenobi. He never sees it coming."

"Cody, you do realize that I am a Jedi," she'd never suspected this of the mild-mannered 212th commander.

"Yeah, but you don't act like one, so that doesn't count."

Ahsoka wasn't sure if Cody had just given her an insult or a compliment. But, she was feeling better, so she didn't bother pursuing it.

"So, annoy the Jedi, huh?" she said, looking over at Cody, while they waited for the lift.

"A favorite past time of us clones," Cody said cheerfully, "never gets old."

Ashoka looked at him, puzzled, "Your Jedi is Master Kenobi. He doesn't get all worked up all the time, like my Master does."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Cody said, "I don't think Skywalker learned all of that behavior completely on his own."

Ashoka looked at Cody incredulously, "Are you saying that Master Kenobi has full on temper tantrums? Because my master does."

Cody put his head back and just laughed. The sound made Ahsoka feel much better. There was no one it, but it was filled floor to ceiling with supplies. Still laughing, Cody reached over, hit the door release button, and sent the lift on its' way again.

As Ahsoka watched the lift disappear, she grumbled: "I think it would be faster to crawl through the access shaft."

Cody looked over at her and shrugged, "Supply day. Can't be helped."

Another lift finally stopped, but it was also completely full. This time, there was an apologetic supply officer inside. "Sorry, Commanders," he said, the doors closed, and the lift was gone again.

Ahsoka hissed with annoyance. Cody grinned. "Are you laughing at me, Commander?"

Cody folded his arms across his chest, and then said: "Perhaps."

They both stood there in silence, waiting for the lift. Ahsoka rocked back and forth on her heels impatiently. Cody chuckled. Ahsoka shot him an annoyed look again, which only made Cody dissolve into a sort of smirking noise as he tried to contain his laughter.

"New plan," Cody said, "next time the lift stops, we just commandeer the lift and toss out whatever shabuir is in there, alright?"

"Shabuir?" Ahsoka said, staring at him, she shook her head, "its always the quiet ones."

The next lift turned out to be empty and the rest of the meeting passed much more quickly. Somehow, knowing that Cody had her back made all the difference. She'd barely spoken with the 212th commander before this so she figured all of this must have been Rex's doing.

# # #

Still waiting in the treatment room, Rex sat up again, stretching after his most recent nap. He automatically looked down at his wrist, where his chrono usually resided. The overenthusiastic droids the day before had completely stripped him down before his surgery. Rex's wrist was bare. He wondered if his chrono had actually found its' way into his gearbag. Or, if he'd have to go through requisitioning a replacement. He and that chrono had gone through a lot together. He'd hate to have to break in a shiny new one. Every scratch and ding on the old one represented a memory- some scrape he'd survived. He had to admit he was rather attached to his old chrono.

Rex huffed out his breath with annoyance. Aboard the _Resolute_, he was treated with respect. He commanded an entire legion, regarded as the most highly trained in the Republic Army. When he walked through the hallways of the Resolute, everyone nodded to him in respect, or saluted. He'd earned that respect. Being kept waiting all this time felt... disrespectful.

But, he wasn't surprised. He was on Coruscant now. Everything was different here. Corrie was for Republic citizens, and he was not a citizen.

# # #

Rex had managed to doze off into a fitful sleep and was startled awake when the door finally opened. An older human male doctor walked in wearing standard issue medical garb.

He glanced briefly at a datapad in his hand, before introducing himself. "Captain Rex?" I'm Dr. Anhalt." Htte swiped through his datapad, glanced at Rex again and uttered a few noises under his breath. "Mmmm... clone shredder? Interesting."

Rex just watched him impassively, not in the mood to give his opinion on the topic of the new Separatist munitions. At the moment, he was more interest in getting something to eat than having a conversation. He was both nauseous and starving at the same time which was an unpleasant combination.

He watched the doctor unwrap the post-surgical bandages. Rex was amazed at how much padding there was. It came as something of a surprise, then, to Rex when his bare skin finally appeared. The doctor unwrapped the final layers off of Rex's knee with a cool, practiced, impartial touch. Rex steeled himself for the fiery pain of having his knee handled, but he didn't feel anything.

_Why can't I feel anything?_

Rex stayed completely silent, his eyes carefully tracking everything the doctor did. His knee didn't look any better for having had that surgery the day before. If anything, it looked even more swollen.

"Well, Captain, you're an interesting case. We haven't seen clone-shredder induced trauma before," the doctor pulled out a portable imager and studied Rex's knee more carefully. He looked up again. "Alright, I'm going to put you on the waiting list to get some high-resolution scans done. They're backed up at the moment. But, these scans could be of great interest to many." the doctor said, looking at Rex's knee with fascination once again.

Rex scowled at the doctor fiercely. He didn't care about being an object of fascination. He just wanted to get his kriffin' knee fixed. Everything that happened here determined his future.

"What can you do to _fix it_?"Rex growled out impatiently.

"Fix it?" the doctor looked at the 501st Captain like he'd asked a ridiculous question. He pointed to the center of Rex's kneecap, "You have almost no cartilage left. We can try bacta, but I'm doubtful as to whether it will fully regenerate. The damage is very substantial. Bacta needs a starting point to regenerate from. I was under the impression they explained all of this to you on _the Resolute._"

Rex felt his stomach clench in knots and his whole system chilled even colder than he already was. "There must be something you can do," he said, staring at the doctor with a look of icy calm.

The doctor shook his head as he pointed to another section of Rex's knee, "Over here, the nerve damage is so substantial that I don't know if your brain will ever be able to talk to these nerves again. But, maybe there is something we can do."

Rex felt a glimmer of hope. "What? It can be fixed, right?"

The doctor scratched at his chin, "I understand from TwoOneBee that he has discussed our exciting new limb replacement program with you, yes?"

The clone captain felt all his hopes sink away, "No."

"That is most disappointing. Alright, then. I guess we'll just have to try the bacta then and hope for the best."

# # #

Rex had to wait the rest of the afternoon to be sent for the scans, but at least someone at least brought him something to eat. It was standard medcenter food, but he was starving at that point and downed everything on the tray. It was already dark when a technician shook him awake, and took him for his scans. The scans themselves didn't take that long. Another doctor, whose name Rex didn't even catch, looked over the scans and just shook his head. He looked over Rex's medical records on a datapad, shook his head again, and then ordered Rex straight into bacta. Rex wanted to object. He wanted to at least see the scans for himself, and talk about his treatment plan for after the bacta tank. But, then, he realized he didn't have much choice in the matter anyway. He was property of the Army.

Rex flinched as he was lowered into the cold, gel-like bacta. Fourteen days of submersion. Hopefully, the miracle substance would do its thing and he could be reassigned back to _the_ _Resolute_. But, there was that terrible nagging feeling in his gut that this time he wasn't going back home.

# # #


	26. Chapter 26 Mud, Honor and Armor

_Revised: September 24, 2013_

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex**

**Chapter 26**

The entire planet smelled like fetid Gamorrean snarook. No matter how much it rained, it never got better. Two weeks into the mission of Kothlis, and Ahsoka was just as miserable as the day they'd deployed. The place was a big smelly, muddy pit.

She wondered how Rex was doing back at ArmyMed. Hopefully he was almost fully recovered and had regained all the weight he'd lost. Picturing him brightened her mood, and temporarily blocked out the misery of Kothlis.

She wished they were in communications range, so she could find out how he was doing. But, communications were exceedingly difficult this far out into the Outer Rim. Most of the time, the Separatists jammed all their communications. They were lucky if they could get 30 to 60 seconds of a clear signal to report back to the Jedi Council. Even then, the signal was so degraded, it became a guessing game of: "What did they say? Were they saying to proceed, or _not_ to proceed? Did anyone get that?"

Without someone to tease, or for her eyes to constantly seek out in the field, there just was nothing to break up the monotony of each day. The days seemed endlessly slow, and one day blurred into the next. Ahsoka just wanted to get done with this siege.

The 501st had split off from the 212th for a two-pronged attack, so she no longer had Cody's steadying presence. Cody wasn't Rex, but it was still comforting having him around. He seemed to have appointed himself her backup support person now. She'd never even known he had a sense of humor before, but he actually had a dry wit that surprised her at many turns. Without Rex around, she'd come to rely upon Cody's emotional support. Her Master seemed to be getting more distracted, and irritable. When Master Kenobi was around, he seemed to keep Master in check. But, there was no one to spare her from the emotional mood swings at the moment.

Ahsoka huddled in a small, rocky enclave, wrapped in a standard issue Republic blanket.

"Ugggh!" she muttered out loud, "I hate this shabla planet!"

She stopped, and then smiled a tiny bit, realizing she was automatically picking up on Rex's Mando curse words. Then, she frowned again, as she thought of how far away Rex was, rather than stuck on this miserable planet with the rest of them.

She muttered under her breath, once again rearranging the blanket, trying to seal in a bit more bodyheat. _I'm freezing. Hate the weather. Hate the planet._ The first words that came to mind were colorful Mando'a curse words. It felt good to say them, so Ahsoka stretched her mind and called up every curse word she'd ever heard Cody or Rex utter, and then muttered all of those under her breath, too. _Huh, I do feel a bit better. _She felt as if she'd released a bit of steam off the pressure valve than her existence had become over the past few weeks. She repeated all the curse words again, carefully committing the whole sequence to memory.

_Huh- there's almost a rhythm to the words_, Ahsoka noticed. She muttered them again, this time humming a little tune with them. _I think I might be on to something here. _The words seemed to flow so well with the music. She sung it again and again, perfecting the words with the rhythm of the song. She began tapping her foot in rhythm to the song. _Yes, it's really, very catchy._

The rain started coming down even heavier, now accompanied by globs of hail. Ahsoka watched the hail pieces bounce off the ground with a distinctive 'plink.'

Two troopers came running through the rain and hail, looking for a bit of shelter. The hail made a thwacking sound as it pelted against their armor. Ahsoka waved to them, indicating she had a bit of shelter. They ran in her direction, and joined her in the little enclave. They nodded their thanks. Ahsoka nodded in return, but kept singing and humming her little tune quietly. She was doing it automatically now, not really thinking about it. It had become a self-soothing tune. She stared out at the rain, not even taking the time to notice which two troopers had taken shelter with her. In the past, such things mattered a lot to her. They were all Rex's men, and, her men, and she made an effort to connect with each and every one of them. But, she was just feeling worn down right now. She was worn down by this planet. She was worn down by this war. She was worn down from being separated from the one person who always made all of this seem O.K.

So, she just keep humming her tune, missing the shocked looks exchanged between the two troopers in the cave. After a while, their shock faded to amusement, and then, feet started tapping, and heads moving, as they were caught up in the catchy rhythm of the song.

# # #

_Uggggh_. Ahsoka grimaced as she sank ankle deep in mud. _Not liking this._

She began cursing the planet under her breath as she attempted to pull her boots free of the mud. She blew out a breath. Her colorful litany had become her mantra. Muttering relieved her frustration and boredom. Humming her song was self-soothing, and singing made her feel less alone. So, Ahsoka sang and hummed. She stopped and looked around. She hadn't made much progress. The mud was still totally hampering her progress.

In her misery, Ahsoka began to have odd, illogical fantasies. She visualized destroying the whole planet in one fell swoop. She knew this was a ridiculous thought. There was nothing in the universe that could destroy a planet, not even the power of the Force. But, it was a nice fantasy, all the same. She detested this muddy pit.

As she struggled to yank her boot out of the mud, she once again visualized the entire planet disappearing off the cosmic map. She harshly tugged her boot out of the sticky mud. Her foot came up, but not her boot. She stood there, balanced on one leg, staring at her bare foot dangling above her stuck boot.

"Arrrrgh!" she knashed her teeth in frustration.

She shoved her foot back into her boot, and tried to lift her foot. But, she only succeeded in getting her other foot mired in the mud as well.

"Ahhhhh!" Ahsoka wanted to stomp her feet in frustration, but she couldn't move her feet enough to do so.

"How's it going, Snips?" Anakin asked, slogging through the mud toward her. For some reason, he seemed to be having an easier time traversing the muddy terrain. Why did things seem to come easier to him? It didn't seem fair.

"Oh, just great, Master," Ahsoka replied, planting her hands on her hips, and staring down at her stuck feet. "I was just doing my impression of a tree. I've decided to take up permanent residence, right in this spot."

Anakin studied her for a moment, then put his hands around her waist, and easily lifted her out of the mud. Her boots pulled free with a gurgling, sucking sound. "There you are. Now, no more playing in the mud, OK? We have work to do," Anakin began walking away.

Ahsoka's feet immediately began sinking down into the mud. She growled in frustration and began working at freeing herself.

Anakin turned around, and walked back to Ahsoka.

"Aw, come on, it's not that bad," he pulled her free of the mud again, this time carrying her a short distance to a drier, sturdier patch of dirt before setting her down. He gave her a brotherly pat on the shoulder. "Cheer up. We'll finish up here, and then we'll be on to our next exciting destination... Look at it this way, you're getting to travel to exciting places you may not have seen otherwise. Surely this beats just sitting in the Temple?" Anakin gave her such a cheerful smile that Ahsoka didn't have the heart to tell him what she really thought of the planet. They walked side-by-side, headed toward the long column of clone troops setting up for their oncoming battle.

Ahsoka glanced at her Master. He was in a good mood today. It was a nice change from some of his unexplainable bouts of sullen moodiness. But, now she was the one in a bad mood. She scowled at her Master. "About that finishing up part? Just how do we accomplish that exactly?" Ahsoka stumbled and nearly fell. Her feet were mired in mud again. Ahsoka grunted in frustration, and began tugging at her boots. Anakin shook his head at her, amused at her continued struggles with the mud. She continued on with their conversation, while she struggled to free her boots. "What is our strategy here? What have we even accomplished here? Seems to me we are getting our tails kicked while the Council makes up their minds, and we are fast running out of clones." Ahsoka's full attention was on tugging her boots out of the quagmire of mud. She missed the look of rage that passed across her Master's face. But, she felt it. She looked up startled to see her Master clenching, and unclenching his fists.

"Master?" she asked, hesitantly, "are you OK?"

"Padawan, " Anakin said curtly, and pointing to a spot out of earshot from the rest of the troops, "a word in private."

_When he refers to me as 'Padawan,' it's always bad._

The troopers close enough to overhear shot Ahsoka a look of sympathy. Ahsoka's shoulders drooped, "Yes, Master." She attempted to follow his orders and head to where he had pointed. But, she was still stuck. Anakin pulled her free once again, but, he did so with much less gentleness this time. He set her roughly back on her feet. Ahsoka almost lost her balance, and narrowly avoid tumbling into the mud. Anakin stalked away, headed over to a thicket a small distance away. Ahsoka obediently followed.

Anakin made a hand gesture to a couple of troopers who had just stopped to see if they need assistance. Anakin shook his head curtly, gesturing that they should continue walking, "Go. We'll catch up," he said curtly, in a tone that brokered no argument.

"Yes, General," the two clones said in tandem.

Ahsoka was sure they were muttering to themselves in their helmet comms, speculating about what the Jedi were up to now.

As Anakin trudged in the mud, following his padawan, his feet slapped heavily against the sticky mud. The dark, dank soil was a perfect match to his stormy mood. They both stopped once they were out of earshot from the main column of troops. Anakin stood over Ahsoka, arms folded across his chest, glowering down at her. Ahsoka peered up at him, determined not to cower, but she sensed she was in for another talking-down from her boss. She knew that look.

Anakin stared at Ahsoka for a long moment, not saying anything. She met his gaze, trying to figure out what it was she had done wrong this time. Maybe if she could figure out what it was, she could apologize in advance and head off his rebuke. But, as Ahsoka looked up into his eyes, she couldn't get any clues as to her latest misstep.

Anakin continued to just gaze at her, not saying anything. Ahsoka began to squirm under his continued scrutiny. Somehow, his not saying anything at all was much worse than one of his heated lectures.

She was about to open her mouth and just offer a general apology for whatever it was that she had done, when Anakin finally spoke.

He sighed, rubbed both hands against his temples, as if rubbing away a headache, and then gave Ahsoka a sad, paternal look: "Ahsoka, I understand that you're tired. You're frustrated." His tone was much gentler than what she had been expecting, "I know how worried you've been about Rex. Everybody here feels the same way, including me. We're all feeling the strain of not having him here. Appo is a competent commander, but nobody could fill Rex's boots. He is the heart and soul of the 501st." Ahsoka stared at her Master in surprise, feeling that just perhaps he was getting much better at this Master business, after all. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know Rex has taken you under his wing since your arrival. Frankly, even I'm extra nervous with having him around. I relied upon him to keep you out of trouble."

Ahsoka made a wry face. She could keep herself out of trouble. She opened her mouth to object, but her Master put a hand forestalling anything she might have to say.

"Let me finish. Our whole balance as a unit is thrown off without Rex here," Anakin continued, "But, we all still have an important job to do. The 501st Legion can't stop fighting while we wait for Rex to return. It might be a while before he returns." Hearing those words made Ahsoka choke up. She blinked quickly, forcing back tears. "We still have a war to fight, and, unless we're all giving it 100 percent, people are going to die. Troopers. Jedi. Rex's men," Ahsoka's eyes went wide and she immediately flashed back to the cave and Rex's memories of Teth. She tried to push those memories aside so that she could focus on what her Master was saying, "All of that being said, Ahsoka," Anakin's voice took on a much firmer, darker tone, "You _cannot_ contradict me in front of the men, and, make statements like you just did. _Ever_."

Now that her Master pointed it out, she realized she _was_ wrong. Ahsoka hung her head in shame, wishing she could go back in time and take her words back.

"I'm sorry, Master. I was wrong. I see that now," Ahsoka said, clearly meaning the words.

"You are their _Commander_, Ahsoka," Anakin continued, "with command comes great responsibility. You must give the men confidence, and not a sense that all is hopeless. You can't just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Next time, _think_ before you speak."

"Yes, Master," Ahsoka said, wishing she could make a hole in the ground, and just disappear into it. It wouldn't be too hard, actually. This ground was already so soft because of all the mud...

Her Master just stood there staring at her. Ahsoka felt like the moment lasted forever. She wished he would just walk away, and leave her alone with her shame. Finally, Ahsoka broke the awful silence. "Master, can we just never speak of this again, please?"

"I guess that's up to you, Snips," Anakin said, "now let's get back out there, and motivate our troops. We have another long, tough day ahead of us."

Anakin turned his back on her and headed back toward the advancing column of troops. Ahsoka was incredibly relieved to be left alone for a moment. She wanted to just sink down into the mud, and wallow in self-loathing. Was Master Yoda's faith in her misplaced? Was she too young to be out here fighting taking on this kind of responsibility? Ahsoka looked over to where her Master had joined with the long line of soldiers marching toward their next battle. A seemingly endless line of black and white, etched with painted on stripes of blue. As she stared at these men, she felt affection for them. She felt protective of them. She felt proud of them. Yes, perhaps these were all emotions she was not supposed to feel. But, she felt them anyway. She had a duty toward these men. Rex's men. She would not leave them to fight in this battle alone. She would protect them to her dying breath, just as Rex would do.

_They're even younger than I am. I have to protect them._

Squaring her shoulders, she forcefully yanked her feet free of the mud and headed back toward the long line of soldiers.

She was a Jedi, and she had a duty to perform. She would not shirk her duties.

# # #

Rex felt himself being hauled out of the bacta tank.

_I'm getting out._

He could taste bacta dripping down the back of his throat. The sickly sweet tang would be tickling the back of his throat for days to come. But, it was a small price to pay for the accelerated healing of bacta. He could only hope it had healed his injuries this time as well as in the past.

Rex had been unconscious for most of his 14 days in the bio-bacta tank. But, at times, he'd felt himself drifting back up into awareness. It was an uncomfortable state, somewhere not quite between twilight sleep and full awareness. He could feel the odd sensation of being weightless and adrift in the bacta tank. He knew where he was, and why he was there. But, he had no fine motor control. Unable to open his eyes, or move his limbs, he was stuck in a helpless, unmoving state.

His thoughts would drift to the 501st. He didn't know where there were deployed right now or how their mission was progressing. The complete lack of information bothered him to no end. How were the troops adjusting to Appo? And, what if they preferred Appo to him? Or, what if Appo didn't get along well with the Legion and things were not progressing well on the mission? How many casualties had they suffered? Would they have suffered less if he had been there instead of Appo? This thinking made him feel guilty that he was stuck here in this bacta tank. Maybe he wasn't careful enough out in the field and that's why he'd gotten shot by commando droids, _twice_ now. As he hung suspended in the tank for hours on end, he found it was the _not knowing_ what was going to the people he cared about that was the worst part. Even though he tried to keep his thoughts about his commander on a professional level, he did find himself thinking about the Jedi padawan who'd worked so hard to save his life. He found himself worrying constantly, and he never actually considered himself the 'worrying' type. A careful planner, yes, a worrier, no. But, he was always the one that watched out for the little padawan. So, who was watching out for her now that he was stuck here on Coruscant? All kinds of things could happen in two weeks. Commander Tano refused to wear any kind of body armor, and without it, it just took one stray blaster bolt... Thoughts like that drove Rex crazy as he had floated for those many days in the dark, weightless limbo. During those seemingly endless days in the bacta tank. Since he drifted in and out of consciousness, he couldn't track how many days had passed, or how much longer he had to go until he'd get out. Had it been two days? Eight days? 12 days?

At one point, during one of these 'twilight awareness' episodes, he had a moment of panic. He came up with the paranoid thought: 'what if the medical facility came under attack? Would anyone remember to evacuate the bio tanks? Would there be enough time? Would anybody _care_ enough? Or, would he be stuck floating here for all eternity, until the power gave out, and his body slowly starved to death. He imagined himself one of many identical skeletons floating in a row of identical bio tanks. This 'panic attack' must have caused his heart rate to spike. He heard a sensor go off outside the tank. Then, he heard muffled voices. At that point, they must have adjusted his sedative to a much higher dose. He immediately felt himself getting very drowsy, and then didn't remember anything at all until he was hauled out of the tank.

He was very groggy and disoriented when he was hauled out of the tank. OK, they had definitely upped the dosage. He was totally out of it. He could barely move. Since he didn't have much control over his limbs, he wasn't much help when they deposited him onto an anti-grav stretcher. He was rolled onto the stretcher in an ungainly heap and taken to a nearby refresher. The room was heated, which was a pleasant change from the chill of the bacta tank. Rex was rolled into a waiting tub of water. He kept his eyes closed. It was unpleasant to open them, since he still had bacta gooped everywhere. But, he was also still exhausted and staying awake took a great deal of effort.

Rex's eyes popped open when he felt someone scrubbing him clean. He blinked through the goop stuck to his eyelids, trying to focus on who or what was next to him. By both sound and sight, his groggy brain finally realized he was being scrubbed by a chirpy R3 droid. The droid was fast and efficient, vigorously scrubbing Rex free of the bacta everywhere on his body. He didn't leave one part of Rex untouched.

"Ow! Easy there! Those are attached, you know!" Rex protested, putting a hand down to protect his more private areas. The R3 scrubbed on, regardless of Rex's protests. The droid finished his vigorous scrubbing, and then left without so much as a chirp good-bye. But, at least he was finally free of the bacta.

# # #

The battle was not going well. After her near disastrous conversation with her Master that morning, Ahsoka was trying to be a model Jedi. She kept trying to be upbeat and positive around the troops, making up for her careless comments earlier that day. It was exhausting being this cheerful, but Ahsoka kept at it.

Still, there was no denying it, they were seriously outgunned. She still wondered if this planet was worth all this trouble. Her Master charged forward, leaving the meager cover of the ditch they'd been huddled in. Ahsoka took a deep, steadying breath, and then charged after him. She was trying to do her duty as a padawan and cover her Master's back at all times. But, covering Anakin Skywalker's back was a very challenging task. It seemed to Ahsoka that her Master was becoming increasingly reckless as time went on. And, as Ahsoka charged after him, time and time again, she was drawn into ever more perilous situations.

At the same, Ahsoka was also trying to watch out for Rex's men. She needed to watch over them extra carefully and return them back to Rex in the same condition as he'd left them. She kept racing back, trying to protect the troopers, and then racing back up to her Master to cover his back. The pace she was setting for herself was absolutely exhausting. The Jedi Council suspected the Trade Council had yet another new ally somewhere here in the Outer Rim. However, as of yet, they could not figure out who it was.

The Separatists were well supplied on troops and munitions. The Republic supply lines were much more limited. They seemed to be running short of everything as the battle waged on- munitions, medicine, food, and, clones. Ahsoka cringed, and recoiled, every time she saw another clone go down. She took each loss personally now.

_I'm so sorry_, Rex, she whispered, as she watched another 501st trooper go down. _I've failed you_.

# # #

Rex sat in the examination room, waiting for the doctor to come in.

He shivered in his t-shirt and boxers. He'd finally warmed up, thanks to the bath, and now he was getting chilled again. His teeth began to chatter. He tried to clamp them together, but despite his best efforts, they chattered anyway.

So far, Rex had resisted the temptation to look down at his knee. He wanted to wait until the doctor came and told him how much progress he'd made. But, finally, after what seemed like an endless wait in the freezing room, Rex decided to look. He was just so mind-numbingly bored, and he needed a distraction from the cold. Rex studied his knee for a good long while.

_It definitely looks better than it did before. Bacta does some amazing things... Still, though..._

The bacta had regenerated tissue, muscle and skin all around his injured knee. But, there were definitely still parts missing. Around the newly healed parts, Rex's knee was still misshapen and sunken in.

_Maybe it looks worse than it is. With a bit more time, those other parts will...regenerate on their own, maybe?_

Rex wondered if he'd gotten any control or movement back into his leg again. He didn't care if his knee looked awful. He just wanted to be able to walk on it again.

_Come on, leg, move._

He sent the signal with his brain, but his leg didn't get the message.

_Aw, come on, just a little bit._

Rex stared at his leg, his full concentration centered on contracting the quadricep muscle and getting some movement out of his knee.

_OK, forget about that. How about something really basic for starters. Maybe just a little wiggle of a toe or something?_

Rex stared at his foot, willing one of his toes to move. He didn't care which one. He just wanted to see some kind of movement concentrating as hard as he could. Sweat started to break out on his brow. The toes on his bare feet remained stubbornly still.

Rex was still staring fixedly at his toes when the doctor walked in. His entrance startled Rex. The doctor gave him an odd look, but didn't say anything. It was a different doctor once again from the previous two, but Rex was just glad it wasn't a tinnie. He'd had enough of tinnies, both the kind that did this to him, and the kind that wanted to turn him into one of them because of it. The doctor introduced himself politely, and greeted Rex by his rank. Rex nodded back respectfully. The doctor immediately got down to business. He pulled down a bright overhead light and began intensely studying Rex's knee. He paused, pulled up records on his datapad, and then studied Rex's knee again. He began frowning and shaking his head. Rex felt his stomach twist into knots.

The doctor pulled a sharp metal probe out of a nearby drawer. Rex saw him poke his foot with the probe, but he felt nothing.

"Did you feel that?" the doctor prompted.

"No," Rex replied, getting a sinking feel of dread.

The doctor probed another area of Rex's foot, "And, here?"

Rex shook his head, struggling to remain calm. Visions of his entire military career- his future, his friends, his life - were crying out to him, threatening to obscure his vision in a hazy red curtain. Rex realized he was not breathing normally.

The doctor stopped, and looked up at Rex with concern: "You, OK, Captain? Take deep breaths. Do you need a sedative while we do this?"

Rex shook his head, and tried to even out his breathing. He didn't trust himself to speak. He decided that this doctor seemed like a decent enough guy, and that gave him a glimmer of hope that somehow this all might work out in the end.

After giving Rex a searching look, the doctor went back to his examination. He continued to prod various places all over the bottom and top of Rex's foot with the same result.

"And, here?" the doctor asked, probing Rex's shin. Rex continued to shake his head. On and on it went, all the way up his leg, until the doctor reached Rex's knee. Rex braced himself for pain.

The doctor prodded Rex's knee. Rex stared down, watching the doctor's every move. There was no pain.

_Why don't I feel anything?_

The doctor probed Rex's knee again, this time with more pressure. Rex shook his head.

"You can't feel that at all?" the doctor questioned, probing Rex's knee in another spot.

Rex's heart sank, "No."

The doctor tried a third spot, pressing down with more force.

Rex shook his head.

"Doc, may I?" Rex asked, putting his hand out for the probe.

"Certainly, Captain," the doctor handed over the probe. Rex actually liked this doctor. He was respectful, rather than condescending, and seemed competent, without being arrogant.

Rex began probing his scarred, misshapen knee. He might as well have been poking someone else's leg. He couldn't feel any of it.

He handed the probe back to the doctor, feeling his heart sink to the floor. Rex saw his plans to return to _the Resolute _and the 501st all evaporate away.

The doctor continued his examination. Rex sat completely silent as the doctor finished his exam, feeling completely deflated.

"Well, Captain," the doctor said, studying Rex's knee thoughtfully, "I'm going to schedule you for a new series of high-res nerve tissue scans today. I need to see how extensive this nerve damage is. The bacta was able to reverse some of the damage, but, it simply couldn't rewire all those complex nerve endings. The way things stand now, none of those signals are getting through at all. Tissue regenerated, but there doesn't seem to be a viable nerve pathway for any of that new tissue. Between the blunt force trauma, and the multiple light saber burns, you have extensive nerve damage. It may be irreversible. You may never regain any nerve feeling or use of this leg."

Rex just stared at the doctor, trying to absorb the impact of everything the doctor was telling him.

The doctor studied Rex's medical chart for a moment. "So, Captain, I see here from a rather strongly worded note in your file from the medical droid aboard _the Resolute_ that you are against limb replacement?"

"Yes," Rex said, despondently, depressed that the conversation had once again come to this point. To think, he'd even imagined he would be going home once he came out of the bacta tank.

"Yes, you're OK with your leg being removed, or yes, you're against it?" the doctor asked, frowning at Rex.

"I'm against it," Rex said, his mind racing. If it came down to the choice between returning to his unit, or not returning to his unit, did it really matter if he kept his leg or not?

The doctor sighed, "You do understand the seriousness of your injury."

"Yes," Rex ground out, trying to keep his temper in check.

The doctor looked down at his data pad, then he put the data pad down. He put an arm on Rex's shoulder: "Son, it's a terrible thing to lose a limb. Nobody wants to do it. But, it won't change who you are."

Rex took a deep shuddering breath. He knew the doctor was right. It was much easier hearing this from a human, than from that medical droid who'd totally rubbed him the wrong way. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Rex said, staring down at his knee.

"That being said," the doctor continued, "truth be told, I'm not even sure if you're even a candidate for limb replacement anymore. So, it may not even be an issue, anymore.

Rex looked up in surprise.

The doctor gave Rex a friendly little pat on his good leg.

"Well, we won't decide anything now, OK? Let's give it a bit more time. Let's run the scans, see for sure how extensive all this nerve damage is... And, then let's just keep you here another week. Put you through some daily physical therapy. See if anything changes. Maybe you'll get some nerve feeling back."

"Doctor, how likely is that to happen?" Rex asked, his voice not quite sounding like his own.

The hesitation before the doctor responded told Rex all he needed to know. "Well, each case is unique, of course," the doctor responded, choosing his words carefully, "your case is especially unique because of this new clone-shredder munitions, so it's hard to say for sure."

The doctor's voice trailed off.

"Bottom line is that you just don't know?" Rex supplied.

The doctor gave Rex a friendly smile, "Let's just give it a bit more time, son, OK? So, I'll see you again in a week. We'll have you assigned to a bed in the Orthopedic unit. Just wait here. Someone will be along once we find a space for you. Good day, Captian."

The doctor nodded and left the room, datapad tucked under one arm.

After the doctor left, Rex just sat there, staring down at his misshapen limb.

He mentally ran through everything he'd been told. _So, if I don't get nerve feeling back in one week, then what happens to me?_

Rex wasn't sure. But, he did know that the Republic didn't keep around clones who couldn't fight anymore. Rex had never seen any. You were either fighting, preparing to fight, recovering from fighting, or dead. There was no retirement plan for permanently injured clones.

Rex ran a hand through his hair. His normally close-cropped hair had grown out during his two weeks floating in the bacta tank. His longer hair felt strange and unfamiliar under his fingertips. Everything about his life now felt that way.

_Another week in Coruscant._ _I just want to get back where I belong. I want to go home. _

# # #

_Why does everything have to be so hard?_ Ahsoka thought miserably. She huddled in her homemade shelter, waiting out the rain. This had to be one of the most miserable engagements she'd ever been on.

OK, they'd been on a lot of tough engagements, but none had seemed as dreary as this one. Oh, she knew exactly what the difference was- the difference was wrapped up in white and blue armor, with a distinctive Jaig eyes visor, and he was no longer here. Ahsoka never realized what a difference one person could make to the entire mission until Rex was gone. The entire 501st seemed one beat off. Appo was a competent Commander, professional, polite, and followed regs to the letter, but he was no Captain Rex.

_Gah. It's so boring around here now,_ Ahsoka sulked, using the force to pick up a rock, and fling it into a nearby mud puddle. It landed with a satisfying splash.

She wondered what Rex was doing.

# # #

The days crawled by with agonizing slowness for Rex. At first, he watched the HoloNews Net, hoping to catch at least a little glimmer of news on the 501st. But, none of the news mentioned the activities of his Legion, or even that of the 212th.

Not having had a chance to say goodbye to anybody before he'd been whisked away to ArmyMed, Rex hadn't had a chance to get the details on their new mission. He had much too much time on his hands to think, and it was driving him crazy. The rest of the war news that HNN covered was so sensationalized that he couldn't get any useful information out of it. He just ended up getting more and more annoyed as he listened. By the third day, he voluntarily banned himself from watching the holonet. The other vode there likely regarded him as a surly bastard, but he wasn't there to make friends. He just wanted to get his leg fixed and go home.

He'd decided he'd now do whatever it took to get out of ArmyMed and back to _the Resolute_. He still hated the idea of amputation, and losing part of himself, but he was willing to do it. Hearing things explained by the third doctor, the more kindly human one, had taken the sting and the stigma out of the idea. Rex realized it was a lot of his prejudice against droids that had made him so dead-set against the idea in the first place. He knew plenty of clones with prosthetics, and it certainly didn't change the way he felt about them. Granted, General Skywalker had a prosthetic arm, and that man was... well, two hyrdrospanners short of being totally insane. But, Rex suspected he would have been that way with or without the prosthetic arm, so that didn't count.

Rex restlessly wandered around ArmyMed on his crutches in search of something to do. He wasn't used to have time on his hands. He had physical therapy for two hours each morning, but after that, he had a whole day with time to kill. Truth be told, he wasn't very good at "down time." He discovered a well-equipped, barely-used, work out area. So, he passed the hours working out. He focused on working out his upper body, but also did as much lower body workouts as he could, without his injured leg getting in the way.

He ate as much as he could at mealtimes, trying to make up for the weight he'd lost on TriLuna. He didn't have much of an appetite, and he missed the company of his usual friends at mealtimes. But, he forced himself to eat. He knew if he lost any more weight, he didn't stand a chance of getting back into fighting form. He wasn't back at his normal weight yet, but he was able to put some weight back on. The continuous workouts were building muscle everywhere, except for his non-working leg. When Rex would take a break between sets of exercises, he would sometimes catch himself just sitting and staring at his leg. His whole future seemed wrapped up in that one limb. All his training, everything he'd ever worked for, and it all came down to this one injury.

# # #

Rex sat on his bed, studying his armor, arranged in a orderly pile. Rex had already eaten his meals for the day, and exercised himself to exhaustion. Since he refused to watch the holonet, he didn't have much to do between now and bedtime. He'd made a habit of cleaning his weaponry and armor each day since he'd arrived. One of the staff, a Gungan, had made a big long speech to Rex about how he didn't feel it was _proper_ to be cleaning a weapon in a hospital.

Rex gave him a look that said: "You've got to be kidding me?" Rex was sorely tempted to say: "There's a war on, di'kut! And, this is a military hospital!" But, he gritted his teeth, bit back his comment, and simply nodded his head instead. He'd already cleaned his weapondry multiple times anyway, and it hadn't been fired between cleanings. It wasn't going to get much cleaner.

Rex restrained himself from shooting the Gungan, which he felt showed remarkable restraint on his part. He reminded himself that this was a farkin' civilian and they weren't supposed to shoot them. Civvies simply didn't know any better.

So, that just left him his armor to clean, again and again. Now, the armor _could_ actually get cleaner. His armor had taken such a beating over the past fourteen months of fighting. Rex wished he had some blue paint, so he could re-do his stripes, and the Jaig eyes. Rex stared down at the Jaig eyes, which were battered and scratched. One of the eyes was missing a big chunk of paint.

_Battered, scratched and missing a chunk, just like me._

On his last night aboard _the Resolute_, Cody had dropped off Rex's gear, once all the singing had concluded. Everything Rex owned was in that one bag. When a clone was reassigned, even just to a medical facility, like Rex was, everything went with him. Not that "everything" amounted to a lot of stuff, but a clone could be redeployed at anytime. So, his as a matter of course, the gearbag, or "kit," came along, too. His shattered armor pieces weren't in there, since he'd passed those on to General Kenobi for study. Rex studied his armor as he carefully cleaned each piece. Either Cody, or his men in the 501st, had managed to quickly come up with replacement pieces for all of the leg armor Rex had lost, the cuisse, polyen and greave. But, they weren't even "shiny" pieces. The armor pieces were already striped blue, scuffed, scraped, scratched and beat-up in all the right places. They were a perfect match to his existing armor.

When Rex had first opened up his gear bag, he'd just stared at the replacement pieces of leg armor, trying to figure out where they'd all come from. With a pang, he suddenly realized the source of these perfect pieces of armor. It was tradition to keep a piece or two of armor from a brother who had passed on. Rex suspected the guys in the 501st had chipped in treasured pieces of armor from close buddies of theirs who had died. It made these pieces of armor so much more meaningful to Rex. For a brother to part with a piece of armor like that, a memento that was all they had left of someone who meant a great deal to them. He resisted the temptation to look inside the cuisse, poleyn and greave and check the ID numbers on them. He suspected they were all from brothers lost at Teth. He just wasn't ready yet to figure out which brothers. Rex found himself getting emotional as he stared at the pieces. He was glad that everyone at the hospital left him alone, and no one tried to socialize with him. Right now, he didn't want to talk to anyone. He had a great deal of emotions coursing through his system. Rex almost didn't want to clean these pieces, thinking it would be somehow wrong to alter these pieces in anyway. They would become a part of him, and he would honor the brothers that had once worn them, as well as the brothers who had given them to him.

It was when he was cleaning his culet, the butt plate, that he found the "hidden messages" from his brothers. In every place imaginable, all over the inside of the plate that protected his shebs, his vode had written messages, signed their names and made humorous drawings of each other. Every space inside the armor was covered. Rex re-read the "messages" every night now, and it was the thing that brought him the most comfort as he missed his brothers terribly. Reading these messages every night inspired him even more to want to get back to the 501st, where he belonged. The war had never been about the war to him. It had always been about his brothers.

# # #

# # #


	27. Chapter 27 To Kamino Never return

_Revised: October 2, 2013_**  
**

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 27**_

He had not spoken to anyone since he had begun the journey.

But, that was OK, no one else on board felt like talking either.

They'd been sent on to Kamino in their full armor, except for some paralyzed men in biobeds who were in medbay garb. The soldiers just sat completely still for hour after hour in complete, eerie silence. It felt like traveling on a ghost ship. Rex looked down at his chrono, calculating how much longer it would take to reach Kamino.

_Shab_. The hours were just crawling by.

He was ready for this journey to end.

Six months from now, would anybody still remember that he'd ever existed? Rex sighed and took of his helmet, staring down at it. He ran his thumb along the small metal plate engraved on the inside of the helmet, identifying it as belonging it to him.

_7567_

It would all be over soon.

CC-7567 would be another number among millions of numbers, recycled into the system by the Kaminoans. He'd been told to return his equipment to the Kaminoans for recycling.

_Recycling._

Like him.

They were all being sent back to Kamino to just be reabsorbed back into the system, like they'd never existed at all. Rex set his helmet down by his feet, and buried his head in his hands. He tried not to think of the 501st, or the Jedi padawan who'd saved his life on TriLuna. He tried not to think of anything at all. Rex just wanted to get there, and get it over with.

The war was over for him.

# # #

Ahsoka growled in frustration. She could not settle down enough to slip into a state of Force meditation.

Meditation was challenging enough for Ahsoka on an ordinary day. Coming straight off several weeks stressful weeks on the battlefield, -several, _frustrating_ weeks - Ahsoka was finding it impossible to find her 'calm center.' She knew she had a calm center somewhere inside herself. But, she'd been feeling so _off-centered_ for the past couple of weeks, that she and her 'calm center' seemed at war with each other.

"Oh, phwoar! Calm!" she muttered angrily outloud to herself. "Come on... calm! Shabla, borkin', piffgotty, prugnificatin', skroggin' calm!" She emitted one last angry growl. "Blast!" she uttered.

_OK, OK, a quick shower, and then I'll try this blinking meditation again. _

Ahsoka hurriedly peeled off her clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor. As she scrubbed in the shower, she finally felt herself relaxing. But, she still couldn't figure out what it was the Force was trying to tell her.

# ##

Rex stared out the viewport.

_This doesn't feel right._

He stared around at his shipmates- a ship full of broken men. It was still unnaturally quiet. Not a word had been spoken since they left Coruscant. The only sounds came from the rattling of the engines of the worn-out ship and its' pilot, an R-4 unit. The R-4 unit had seen better days- it was badly dented, and looked like something unpleasant had been spilled on it. The astromech was noisy, like all of its kind, but the beeps and bleeps were erratics and off-pitch. It was a far cry from Skywalker's astromech, which he pampered, fussed over, and kept in pristine working order.

_If he watched over for the troops, as much as he watched out for that droid-_

Rex decided to shut down that line of thinking. General Skywalker _did_ care. He just showed it in different ways than General Kenobi or Commander Tano. After all, General Skywalker was barely more than a kid himself, so you couldn't really expect-

Rex paused, trying to figure out how old Skywalker was. 18? 19? Rex snorted quietly into his darkened helmet.

_That's still a lot older than I'll ever get, apparently._

Rex was mad. He'd admit it now.

His depression was wearing off, and it was getting replaced with something darker. He looked down at his injured leg. The metallic knee brace glistened, even in the dim lighting of the ship. Rex reached a hand down and gingerly touched his injured knee. So strange. It was like he had just touched the leg of a stranger. He had no sensation in his leg at all.

Rex blew out a long breath. He closed his eyes, as the last meeting with the doctor at ArmyMed replayed itself in his head. It was the meeting that decided the course of the rest of his life.

The doctor looked both sympathetic and apologetic. He was polite and professional. He said he was 'sorry,' but, 'there was nothing more he could do.' They were 'out of options' and Rex could no longer 'perform his assigned duties as a Republic trooper.' Rex had to hand it to the doctor. He was all politeness, and professional courtesy, as he basically told Rex his number was up.

Rex remembered how blackness swam in front of his vision as he heard the words. The doctor gave him a kindly pat on the shoulder, then made a few notes on his datapad. He said: 'Sorry' once again, and then showed Rex the datapad. Rex had just been officially 'decommissioned.' He was no longer Captain of Torrent Squadron. No longer a member of the 501st Legion. No longer a clone trooper. No longer a member of the Republic Army. In a calm, polite voice, the doctor explained to Rex that he would be sent on the next transport back to Kamino with other clones under 'similar circumstances.' The way the doctor said it made it sound like it was all so routine, and acceptable. The doctor handed Rex a flimsi. 'Your new orders. You are hereby ordered to report to Kamino.'

Rex asked, in a voice that didn't sound like his own, what would happen at Kamino. He thought he already knew, but he needed to hear it, just to be sure. The doctor looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, and looked away. Without making eye contact, he held out the datapad again and pointed to the words at the bottom of Rex's file: "Reconditioned." Without waiting to be dismissed, Rex rolled up the flimsi, shoved it into his pocket, grabbed his crutches and left the room. He'd spent most of the next two days lying in his bed just staring at the ceiling. Now he was on his assigned transport to Kamino.

_Wait a second! _Rex reached inside his beltpouch for the flimsi of his orders. He'd had to fold it up to make it fit. He unfolded the paper and read it again. Yes, OK, it said everything he thought it would say. They _ordered_ him to report to Kamino. Rex had obeyed the order, when the doctor at ArmyMed, told him he was to go to Kamino, because Rex always had been conditioned to follow orders.

_But, the doctor just go through telling me I was de-commissioned. So, why the frak am I obeying _this_ order?_

Rex stole a glance around at the ship full of injured men.

_We_'re _all injured. I get that. But, still, this somehow seems wrong. Why doesn't anybody see that sending us all back to Kamino is wrong? Fek. Why doesn't anybody care?_

Rex could feel anger building inside of him with a slow roiling surge of adrenaline.

_# # #_

Ahsoka wrapped a towel around herself, hurriedly brushed her teeth, and grabbed a shirt out a drawer. Not even bothering to dry off any further, she yanked the shirt on and then immediately threw herself down right where she was, once again assuming the classic meditation pose. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, focusing intently on relaxing into the Force. Ahsoka's metabolism was well suited to high energy and constant movement. Meditation seemed to run counter to her very nature. Ahsoka took long, deep, calming breaths, and sank deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation. She felt her mind fall into a limbic state partway between consciousness and dreaming. The Force took control as she relaxed into her meditative trance. As Ahsoka sank deeper and deeper into her meditation, she felt herself fall into a Force-mediated vision.

Ahsoka was on a journey. She left her physical body behind on _the Resolute,_ passing through the bulkhead, and out into space. She moved away from the ship, picking up speed, traveling faster and faster. She passed many planets, some familiar, many that were not. She sensed that she was traveling all the way to the other side of the galaxy. Her speed began to slow down, and she realized that she was approaching her destination.

It was a ship, bearing neither a Republic nor Separatist logo, and no identifying name. It was difficult to tell who or what might be onboard, and whether it was a cargo vessel, or passenger transport. The ship had minimal weaponry. _The pirates would love to go after a ship like this,_ Ahsoka thought, as she pondered the vessel. _Unknown cargo, easy prey, no affiliation with either the Separatists or Republic. Whoever owns this vessel is either a fool, or must not value their cargo very highly._

The ship had definitely seen better days. Ahsoka was surprised it could still fly. She drew right up to the bulkhead of the ship.

Why had the Force dragged her all the way across the galaxy just to see this rusted bucket of bolts? Ahsoka had no idea what this ship was, or who owned it, and why? Ahsoka tried to pass through the bulkhead so she could look inside for answers. But, this ship's bulkhead was impermeable to her. There was some sort of barrier preventing her from passing through, and entering the ship.

So, Ahsoka journeyed from window to window, peering inside. Ahsoka gasped in surprise as she saw 'the cargo.' The ship was filled with Republic clone troopers.

As Ahsoka peered in through window after window, she identified a vast assortment of troopers from divisions throughout the Republic Army. Based upon their armor, Ahsoka identified Galactic Marines, members of the Muunilinist 10, troopers from the 41st Elite Corps, 55th Mechanized Brigade, 85th Infantry Brigade, 7th Sky Corps, 182nd Legion, and even Homeworld Security Command. Ahsoka was overwhelmed with the emotions pouring out from these men. Despair. Defeat. Resignation. These men all felt their lives were over. The men all showed recent signs of battlefield injuries as well. Ahsoka kept searching every window, with a sense of dread and anticipation. She didn't know where these injured troopers were headed, but judging by their emotional state, it was very bad. As she searched the windows, she was afraid of what she would see next.

As she neared the end of the ship, she saw him. Staring out the viewport, it was _Rex_. He had his helmet off, and he looked like he was lost deep in despair. Ahsoka felt her whole body clench in reaction to seeing Rex again. How she had missed seeing his familiar armor everyday.

"Rex!" she called out, but no sound came out of her mouth.

He couldn't see her. Ahsoka could sense his emotional state. At first, he had the same sense of deep depression, and despair, like many others on the ship. But then, his facial expression changed, and whatever it was he was thinking about was making him angry.

Rex got up, and using crutches, walked away from the window. Ahsoka felt a crushing sense of despair. All this time had passed and Rex still couldn't put any weight on his injured leg. She was getting a very bad feeling about the whole situation. Rex disappeared from Ahsoka's sight into the murky blackness of the ship.

He was gone.

"No! Rex, come back!"

But, it was too late. Ahsoka felt herself being pulled away from the ship, and back the way she had come.

Ahsoka kept stretching her arms toward the direction where she'd last seen the ship, but by now she was so far away it was as if the ship had never existed.

It felt like Rex was disappearing from her life, never to return.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in her quarters. She was so exhausted she could barely move. She steadied her breathing, and drew strength from the Force, so that she could stand up. She looked at her chrono: 5:14 AM. It was morning already. Ahsoka grabbed her comlink. She had to talk to Cody- _now._

# # #

Two hours, and many arguments later, Cody and Ahsoka had finally made it past a small army of annoying an overly enthusiastic communications droids at ArmyMed. "Press 1 if you speak Galactic Basic. Press 2 if you speak Durese. Press 3 if you speak Ryl. Press 4 if you speak Huttese, Press 5 if you speak Rodese. Press 6 if you speak Twi'lek. Press 7 if you speak Brothese. Press 8 if you Hapan. Press 9 if you speak Shriiwook..."

They'd been placed on-hold so many times that Cody looked like he was about to take his DC-15 to the com unit. Ahsoka considered sending calming Force energies to the clone commander, but she wasn't much calmer herself. Plus, she didn't think the effort would be appreciated. Finally, they found themselves in an actual face-to-face conversation with someone at ArmyMed who could actually help them.

"My name is Doctor Anhalt. I understand I am speaking to colleagues of the late Captain Rex?" The doctor looked down with sorrow, letting out an appropriately sad sigh before continuing, "A good asset to the military. We're all sorry at his loss. Wish we could have done more on our end. There is only so much that bacta can do when the damage is that severe, unfortunately." He rubbed at the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache, then glanced down at a datapad as if he were checking his email.

Cody and Ahsoka exchanged a quick shocked glance.

"What do you mean the late Captain Rex?" Ahsoka demanded, feeling the same sense of panic and urgency she'd felt during her Force vision.

The doctor looked puzzled, his brows furrowing together, then glanced back up giving them his full attention. "Has nobody sent you the proper flimsies already, with all the details?" He tapped on his data pad, calling up some information, "you should have received it well before now. We filed all the proper forms before sending him on. Yes, yes, all the proper forms were filed. In _triplicate._"

"We've been in the far Outer Rim, doctor. Communications are sketchy and intermittent at best. Received what, exactly?" Cody asked, trying to be patient, but Ahsoka noticed that his hand had automatically strayed to his belt, resting on top of his DC-15.

"The flimsiwork on CC-7567," the doctor said, he didn't look up as he spoke to them, as he was looking up data on his screen. "Personable trooper. Known as 'Rex.' Actually had a chance to have a nice chat with him. Shame we couldn't do more for him. You two are his commanding officers, I assume? You should have received all of these notifications seven days ago... Ah, here it is. OK, I'm re-forwarding everything back on to you. All the details on his transfer, and his new orders."

Ahsoka's alarmed state went up another notch. _Transfer? New orders? She had a very, very bad feeling about this. _She could feel Cody's frustration levels mounting as they struggled to get the full story out of this doctor. Ahsoka was grateful to Cody that he was disciplined enough to hold his temper and frustration in check.

The doctor continued to read, looking relieved and satisfied now that he was sure all the forms had been filled out properly, "Yes, yes, Captain Rex was transferred out of this facility several days ago. He was actually decommissioned close to a week ago, but the transport didn't leave until two days ago. We only send one transport a week."

Ahsoka blinked rapidly, trying to process all the information. A transport? To where?

Decommissioned? Rex was _decommissioned?_

There was a stunned silence in the room.

"Doctor, could you say that again?" Obi Wan said, as he walked into the room with Anakin. "I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

Obi Wan assumed his typical stance, with his legs spread a comfortable distance apart, his arms folded, and one hand thoughtfully stroking his chin as he listened. Standing right next to him, Anakin mimicked his Jedi standing pose, minus the chin stroking. Without a proper beard, all that contemplative chin stroking just wasn't the same.

"Hello, an honor to be speaking with two honorable, esteemed Master Jedi," the doctor said, looking at Obi Wan and Anakin with interest. When you worked in a military hospital, it was always a good idea to be seen favorably by the Generals.

_Oh, please, Ahsoka thought, twisting her face with displeasure. You didn't do any of that honorable, esteemed, blah, blah, blah Jedi stuff with me._

The doctor sat up in his chair a little straighter, stopped staring at his computer screen, and directly addressed Obi Wan and Anakin. He got straight to the point. "Trooper 7567 is no longer at this facility. He has been de-commissioned from the GAR due to the nature of his injuries."

Ahsoka felt her Master's emotions flare-up.

"What?" Anakin asked, "where is he? Why wasn't I notified?"

Dr. Anhalt was taken aback at the strong reaction he was receiving. He checked his computer screen again, tapping it with one finger, "I sent _all_ of you the flimsiwork in _triplicate_."

Anakin took a threatening step toward the camera, and glowered right into it. The doctor actually backed up, even though he was back on Coruscant.

"We were in the Outer Rim, fighting the _war,_" Anakin said, his teeth clenched and his voice low. "We could not receive routine communiques. The enemy likes to intercept and block such things."

"Uh, I see," the doctor said, "yes, yes, a most unfortunate circumstance." The doctor glanced back at the Jedi meekly, and looked as if he were trying to hide behind his datapad.

Obi Wan put a hand on Anakin's shoulder, and gently but firmly pulled him back from his threatening pose, "Doctor, can you please clarify? Where is Captain Rex now?"

"Your Captain has been de-commissioned," the doctor said, sounding exasperated, as if he was wondering why none of them understood what was to him a routine procedure. But, he did send a nervous glance toward Anakin.

Ahsoka felt both a wave of dizziness, and a surge of adrenaline at the same time. Her body didn't know if it wanted to fight, or pass out, as more and more of her vision began to make sense.

"And, where exactly did you send him?" Cody asked, still showing remarkable calm. From his tone of voice, though, Ahsoka had a feeling that the 212th commander was asking a question to which he already knew the answer.

"Kamino, of course," the doctor said, carefully, still eying Anakin warily.

Cody's fists clenched, "You 'reconditioned' him." The 212th's commander voice was so low it sounded like he was describing a lethal poison. Ahsoka looked at him, and furrowed her brows, unfamiliar with the term. She knew what it meant to recondition a piece of machinery, or a droid, but a trooper? What could that possibly mean in regards to clones?

"Yes, yes," said the doctor, he waved a hand in the air as he was talking, "I filed all the flimsiwork. I just resent it to you. Everything is in place." He nodded his head with satisfaction. "Do you have any more questions?' He glanced back down at this datapad, obviously having gone back to reading his email.

"That will be all, Doctor, thank you," Obi Wan muttered, leaning forward over Ahsoka to cut the connection.

The others were all lost in thought, trying to absorb the news.

At this point, Cody's admirable calm and restraint suddenly snapped. Ahsoka felt that Cody was suddenly livid with anger. Obi Wan felt it as well, as his head snapped over to regard Cody. Anakin seemed a bit oblivious, as he was lost in his own thoughts. Ahsoka couldn't see Cody's face, because of his helmet, but she could feel huge emotional churning just roiling within him. The screen went blank, and Cody turned without being dismissed and hurriedly left the room.

# # #

Obi Wan found Cody out in the hallway. Cody was leaning against the wall, shoulders slumped, head hung down.

Obi Wan stepped in front of him, and put a bracing hand on Cody.

"Cody, what's going on? What does 'reconditioning' mean?"

Cody was about to answer, when the door opened and Ahsoka and Anakin came out into the hallway.

"There you are!" Anakin said, clearly agitated, "what's going on?"

Obi Wan shot Anakin a look of annoyance, "Calm down, Anakin. Let's give the commander some breathing room."

Ahsoka went over to Cody, and leaned up against the wall next to him. "Cody, why was Rex sent back to Kamino?"

Cody hung his head down for a moment, obviously reluctant to speak. Obi Wan gripped his shoulder supportively.

Cody took a deep breath, and explained, "The Kaminoans have zero tolerance for defective clones." Cody paused. He stood up a little straighter, and stared at a point on the wall. "Reconditioning means death by legal injection." His voice was low and emotionless.

Ahsoka staggered as her Force vision snapped into place. She felt the room spinning wildly around her. Cody caught her, and held her in his arms for a moment, before setting her back on her feet. Ahsoka remembered Rex catching her like that once, when she was wounded. He'd carried her all the way to the medical station at a fast run, cradling her tightly to his chest. It had felt so different when it was Rex's arms she was filling into. Cody held her for a moment, then set her back on her feet again. He kept one steadying hand gripped on her forearm.

"Are you OK, Commander?" Cody asked. His voice was so different from Rex. Cody could never be Rex.

Ahsoka nodded, and Cody released his grip on her arm.

While Cody was seeing to Ahsoka, Obi Wan was dealing with Anakin. When Anakin heard the words 'death by lethal injection,' his whole Force aura changed into some dark and ugly.

"They can't do this!" Anakin said, with an angry hiss.

"Calm down, Anakin," Obi Wan said. Ahsoka looked over and saw Obi Wan communicating to Anakin through their Master-Padawan bond. Even though Anakin was a Knight now, the bond would always remain between them. Ahsoka could sense Anakin's fiery rage calming down. The two of them, Obi Wan and Anakin, just stood there, frozen, communicating silently.

She nodded toward Cody, and they headed back onto the bridge. It was still early, and there was minimal bridge crew working. Admiral Yularen was still at the mess, along with with much of the rest of the ship. Ahsoka tugged Cody over to the comm station. "We need to get in touch with that ship."

"I'm on it," Cody said, ousting the comms officer, and sliding into the communications station.

She stood behind him, watching as he tried again and again to get in touch with the ship. But, even as they failed to get through, she had this horrible feeling that Rex was gone.

# # #


	28. Chapter 28 Troopers

_Chapter revised May 28, 2013. _

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 28**_

Rex stared out the view port window. He'd fallen asleep for a while, and slept fitfully. Now, he was staring out into space, a blaster in each hand. The weight of the blasters felt comfortable and soothing. Rex twirled his blasters restlessly, spinning them expertly between his thumb, forefinger and palm, again and again.

Rex's restless motions caught the curious eye of the trooper seated directly across from him. The trooper's upper body posture suggested he had a shoulder injury, and the careful way he was sitting suggested a damaged hip. A standard-issue metallic GAR cane was tucked up neatly against the seat, out of the way, but there in case it was needed. His eyes flickered to Rex and caught his gaze. But, after a moment he looked away and went back to just moodily staring around with the same disinterested stare that every clone on the ship seemed to have adopted.

Rex scowled, remembering a time when just his entering the room was enough to bring every clone present to attention.

_Kriff. It wasn't that long ago. _

Rex made an exasperated noise of frustrated in the back of his throat, gaining him the attention once again of the trooper. The clone's armor identified him as being an ARC. But, even without the distinctive armor, pauldron and kama, Rex could have picked him out as an ARC just by his attitude. Even though he had his helmet on, the look he was giving Rex clearly said: 'What's your problem?'

Rex's glared back at him, his look one of direct challenge. _Just give me one reason to take you on_... Rex holstered his blasters, and began curling and uncurling his fists, as he glared across at the trooper.

The trooper sized Rex up, taking in his rank, his pauldron, and kama, and the 501st blue striping running down the sides. He appeared to be deciding if Rex was worth the trouble of a confrontation. He completely sized up the 501st Captain and stopped when he took in his distinctive helmet down by his feet, realizing exactly who he was. He shook his head, backing down from the confrontation. But, not before he muttered the words: "Shabla Alor'ad"* under his breath. Whoever this ARC was, he still had to get the last word in.

Rex's Mando'a was good enough to translate the insult. He growled angrily, and briefly considered tackling the obnoxious ARC. He had so much pent-up frustration that punching someone, anyone, would do him a lot of good right now.

But, Rex realized that due to the space across the aisles, he'd need to _hop _across the aisle to get at the ARC, or use his crutches to get at him. And, suddenly the image of having to _crutch_ over to beat somehow who walked with a cane seemed like not one of his prouder moments.

He leaned his head forward into his hands. _Fierfek! When are we going to get there! Not that I'm anxious to get to Kamino to get reconditioned, but just sitting here is driving me insane! Now that I'm not drugged up out of my mind, I'm going insane. I can't take much more of this..._

Rex twisted his head and stared out the view port. His hands went back to his belt, and without thinking he drew his blasters again, and began spinning them. He thought he might want to start shooting something soon. This was not good...

He stared out at the stars, endlessly spinning his blasters. His body felt weird as pent up energy coursed through him. Normally, on _the Resolute_, they passed the time on long space voyages doing endlessly training drills and working their bodies into exhaustion. They never sat around like this, just staring at each... and with good reason. This was positively maddening!

_Whoa! What was that?_

A surge of adrenaline caused Rex to sit up a little straighter in his seat, and he holstered his blasters without even having to think about it. Rex thought he saw a glint of silver flash by behind the ship- something that just looked out of place. He craned his neck back, staring behind him. The troopers behind him, looked at him. Rex ignored them, staring out the view port windows behind him.

"You see that?" Rex asked quietly.

The troopers shook their heads, then look out at the empty blackness. They both looked back at Rex like he might be losing it.

_Maybe I am,_ Rex thought. He emitted a snort of frustration as he turned back toward his seat. The snort came out a bit louder than Rex had intended. It sounded especially loud in the unnatural silence of the gloomy ship. This time, two brothers sitting ahead of Rex both turned around to look at him.

They were commandos, wearing portions, but not all, of their distinctive commando gear. Even without their full kit on, Rex was still able to pick out their markings as being from Alpha Squad. When they'd turned to look at him, they'd turned in perfect unison. They had a vibe about them that spoke of having worked together for a long time. They both gave him a long, hard look, sizing him up. Rex met their gazes evenly.

For a moment, Rex envied them their solidarity. He thought of how comforting it would be to have someone from the 501st with him right now. But, he instantly realized what a selfish wish that was, considering the endpoint of this particular journey.

In the 'old days,' before Rex had been decommissioned, (that would be last week, Rex reflected, with another snort), he would have greeted two new brothers with a smile, or a handshake, or an acknowledging nod. But, the circumstances had created a reality that was so oppositethe spirit of brotherhood. Rex simply glared at the unfamiliar brothers until they turned around again.

Rex shook his head. _OK, OK, I probably didn't need to do that. I'm really behaving like a total di'kut._

The two commandos looked at each other, some silent message passing between them, before they both settled back into their seats. Rex was jealous of them again. He could think of so many people back on _the Resolute_ with whom he could communicate like that. Once again, this whole sense of this journey being wrong settled over him. He belonged there, back on _the Resolute. _Why had he been sent here? He tried not to let his anger overwhelm him, but the sense of despair and betrayal was almost more than he could take.

Rex tried to find a comfortable position in his seat. He felt so uncomfortable in his own skin at the moment. _OK, OK, I need to find my 'calm center,'_ as Ahsoka would call it. He'd never tried meditation. Ahsoka said she was going to teach him, but they never had the chance. In lieu of meditation, he began twirling his blasters again. The rythmic motion was as close to self-soothing as he could get at the moment.

Rex sighed heavily. They never had the chance to do a _lot_ of things. Rex thought about his last night on _the Resolute_, and how Ahsoka had allowed him to touch her right on her...

Whoa! Rex's hand slipped and he almost dropped one of his blasters. It clicked across from his hand armor, as he quickly caught it again. He immediately forced his mind away from Ahsoka, before he shot his blaster off. He holstered his blasters again.

The ARC across the aisle, looked over at him again. Rex flipped him a very unbrotherly hand gesture. The clone actually laughed quietly, his shoulders shaking. Then, he groaned, gripping his injured shoulder. Rex looked over at him with concern, giving him a look that said: 'You OK?' The brother nodded back, giving the standard clone nod that said: 'Yeah, brother, I'm good.' And, somehow, in that moment, he and Rex reached a truce. They gazed at each other for a long moment. Then, the ARC leaned way over, clone did something totally unexpected. He leaned way over, extending an arm toward Rex.

"Dart," he said, quietly.

"Rex."

They clasped arms briefly, in the Mando'a way, as several other brothers turned their heads curiously to watch them. Then, the moment ended, as quickly as it had begun. Dart turned his head back, once again staring at the seat in front of him. Rex had nothing more to say either. Rex shrugged and went back to staring at the seat in front of him. What kind of small talk do you make, anyway, when your headed back to your birthplace to be euthanized?

Rex's hand strayed to his blasters again. Restless and edgy again, he switched to staring out the view port window as he idly fondled his blasters.

_I was created to be a soldier_, Rex thought, his hands caressing the well-worn handles. Rex watched the stars speed by, drawing him ever closer and closer to Kamino. He still had no idea what he was going to do. But, he'd spent his whole life being trained to fight. And, the more he thought about where he was headed, the less sense it made. He even began to question all the little details.

_What's going to happen to my blasters when I get to Kamino? I'm supposed to 'turn in' my gear. Every shinie gets a brand new set of gear. So, does that mean my gear is just going to be melted down to slag? What about my armor? When a brother dies, a piece of his armor is supposed to be passed on to someone in his unit. Are they just going to melt down my armor? Nothing left of me, at all? No evidence that I ever existed at all? Is that why we're supposed to turn our gear in? So, there is no evidence that we ever existed at all?_

Rex put his head in his hands, as a combination of grief and rage threatened to overwhelm him. He briefly entertained a vision of going after the Kaminoans with guns blazing. Rex closed his eyes, and envisioned Kaminoans crumbling under the onslaught of clone fire. Ah, a lovely vision if he'd ever had one. With those long necks of theirs, they'd go down so easily... But, there was one big stumbling block to his plan. Well, several hundred thousand, actually... Shinies. Well, shinies and cadets.

Rex clearly remembered his mindset when he was still in-training at Kamino. He was naive, eager and followed orders precisely. If they attacked Kamino, the Kaminoans would simply order the Shinies and cadets to protect Tipoca City at all costs. And, they would, laying down their lives to protect the Kaminoans, brothers spilling the blood of other brothers. Rex couldn't stomach the thought of shooting a bunch of shinies, or even worse, young cadets, just to save his own skin.

Shab. They were now on day three of their journey. In another twelve hours or so, they'd be at Kamino.

He looked around the ship, taking a good hard look at the other troopers on board. Three days, and he hadn't even really taken a good hard, look at who was on the ship with him. Phwoar. This ship was packed. There had to be close to a hundred clones onboard. A good collection of clones, too. Setting aside the fact that all of the clones were sporting various injuries, the clones aboard the ship represented a cross-section of every division in the military. The more Rex studied these men, the more determined he became that this ship wasn't going down without a fight.

But, how?

Rex felt his stomach clench painfully. He put a hand over his stomach.

Shab. His stomach hurt. When was the last time he'd eaten? He hadn't eaten anything since boarding this doomed transport. What about before then? He'd started regaining some weight and muscle mass initially at ArmyMed. But, all of that had ceased to matter when he'd been decommissioned. Everything he'd ever worked for had been taken away with a cruel new set of orders. For the first time in his life, Rex was indecisive, an unfamiliar emotion for a command clone. He was depressed, which was also a new emotion for him. As saddened as he'd been to suffer great losses of brothers at Christophsis and Teth, he'd never been depressed before.

As he aimlessly wandered the Orthopedics wing of ArmyMed, or lay in his bed for hours on end staring up at the plasti-foam ceiling, he realized he was ill equipped to deal with these emotions. He had nothing in his eleven years of life experience to prepare him for these bursts of emotions coursing through his system. He kept alternating between dark crushing sadness, and fiery bursts of anger. Eventually, sadness won out. Or, maybe they slipped something extra into the cup of medications a droid brought him every four hours, something more than just the anti-inflammatories and mild painkillers he was supposed to be taking for his leg. Because all of a sudden, Rex found he lacked the will to even get out of bed anymore. Other than getting up to take a piss, he just lay in bed for hour after hour, aimlessly staring at nothing at all. He even lost the desire to eat and drink, so by the second day, he longer had to get up at all.

So, he just lay there in a zombie-like trance. He was mildly aware that time was passing, but he just didn't really care anymore. He knew that somewhere out there the war was going on, but he couldn't remember why it had seemed so urgent and important to him at one time. Eventually, someone came to get him, telling him it was time to board the ship to Kamino. He lacked the will to put up any kind of protest.

They helped him dress in his armor, and double-checked he had all his gear. It was time for someone else to use the bed. Maybe somebody that could be fixed up and sent back to fight some more for Palpatine. He was to turn in all his gear when he arrived at Kamino. Nice and tidy. No loose ends. This clone is done. Another will take your place.

He was rolled out in a hoverchair, and loaded on board an aged medical transport ship. He felt tired, and lethargic and just dimly aware of what was going on around him. Time had seemed to pass by both unusually slowly and too quickly both at the same time. The ship was loaded up with hoverchair after hoverchair full of passengers until the entire ship was full, and then several bio-beds were added in. He'd been deposited into a window seat, and hadn't moved since. But now, for some reason, his body seemed to be waking up.

Rex's mouth felt very cottony and dry. _I think those bastards really did drug me_, Rex realized. _It took this long for the stuff to get out of my system. I wonder if the rest of these guys were are doped up, too._

Rex looked around again, studying his fellow shipmates with interest once again. Many of them were dozing off, but some were restlessly shifting about, just as he was. _Guess their drugs must wear off after about three days. I guess they figure once we're en-route to Kamino, it doesn't really matter anymore. Or, maybe they time it so the drugs wear off just enough for us to drag our butts off the ship at Kamino. I guess they figures since we were all given a direct order to report back to Kamino, we're going to obey it._

Rex began to feel annoyed again, glad that he could feel something again. The blank numbness of the past few days had been awful. Rex felt like he'd been mentally hijacked. He had barely any recollection of the past week. His ire at the doctors and administrators at ArmyMed began to grow.

_First you have to survive this trip to Kamino, and then you can think of trying to revamp the entire Army medical system, Rexie._

Rex sat shock still for a moment. _OK, I did not just refer to myself as "Rexie," did I_? Rex shook his head, smiling a little for the first time in many days. Ahsoka's influence. He scrubbed his face with his hands, and took a deep breath, wondering if he'd ever see the beautiful Togrutan again.

Rex's groin, and his stomach, both contracted at the same time. He couldn't do anything about the parts of him that were suffering from lack of sex, well, not without embarrassing himself in front of all his brothers. But, he could see about finding some food and water. Rex grabbed his crutches, from where they'd been sitting on the floor, unused for days now. He pushed himself to his feet, getting some surprised looks from the people around him.

_Yeah, not a very lively cruise. Any sort of movement is big excitement on this ship_.

Rex stepped out into the aisle, and had just taken his first step, when he found himself hit with a wave of dizziness.

"Shab," he muttered, grabbing onto the seat directly in front of him, clutching it tightly, trying not to fall.

The two clones in the seats directly in front of him peered up at him in concern. They both sprang lightly to their feet, in perfect unison. One of them stepped out into the aisle, and gripped Rex's arm.

"You, OK?" his eyes slid over, taking in Rex's rank, "Captain?"

"Uh, yeah," Rex muttered, although he was likely unconvincing, since his eyes drifted shut, and he put a hand to his head again.

The clone looked over at his companion, who slipped out into the aisle, and gripped Rex's other arm, steadying him.

"Thanks," Rex said, taking a deep, steadying breath, and looking at the commandos on either side of him.

The older of the two commandos, who already had some grey on his temples, asked, "Where you headed?"

"Galley," with a nod toward the general direction where he thought the galley might be. He hadn't been there yet, but he was familiar with this older style of troop transport. "Dizzy. Need a ration bar or something."

The older clone nodded his head toward the galley to indicate the two of them would walk Rex there. Rex gave a slight nod back, thinking for a short moment that clones did a whole lot of speaking without actually speaking.

For reasons he couldn't identify, company sounded good right now, and he'd already taken a liking to these two brothers. Maybe because it was the first compassion anyone had shown him since the waitress had given him a free dessert on his first day at ArmyMed. Accompanied by his two new companions, Rex made his way to the galley. He wasn't sure what their 'injuries' were, but they showed not outward sign of injury. But, their tough Keltarn armor showed recent scoring up and down the sides, and signs of having been recently repaired and repainted. Plus, as they moved, Rex detected a stiffness to their movements. He almost wanted to ask: 'So, why are you two here?', but decided such a question wouldn't be appropriate.

Since there'd been practically no activity on board the ship in days, three people walking own the aisle actually counted for big excitement. They received curious looks from everyone they passed as they made their way down to the galley.

The ship was completely packed, with every seat and sleeping berth taken. Even so, it was still extremely quiet aboard the ship. Rex could easily hear the chirps and beeps of the R4 droid piloting the ship.

They entered the galley. His companions quietly went through the cabinets, and located a stash of ration bars. They each took one and tossed one to Rex.

"You want help getting back to your seat?"

Rex shook his head. "I might hang out here for a bit. Thanks."

As quietly as they'd appeared, his two companions disappeared, and returned to their seats. Another clone, who was missing a hand, was also in galley getting water. He looked at Rex, and held out a bottle of water. Rex took the bottle and gave a small nod of thanks. It was all the communications he could muster. The other clone gave an even tinier nod of acknowledgement, and disappeared back out of the galley, leaving Rex alone in the galley again.

Rex stared out the wide viewport window of the galley. _OK, OK, Kamino. What are you going to do about Kamino?_ In less than a day, they would be at Kamino, and he still had no plan to prevent the fate that awaited him there.

Rex finished the bottle of water, and tossed it into the reclamation bin. He briefly smiled and shook his head at himself. He was about to be put to death, and he was still concerned about reclaiming resources.

He was just about to take a bite of his rations bar, when a movement outside the wide viewport window above the galley caught his eye.

"What the..." Rex's voice trailed off as he stared at the heavily armored craft streaking toward them. The ship had no markings, but it was modified with extra weapons, extra boarding ramps, and coming upon them very fast. Rex felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The ship matched speed with theirs, and flew alongside. Rex observed the ship for another moment, his adrenaline rising, the way it did in that deathly moment of silence right before a battle started. They had a much more immediate problem than the fate that awaited them at Kamino.

# # #

As adrenaline flooded his system, Rex felt his head clearing. Any lingering effects of sedatives were overpowered by pure clone adrenaline. A sense of purpose coursed through Rex again as he felt his body automatically responding to the call to battle.

Rex moved quickly out into the aisle.

"ARC!" he called, making direct eye contact with the trooper he'd exchanged a rude gesture, and then a hand shake with, about an hour before. His voice sounded unusually loud in the quiet of the cabin. "My helmet, now!" Rex's voice had the crisp unmistakable quality it did when he was in command.

The ARC obeyed without question, hobbling across the aisle, and scooping up Rex's helmet from the floor. He stood up and lobbed the helmet down the aisle toward Rex, who caught it easily. The Captain gave the ARC a succinct nod of thanks. Rex snapped his helmet into place. As the HUD in his helmet powered up, his universe suddenly seemed to make sense again.

He switched the comm link on his helmet to a broad frequency. His voice automatically deepened to the raspy baritone he used with the 501st when calling them to attention before a battle.

"Wake up, troopers!" Rex snapped out, loudly. "Naptime is officially over! We've got some unwanted company off the port side."

Every clone head on the ship snapped over to look off the port side. A slight murmur went through the ship. Rex could literally feel the energy level of the ship picking up several notches, as waves of adrenaline surged through the rest of the clone population aboard. He saw previously sleepy, lethargic heads perking up and looking alert for the first time in days.

"If we all want to live through this," Rex continued, "then we need to prepare to receive our visitors. If you're not suited up, now would be a perfect time to put on your pretty armor. It's party time, brothers... boarding party time. Now move it, troopers!"

The energy level of the ship suddenly jumped several notches, and he heard the word: "Pirates!" being muttered by the previously silent clones.

_Live through this? An ironic choice of words_... Rex thought. We live through this, and then carry on to Kamino, so the Kaminoans can take us all out like a bunch of nerf?

Rex's command training snapped into place. _Win the battle first, then work out the rest of the post-battle logistics. (Like using all those long spindly necks for target practice...)_

Rex observed the clones suiting up, some seated, and some standing. "For those of you, who can't walk," Rex added in, "feel free to shoot the bastards from where you are sitting. And, for those of you who are currently immobile, I invite you to think venomous thoughts."

This earned a good natured round of laughter from everyone aboard. Since Rex was on crutches, he obviously understood the frustrations of being a battle-hardened clone faced with physical limitations. But, giving up a fight, before it had even begun, went counter to a clone's nature. These pirates had just challenged them to battle, and these clones would give them a battle. Rex actually felt goose bumps rise on his arms as he watched all the despondent troopers sparking back to life. He heard pieces of armor quickly clicking back into place, and weapons being efficiently assembled and loaded out of gear bags.

Rex looked over at five bio-beds lined up against one wall. Each bed contained a trooper who had suffered some level of spinal paralysis. The five 'spinal' patients glanced over at all the new activity with a mixture of interest, sadness, and envy. Rex's heart felt heavy as he looked at these brothers who had paid such a heavy price for defending the Republic.

Shab, we all paid a heavy price for defending the Republic, Rex reflected, but, the rest of us just got a little luckier with the placement of our injuries.

"How many combat pilots do we have onboard? Sound off." Rex had estimated the total ship occupancy to be close to 100 troopers. Of that, three identified themselves as combat pilots. He asked the three pilots to switch over to a private channel so he could have a quick side conversation with them. "Of the three of you, how many of you are still able bodied enough to fly?" Rex asked.

"Name's Razor. I'm spinal. I'm sorry, Captain," answered the first trooper. Rex winced at the deep pain and sadness he could hear in his voice. It was a sadness that cut straight to the bone. Rex could hear how deeply the trooper regretted, not being able to do the one thing that he had trained his whole life.

"I understand, trooper," Rex said, wishing he could more to ease his emotional pain, understanding so clearly what the brother was going through. Rex certainly had a great understanding of that feeling now.

"Name's Odds, Captain. Lost my right arm in an explosion, and the doctors at ArmyMed tell me it's too damaged too attach another one. But, I recently discovered I can still throw a mean right hook even with just one arm. There's a doctor back there with a black eye who can testify to that. If I can do that, I think I can still help fly this ship."

Rex laughed, "Meet me up in the cockpit."

Another voice sounded off in Rex's helmet, "Name's Chance, Captain. I have a leg injury, as I see you do as well. But, I've got two working arms."

"Showoff," muttered Odds.

"Alright, I'll meet both of you in the cockpit," Rex said, quickly making his way forward to the cockpit. On the way, he passed by the biobeds. He wondered which of the five was the paralyzed pilot he had just spoken with. He had no way of knowing, and no time to find out. Rex was tempted to make eye contact with each of the clones as he walked by, but he resisted. He had no time right now for distractions. So, he kept his attention fixed straight ahead.

But, if they got out of this... No. When they got out of this, he was going to find that pilot. No, he was going to get to know all of these spinal patients. Rex shook his head, wondering why it had taken pirates to remind him of what being a brother meant.

The R-4 was still chirping away as it flew the ship, oblivious of the danger that flew alongside them. Rex greeted the pilots as they came in, and introduced himself.

"I'm Capt-", Rex grimaced, as he caught himself, "former Captain Rex of the 501st."

"The 501st?" the first trooper smirked, and playfully punched his companion, "hey, we're in the company of royalty. I'm Odds. Used to fly larties for the Lancer Battalion," He reached an arm out to greet Rex. His other arm was cut-off right at the shoulder. His bodysuit had been neatly trimmed and pinned up right at the shoulder seam.

"Chance. I flew for 91st Reconnaissance Corps," said the second pilot, who was on crutches like Rex. He gathered the crutches into one hand so that he could clasp arms with Rex, "also honored to meet you, Captain. Just not such a smartass about it, as my companion here." Odds shrugged, obviously not the least bit sorry, or apologetic, about being referred to as a smartass. "If you don't mind my saying so, Captain," Chance continued, "you're not a former anything. Not in my eyes, anyway, and I'm betting not in the eyes of any trooper here onboard this ship."

Rex felt something lump in his throat.

"Who's dogging us, Captain?" said Odds, getting down to business, squeezing past the R4 to look at all the control screens.

Rex turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"I've run into pirates before here in the Outer Rim," Rex said, "but I've never seen this particular ship."

"Mind if I get to work? " Chance gestured toward the empty co-pilot chair.

Rex took a step back, and made a hand gesture that said: 'It's all yours.'

The R-4 swiveled its' head and chirped a loud protest at them, but then went back to its' flying.

"Fine. You're so worked up about it. You tell us what it is, then," Odds said to the R4 unit.

The R4 uttered a high-pitched beep that sounded suspiciously like the droid version of a profanity, but offered up no useful information. "Oh, well, thanks for that useful newsflash," Odds said. The R4 beeped again, this time at such a pitch that all three clones had to briefly hold their ears before their helmet's sound filters kicked in. With only one hand, Odds was at a distinct disadvantage. He smacked the R4 unit.

Odds shook his head, "These older units are worthless."

"Leave the droid alone," Chance said, studying a screen,"no markers, no transponder signal. Heavily armed, highly modified ship."

"I would leave the droid alone, except he's in my seat," Odds muttered.

"Where does this bucket stand with regards to shields and weapons?" asked Rex.

Odds toggled a screen in front of the R-4, checking shield status. The R-4 beeped in annoyance at the intrusion.

"Pipe down, tinnie," muttered Odds.

Odds turned back to Rex, "Minimal shielding. This thing is truly intended to be a transport ship only. Not designed to put up much of a fight."

"Same sad story with weapons," said Chance, "bare minimum required to destroy a stray asteroid or two that might wander in our path, but that's about it."

"Can you get me a schematic of this ship?" Rex asked.

Chance pulled up a 3-D schematic. Rex studied it thoughtfully for a long moment, and then held up his gauntlet.

"Give me a download of that."

Chance sent the info to Rex via infrared. Rex looked out the viewport window at the other ship, still pacing them.

"If they wanted to destroy us, they would have done so when we first came into range. What are they after? " Rex leaned back against a console, set his crutches aside, and folded his arms across his chest in his classic thinking pose.

"They must want something onboard this ship," said Odds.

"But, the only thing aboard this ship is, well, us," said Chance.

"Yeah, I don't think they know what's onboard," Rex said, peering out the viewport again thoughtfully, "They're trying to figure out if we're worth the effort."

"The effort of what, sir?" asked Odds.

"Boarding us," Rex said, simply and calmly.

Odds and Chance exchanged a surprised 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Well, we won't be able to fend them off with shields and weapons," said Rex. He got up from leaning against the console.

"So, we'll just have to throw them a bit of a surprise party if they decide to board," he grabbed his crutches again.

Rex looked at the two pilots, "You two ready to take over flying this useless barge?"

"Sir, yes, sir," said Odds and Chance together.

Rex rolled his eyes at their formality. "A simply yes, Captain, will do."

_Yes, I guess I just re-commissioned myself_, Rex realized. _Screw Kamino. Screw Coruscant. Screw them all. I'm saving these men._

Rex took out his blaster, spun it around once with a flourish, and shot the R-4 unit in the head. He shoved it off the seat. It fell with a clatter to the deck. Odds burst out laughing.

"Sir, those droids do come with an off switch," Chance said, calmly, gazing down at the smoking R4 droid.

"Yeah, and I think I just found it," Rex said. Odds doubled over, laughing so hard that he could barely breathe.

"All yours," Rex said, making a grand gesture toward the empty chair.

"Thank you, Captain," Odds said, trying to recover enough from his laughter so that he could properly salute the Captain. He got a hold of himself, and managed to get a snappy salute with his one hand. "I won't disappoint you, sir!" Odds said, the enthusiasm evident in his voice.

"I know you won't, trooper," Rex said, smartly saluting him back. "Have fun, boys!" Rex said cheerfully, as he left the cockpit, feeling better than he had in weeks. He knew that shooting a tinny would cheer him up, and he wasn't disappointed.

# # #

A/N: * - The insult the ARC muttered simply translates to "screwed up Captain." *


	29. Chapter 29 Attacked by pirates

_Revised: May 28, 2013. _

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 29**_

Rex exited the cockpit with the smell of burning circuit boards still wafting through the air. He'd had a sore spot against astromechs since he'd been forced to carry the R3 droid, 'Goldie', around strapped to his chest. It had been a humiliating assignment, and on top of it all, the droid had turned out to be in league with the Separatists. Never trust a droid. Skywalker might be in love with his pampered astromech, but Rex never trusted a droid to do a job that a brother could do. The acrid smell of the destroyed R4 unit clung to his nostrils and made his eyes water. Rex heard the fans coming on as Odds and Chance vented out the room.

Rex paused for a moment, and leaned against a bulkhead. He couldn't 'walk' and put on his helmet at the same time- not since he'd been injured. He leaned back against a bulkhead, balancing for a moment, so he could jam his helmet back on. It had been over a month now since that night on TriLuna when he'd first been injured- over a month since he'd been able to put any kind of weight on his leg. Rex grabbed his crutches and continued on his way to the crew cabin, annoyed at his continued impaired mobility. But, as he thought of the five men in the biobeds, he realized it could be so much worse.

As his helmet sealed tight with his bodysuit, it created an environment of ideal moisture and humidity. Rex felt the dryness and irritation in his eyes clear away. Rex began studying the schematic of the ship's layout as he made his way back to the main crew cabin. It felt amazingly good to be multi-tasking again, scrolling through information on his HUD with just a blink of his eyes. The information came at him with dizzying speed. Rex had been trained since infancy to read data off quickly scrolling computer screens. Moving and reading a HUD simultaneously were essential clone skills, a complex multi-sensory processing gene that Jango Fett obviously possessed.

Even as Rex processed the schematic, working on a defensive strategy, his mind still wandered off in other directions as well. Rex smiled to himself, still relishing the memory of blasting the R4 unit.

'General Skywalker would most certainly not have approved,' Rex mused, and somehow that made destroying the droid even more satisfying. Rex made a couple of side notes onto one of the schematic diagrams, and then wondered where Skywalker was now.

Over the past three days, Rex had half-expected to see _the Resolute_ come barreling out of hyperspace, arriving to rescue him. At the very least, they could have sent _the Twilight_. Wasn't Rex a valued member of the crew? Didn't anybody have a problem with what was happening to him? Weren't Jedi supposed to get all worked up about stuff like this? Isn't that what they were famous for? Even if General Skywalker, or Ahsoka were just too busy to get away, they could have sent somebody else. _Anybody._ The fact that they just let him be sent away with no effort to get him back, well, it stung.

No, it more than just stung. It hurt. A lot.

Rex took a deep steadying breath. Not even a farewell comm link. 'Thanks for all you did, Rex. We'll miss you.' Or, 'Hey, Rex. We're trying to find a workaround solution. Just hang in there.'

_Nope. I was simply discarded like a four-day old nerf steak. Everybody just forgot about me, like I never existed at all... Not even a good bye message from Ahsoka… I wonder if this means Ahsoka has already found someone else to replace me? I wonder who? No lack of choices on a ship with that many men…_

The thought of Ahsoka with another man twisted Rex's gut so painfully that he paused, and forced himself to take a few deep breaths. He knew he was genetically bred to be able to multi-task effectively under even the most stressful combat conditions. He did have to admit he was showing some signs of stress. The fact that he'd vented some of his frustrations on a navigation droid were proof of that. But, now, he needed to channel himself back into battle mode. He had to bury all of the other emotions away, and simply become a soldier again. Not a man with feelings.

He'd finished going through the ship schematic and knew what he needed to do. He also knew needed to stop thinking about _the Resolute_. With a painful lump in his throat, Rex realized he must close himself off from the life he left behind. It was the only way to survive, and stay sane. They had to be as dead to him, as he seemed to be to them.

He'd arrived back into the main part of the ship. What mattered to him now, were the men in front of him. They were still alive, and Rex planned on keeping them that way.

After three days of morbid lassitude, the main room was alive with activity. Troopers were helping each other suit up, and there was a quiet but steady undercurrent of conversation. While still somewhat subdued, it was still the same sort of chatter Rex was used to hearing from the 501st .There was a bit of nervous joking, and speculations passed back and forth.

Rex was glad the Kaminoans wanted all of their "defective" clones sent back with their full gear. The more Rex thought about it, the more he saw now how it all fit together. The Kaminoans shrewd business sense fit in with the Senate's need to have a clean, anesthetic war….

Yes, send the damaged (i.e. 'defective') units back with all their gear. Why? Well, no loose ends. Yes, Rex could picture it now that he was caught up in it with all these other troopers. Check them out of the hospital. Send back everything with them, and dispose of everything far away from any possible prying (and sympathetic) eyes at Coruscant. It was all very neat and tidy, and the Kaminoans loved neat and tidy.

Rex was already wearing his twin blasters. He was itching to show the Kaminoans the neat and tidy end of his blasters. Rex made his way over to his gear bag, and assembled his DC-15 rifle. Right now, his immediate concern was the heavily armed ship that was dogging them. But, after that, well, perhaps before Rex returned his gear to the Kaminoans, he would show them how well he had learned how to use it…

Rex attached a strap to his rifle, and slung it over his shoulder. He checked the supply of ammo in his belt. He was completely stocked up. Yeah, he had gotten very, very bored while at ArmyMed. All of his gear was hyper-cleaned, fully polished, fully stocked, and in perfect working order. He suspected the same was true for pretty much all of the clones in the room.

It felt so good to be armored up, and, basically, heading back to work again. Even with just the one working leg, it all felt right. Rex once again had the feeling that he was doing what he was meant to do. Rex worked his way to the center of the room, and turned up the amplification on his helmet.

"Listen up, troopers! All of you! I don't know if I fully outrank each of you, and frankly I don't care." As Rex was speaking, he could hear an excited undercurrent of whispering going back and forth between the men.

"Do you know who that is?"

"_That's Captain Rex of the 501_st !"

Rex smiled to himself behind his helmet. After being treated like a nobody by the droids and medical technicians for the past month, it felt nice to be accorded some of the respect he'd earned as a Captain. He had to admit that he'd missed it.

Rex puffed his chest out a bit more, threw his shoulders back, and noticed his voice automatically dropped in pitch to the more gravelly tone he used when barking at the 501st. He spoke as loudly and confidently as he could, like he always did before motivating his troops before a battle: "There's a ship out there that we can only assume is hostile. Judging by their equipment, they've got every intent of boarding us. Don't know about you, but I could use a good fight right about now. I've been wanting to smash, kick or hit something for a couple of weeks now. The way I got treated at ArmyMed left me with a few _anger issues."_

This earned a rousing cheer, and guffaws of laughter from the men.

Rex put his hands up to quiet the men down.

"So, we're assuming the folks trailing us are pirates," said Rex, "but, even if they're not, feel free to shoot at anything that shoots at you," this earned another round of cheers. Rex gave them a moment to settle down before he continued, "We'll set up a defensive perimeter in front of the airlock."

Rex held up his gauntlet and projected a 3-D diagram of the ship schematic.

"OK, they haven't fired upon us to disable our engines. They must want the ship, or its' cargo, completely intact. So, our defensive perimeters will be here- and here," Rex said, pointing into the schematic, "the men who are too injured to fight, I want you to move back here, by the bio beds. This will keep you away from the action. I want a wall of able-bodied men in front of them, as a defensive perimeter. By able-bodied, I simply mean you've still got your weapondry, and are capable of hitting what you're aiming at. If you can do that, you're welcome to join in the fight. I want the bio beds unhooked from the walls, in the event we have to move them in a hurry. Watch out for your brothers. No brothers get left behind. Not anymore. Got it?" Rex said.

"Sir, yes, sir!" came the overwhelming response from the assembled troopers.

There was such enthusiasm and emotion in their response that it touched a chord within Rex. He had to pause for a moment before he could continue. He felt the hairs on his arm rise up, and realized it was one of those life changing moments.

Rex took a deep breath, and then continued, "In the off-chance, they decide not to board, and just go on their merry way, well… since we're all geared up so nicely, I guess we could just shoot the Kaminoans once we arrive home at Tipoca City."

The men roared with laughter.

"Shoot the Kaminoans!"

"I'll make sure to save some ammo!"

"I call dibs on Ko Sai!"

_Well, I've either saved the ship, or incited a riot, _Rex mused behind his helmet with a small smile. _What can they do, take away my rank? Punish me? What more could they do to me?_

"Alright now, we just need to wait and see if our guests will be arriving as planned. If they're going to board, they'll probably do it soon. Take positions, and make sure you keep the bio-beds, and any other brothers who need it, well protected. Let's move!"

The men quickly dispersed, taking up defensive positions throughout the ship, but focused mainly on the airlock. Rex leaned back against a support column, since kneeling was completely out of the question for him. _That's OK. Cover isn't as good this way. But, standing and shooting is good, too._

Rex let his muscles relax so that they didn't cramp up. He let his mind drift a little, and pleasantly imagined shooting Kaminoans at Tipoca City.

_One Kaminoan, two Kaminoan, three Kaminoan, four Kaminoan..._

He didn't have to wait long.

"Captain Rex!" Odds hailed him over his comm link.

"Go ahead," said Rex.

"The ship is moving to inter-"

Rex heard a ship lock onto their airlock.

"-cept us!" said Chance, "They scrambled our shields, and locked on to our airlock!"

"Confirmed. We hear them," said Rex. "We're ready. Stand by in case we need to make a quick exit out of here."

"Understood," said Chance.

Rex stood up straighter, muscles tensed, both blasters drawn. He let the support column take his weight, so he could concentrate on shooting.

_We're too visible,_ he thought, looking around the brightly lit room.

"Anybody know where the kill switch is for the lights?" Rex asked quickly.

"I'm on it, Captain," someone responded, and almost immediately, all the lights were switched off.

_Nice, _Rex thought. _Fast._

"Switching off the lights up here. Dimming all displays," reported Chance.

The entire ship went dark. The only light was coming from the blinking indicators on the sides of the bio-beds. Without even having to be told, blankets were tossed over these indicator panels, covering up the lights, and keeping the beds from becoming targets.

Rex's visor automatically switched over to night vision. He looked around at the other clone troopers, poised, tensed and focused on the airlock.

_These are clones about to be thrown away,_ thought Rex, shaking his head in disgust. _How could the Republic just dispose of these men?_

The thought of shooting the Kaminoans was getting more and more appealing…

Rex tightened his grip on his blasters, as he heard the airlocks spin and begin to cycle open.

"Steady," Rex said quietly into his internal comlink, "we have the advantage here. These space rats don't know they're raiding a shipful of troopers. A shipful of _pissed off_ troopers."

This earned a round of quiet laughter from the men. Granted, since they were all switched onto internal comlinks they could have been laughing uproariously and it still would have been completely silent to the outside world. But, they were all feeling the moment.

"Wait until they are all fully inside and then let's show them a proper Mando'a welcome," said Rex, "nobody fire until I give the signal."

The airlock slowly opened, spilling light into the darkened room. Several troopers quickly backed up to avoid falling into the swath of light. Rex was amazed how quickly they moved, considering every one of them was considered "walking wounded."Even though their helmets offered a sound-proof environment, Rex still whispered when he spoke. "Who has a good visual? Can you confirm what we're dealing with?"

"Pirates, sir. Definitely pirates," said a trooper closer to the airlock.

The intruders continued to pile in through the airlock into the darkened room.

"Why is it so blasted dark in here? Hey, Oco, see if you can find the lights on this garbage scow," said an overly tall man, heavily armed, squinting in the darkness. Behind him, were a dozen sordid fighters, all heavily armed.

'Oco' moved off from the group, squinting into the darkness. He began wandering off toward one wall, headed for a whole pile of troopers.

"Not yet," Rex coached the men quietly, still holding off on firing," "wait until they're all inside. If need be, take that guy down quietly."

'Oco' fell down heavily, hitting the deck.

"What was that?" said the leader, holding up a hand, and freezing in place.

"That was me, boss," responded Oco, "I tripped over something. I don't know what. No, wait. Not something. Someone! It feels like- -oh, fierfik! Boss, it's a clo-"

There was a strangled cry, and then silence.

"Oco! Oco! What happened?" the pirate 'boss' demanded.

The pirates stopped, frozen in place.

"Oco! Where are you? What happened? What did you see? Where are those frakkin' lights? Why is it so dark in here? Someone find the lights!"

As they called out to their fallen shipmate, and began to disperse, looking for the lights, Rex gave the signal to his men.

"You heard the man. He asked for lights," Rex said steadily over the comms, "on my mark, headlamps on, full strength, focused beam, eye level. Then, fire immediately. Get ready… on my mark… now!"

The room suddenly came alive in a blaze of light as the clones all switched on their headlamps at once. The effect was dazzling, as the lights seemed intensely bright in the blackness of the room. With the beams directed right in their faces, the pirates were effectively blinded. Instinctively, they all threw up an arm to shield their faces from the onslaught of painfully piercing light. And, it was in that instant of vulnerability that Rex gave the command all the clones had been waiting upon.

"Fire," Rex commanded calmly, and the clones lit up the room in a blaze of blasterfire. There were screams of panic and pain from the pirates. In just seconds, it was over, with all of their targets easily neutralized.

"Circle!" Rex said. He had to holster both his blasters in order to grab his crutches and move in closer to the enemy. Rex hated the fact that he was temporarily unarmed, and basically unable to defend himself. He'd have to depend upon his brothers to watch his back for the moment. Rex moved in quickly, so he could assess the enemy. The clones formed a circle, guns drawn, pointed down at the pirates. Many were already dead, but a few were alive, moaning and thrashing on the ground. The clones formed a tight circle around them, offering no hope of escape.

"Let's finish it," said Rex, having no sympathy for pirates, "we're not in a position to take prisoners here. Rex balanced himself on one leg, and drew one of his blasters, taking aim at one of the prisoners who was still moving. He was not going to shirk the dirty work. "On my mark," he said, his voice not betraying any emotion, "fire."

There was another blast of intense fire, and then no movement at all. Rex didn't bother to dwell upon the bloody mess on the cabin floor that just a few moments ago had been a dozen living men. He spun around, sensing a new danger. He heard the engines in the other ship powering up.

"Seal that airlock!" Rex barked, making his way toward it. But, knowing other men could move a lot faster than he could, he bellowed out, "move it! Move it! Get that airlock sealed!"

"The other ship is firing engines!" Chance reported over the comm link.

"Seal that airlock! NOW! NOW!" Rex said, moving as quickly as he could across the room toward the airlock.

"They're panicking! They are not detaching from our airlock!" Chance said.

Two troopers were working together to seal the airlock. By the time Rex got over to the door, it was sealed. Rex looked out the door at the airlock attachment that was sealing their two ships together.

"Can we detach the lock from our end?" Rex asked, feeling their ship begin to shake.

"I'm trying, but it won't release. We're locked together!" said Chance.

The ship began shuddering ominously.

"Alright, everybody, move to the forward cabin!" Rex ordered. "Move! Move! The bio beds! Get the bio beds into the forward cabin! Go! Go! Go! No brother gets left behind! Move it! Move it!"

Rex continued to bellow at the troopers, evacuating them out of the back cabin, as he continued to feel the ship rattle and shake Rex was the last one through the door to the smaller forward cabin.

"Seal it up!" he yelled.

"Strap yourselves in! Brace yourselves! Hold on!" Rex instructed.

The door to the forward bulkhead was sealed. A few moments later, there was a terrible sound of groaning, tearing metal followed by a burst of decompressed air. The ship shuddered and pitched wildly, bashing troopers together, and down to the ground.

The ship's engines shrieked as they suddenly were yanked out of sub-light. Rex had no time to grab a hold of anything. Rex felt himself go flying through the air. He tucked his body into a roll, just as he'd been taught in training, so that he landed with the least amount of damage possible. He didn't have very much muscle control of his injured leg, so it wasn't a very graceful roll. But, thanks to his armor, he landed without any serious injury. A few seconds later, another trooper flew into him, knocking all the air out of Rex's lungs. OK, getting tackled by another brother in full armor was painful.

"Ow," Rex said, lying on the ground for a moment, without moving.

There was complete silence for a moment. Then, everyone began to pick themselves up. The clone who'd fallen on Rex began untangling himself with a groan.

"Who'd I land on?" the trooper mumbled, looking around.

"That would be me," Rex said, looking up, "you can get off of me, anytime now."

Rex noticed it was none other than 'Dart,' the clone Rex had originally exchanged a rather rude hand gesture with.

"Oh, hey Captain, sorry," Dart mumbled, rolling off of Rex, and rubbing at his injured shoulder, "anybody seen my cane?"

Dart limped off, looking for wherever his missing cane had ended up. Rex looked around, assessing the situation. The forward cabin consisted mainly of jumpseats that pulled down from the walls. They weren't overly comfortable for long trips, but they had safety belts, and would do in a pinch. A number of the more nimble troopers had managed to get themselves strapped in on time. Although, there were a fair number of men lying in a heap on the floor like he was.

Rex used a wall to push himself back up to his feet, working out some of the stiffness and achiness from his muscles, "Well, I suppose that takes care of jettisoning those pirates back out into space," Rex finally said, gazing back toward what used to be the back cabin.

His comment earned a round of guffaws from the men.

"OK, who's injured?" Rex asked, looking around.

This earned another round of laughter.

"I was _**not**_ trying to be funny there," said Rex. This comment earned even more laughter. Rex leaned back against the bulkhead, and joined in. "I guess that was a stupid question on a medical transport, huh?"

Rex relaxed back against the bulkhead a moment more, enjoying the brotherhood and the laughter. "Yeah, OK, then, I'll leave you guys to get yourselves sorted. I'm going up front to get a damage report from our pilots."

Rex looked around, and suddenly realized he wasn't going anywhere without his crutches.

"Um," Rex looked around the tangled mess of troopers, "hey, anybody seen my walking sticks? They're about yeah-high, metallic, and say property of Army-Med on them…" Eventually two crutches were tossed his way. He didn't bother checking if they were his original ones or not. Good enough. Several troopers gave him the thumbs up sign as he worked his way around them. A couple had their helmets off and gave him a good-natured smile.

Rex felt sore and bruised, but it was a familiar kind of sore. He always ached someplace after a battle, often in a lot of places. As his new bruises made themselves felt, Rex actually welcomed the feeling. It made life seem normal again, if just for a short while.

Rex arrived at the cockpit hatch. The pilots had closed and sealed the entrance to the cockpit.

_Smart move_, Rex thought.

Rex called through to them on his commlink, and they released the hatch. They both turned and acknowledged him with a respectful nod as he came through, before turning back to their stations. Without needing to be prompted, Chance provided Rex with a status update.

"Sir, when the airlock sheered off it took off a good-sized chunk of hull with it," Chance flipped up a data screen and showed Rex.

"We also suffered damage to our engines," Odds said, pointing to another screen, showing readouts spiking into the red zone, that's what pulled us out of sublight."

"Yes, we noticed that," Rex commented dryly, "we had one big happy trooper pile-up. I was somewhere near the bottom of the stack."

Both Odds and Chance guffawed.

"Would have like to have seen that," Chance laughed.

"Apologies for the bumpy ride," Odds said, still smiling at the mental image Rex had drawn.

Odds pointed to all the red warning lights in front of him on the control panel. "Sir, there is no way we can make it to Kamino with this level of damage."

"A shame about that," Rex said, earning more laughter from the two pilots, "the men will be positively devastated. What about communications?"

"Sorry, sir. Communications are still being jammed," Chance said.

"Can't actually say I'm heartbroken about that either," Rex said, rubbing his chin, thoughtfully, "OK, options?"

"Well, not a lot of options, sir, but, well, I do have one idea," Odds said, his voice rising with enthusiasm as he presented an idea to Rex, "we were just passing through the Ando system when the pirates started tailing us. They snuck up on us from behind one of Ando's moons. Chance and I believe we can still fire the sublight engines for short controlled bursts, without tearing the hull apart. We'll have to time it very carefully, putting the least amount of strain on the hull possible, so that we don't tear the ship apart. However, it should be enough to allow us to do a controlled descent onto Ando."

"A controlled descent?" Rex asked, "is that a nice way of saying our best option is to crash land into Ando?"

"Crash, sir?" Odds said, "'Crash' has such a negative connation. We pilots always prefer to think of it in terms of a very rapid descent with varying degrees of maneuverability, and quite a bit of flexibility in where you might actually land."

Now, it was Rex's turn to laugh. He took his helmet off, and gave Odds a look that said: 'You've got to be kidding me?'

"Odds?" Rex questioned, "have you ever considered running for Senate? You have the gift of the golden-tongue."

Odds looked over at Chance, cocking his head to the side, "I'm not sure if I'm meant to take that as a compliment or an insult."

Rex shook his head, still smiling, "Alright, you have my approval. How much time until our 'controlled descent?'"

Odds quickly did some calculations onto a screen, and then had Chance verify his numbers.

"About half an hour, sir" Chance said, after checking the calculations, "maybe even less, depending upon how much we are able to coax out of these engines."

Rex quickly consulted his HUD for information about Ando, "Breathable air, always a plus. Moderate climate, if a bit on the cool side. Sparse population… might not be a bad thing for us… fishing is a major industry, blah, blah, blah… " Rex cocked his head to the side as the information continued to scroll by, and he continued to absorb data on Ando, "Always wanted to learn how to fish," Rex mumbled absent-mindedly, as he scrolled through screen after screen of data, sorting and absorbing information. "Yeah, OK, I've certainly crashed on worst planets, and I have a great deal of experience in crashing,"Rex murmured, he looked over at the two pilots, "OK, permission to proceed. Ando, it is. Permission to crash."

"Sir, yes, sir!" they both said enthusiastically.

Rex rolled his eyes again, "You really don't need to do that. Technically none of us are in the military anymore."

Odds looked up, all innocence, "But, we're so good at it, sir! And, it sounds so snappy and professional when we say it together like that!"

Rex reached his hand out and smacked Odds on the back of his helmet.

"Less talking, more crashing," Rex said, pointing a stern finger back to Odds' control panel.

Odds turned around contritely, seemingly duly chastised, but Rex heard him mumble under his breath: "Sir, yes, sir."

Rex heard it anyway, "Great. The ship is being piloted by a bunch of comedians."

Chance looked up at Rex briefly, then back at his control panel, "On the contrary, sir. I take my crashing very seriously."

Rex couldn't tell whether he was joking or not. Unlike Odds, Chance always had an even tone when he spoke, playing it straight. Of course, you never knew what a clone was thinking under the helmet.

"Yes, well, see that you do," Rex said, standing up a little straighter, into his authoritarian Captain pose.

Odds found this comment amusing and chuckled again, "I must say, Captain, this is the most fun I've ever had crashing."

Rex thought about it for a moment, and his shoulders relaxed again, "Yeah, actually, me too."

He stood behind Chance and Odds another moment, watching their control screens over their shoulders.

"What's our target touch-down area?" Rex asked.

Chance brought up a geographical map of the planet, and pointed to what looked like a large region of open, uninhabited land along one of the planet's seas.

"It's a bit chilly there, sir, but there's also a minimal amount of debris for us to hit if we go in hard. Without knowing exactly how much damage we've sustained, I'm not sure how controlled our descent will be. So, we're hoping to shed as much speed as possible before we impact. But, this area," Chance tapped the screen with his white armored finger, "should still have a decent snowpack at this time of year. But, since they're heading into spring, won't be too cold, either. Combine those conditions, and we should have a nice, mushy snow cushion to land in. Our suits should protect us well-enough from the climate."

Rex's mind flitted back to some of the other snow planets he'd been, and the specialized snow gear they'd donned to deal with the conditions. Rex didn't have such specialized gear in his gear bag, and he doubted many of the others did either, unless they regularly worked in colder climates. So, they'd all be dependent upon their regular bodysuits and armor to keep them warm if they ventured outside.

"Well, at this point, I suppose it's more important that we survive the landing than worry about being cozy warm afterwards. Good job, you two. Proceed. Keep me posted," and Rex quickly slipped out the cockpit hatch before Odds could get started into his "sir, yes, sir" routine again.

Odds looked back over his shoulder at the quickly retreating Rex, "Nice man, that Captain," he said, to Chance.

Chance just nodded his head, deep in thought over the calculations he was working on.

Odds cocked his head to the side, "You know, from everything I'd heard about him, I really thought he'd be more of a hardass, you know?" Odds shrugged, the gesture causing his pinned-up uniform sleeve to bob up and down. Odds turned his attention forward again, "OK, back to this whole crashing bit. Call me strange, but, I actually enjoy a good crash now and again."

Chance just shook his head in exasperation, realizing how his co-pilot had earned the name 'Odd's.

# # #

The crowded forward cabin was a hive of activity. Rex stood there for a moment, just taking it all in. A few of the clones had suffered minor injuries when the two ships tore apart. The injured had been lined up into one corner, and were being tended by a clone with the markings of a medic. Other troopers were busily looking for places to safely stash all the gear bags, since the front compartment didn't have the same amenities as the roomier rear compartment. Rex wasn't sure whom to go to for a situation update, since he didn't actually have a second-in-command.

Rex stood there, feeling a bit awkward and uncertain. He almost didn't want to interrupt, since everyone seemed to be so productively engaged at the moment. On the other hand, he was a command clone. He should be _commanding_.

A clone with predominately red armor approached Rex, "Sir!"

Rex raised his eyebrows up, which was basically clone-speak for "and, you are?" plus "what is it you wished to say?"

"Command Clone 7471. I'm a Lieutenant. Friends call me Torch," said the red-striped clone, as he stood confidently in front of Rex.

"Captain Rex, sir, so far we've got one mild concussion, three sprains, and just a whole lot of bruises. All in all, we seem to have weathered the incursion with the pirates just fine," Torch smiled, "much better than the pirates did, and the tumbling about with the ship just fine."

"Excellent," Rex said, looking around the crowded cabin, then back at Torch, "thank you for the update." Rex studied Torch. He showed no obvious sign of injury.

Torch noticed Rex studying him. He removed his helmet, revealing partially healed burns and scars to his face. One long scar ran right through his eye.

"Blindness, sir," Torch answered, "just in the one eye. But, I guess it was enough to earn me this ticket back to Tipoca City. Too much nerve damage for optical regeneration."

Rex nodded, and gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder, "Well, looks fine to me. You're in good company here. Glad to have you on board, Lieutenant."

Torch smiled gratefully, and then put his helmet back on, "Thank you, sir."

Rex pivoted to turn away, but then called back over his shoulder to Torch, "Oh, by the way, we're about to crash into the snow planet of Ando. ETA 14 minutes 15 seconds. So, I'll need your help getting everyone prepared."

Rex saw slight shock in Torch's body language, but otherwise the Lieutenant controlled his reaction well, "Um… understood, sir."

Rex turned back around to address everyone, and amplified his voice through his comm. He used the same no-nonsense voice that he had before the battle with the pirates, "Listen up!" The troopers immediately stopped what they were doing, and turned his way, "Our little dance with the pirates damaged the hull. We're about to make a 'controlled descent' onto the planet of Ando. And, by controlled descent, I do mean a crash landing. I'm sure you've all been through a number of these, so you know the drill. If you value your ass, strap it in tight. And, strap down anything you don't want to see smacking into the side of your helmet when we go down." Rex looked around at the group and held up his DC-15 so everyone could see it. On the handle, there were a long series of scratch marks, "See these? Most folks assume I've been tracking missions, or kill ratios, or something. Not so. I've been tracking how many times I've crash landed," this earned a big round of laughter from the men. Rex put his hands up to settle everyone down, "I plan on surviving this landing, and adding another mark on here. So, what do you say we all strap ourselves in good and tight as we prepare to visit this nice little planet called Ando?"

"Does this mean we're not going to Kamino?" one clone asked cheekily, doing his best to sound devastated.

"Sadly, no," Rex answered, "I suppose we'll just have to go shoot the Kaminoans another day."

This earned another round of laughter from the men.

"Now, move it!" Rex finished off, and the cabin became a flurry of organized activity as the troopers began their crash preparations.

"Masterfully done, sir. Never heard such an eager bunch to crash before," Odds commented privately to Rex.

"It's all in the positioning," Rex responded.

"We're at just a little over 13 minutes to impact, sir," said Odds, "get everyone strapped in, as tight as they can, and prepare them for a very hard impact. We're going in hard and fast."

"Copy that," said Rex. He switched back over to his external comlink.

"Just got word from the pilots that we are 13 minutes to impact! Prepare for a _**hard**_, repeat, _**hard**_ landing. Get everyone and everything strapped in! Move it, troopers!"

Rex surveyed the room. He gestured to Torch.

"Yes, Captain?"

"I'm concerned about the men in the bio beds. We need to find someone to secure them further so they are thrown about if we land hard," Rex said.

"I'm on it, sir," said Torch, he immediately headed over to secure the bio-beds.

Rex went around the room, checking that everyone and everything was properly secured down. Satisfied with everyone's progress, Rex headed over to the bio-beds. Torch was working with another clone, using crash webbing, to tie the beds down securely.

"How's it coming?" Rex asked, glancing quickly down at his chrono, and checking how much time they had left.

Torch responded without looking up from what he was doing, "Well, good, in that this will work, but I think we need to work faster."

"I'm on it," Rex said, "throw me some webbing."

The clone Torch was working with looked up briefly in surprise, as if he hadn't expected Rex to be so hands-on in his working style. He and Rex locked eyes for a moment. It was the same clone who had been sitting behind Rex in the rear compartment of the ship, the one with the rare mutation of the blue eye and the brown eye.

As Rex stared at this unusual clone, he got the strangest impression of a storm brewing just behind his eyes. It seemed as if the brother was just barely containing whatever emotions he had locked up inside of him, and it wouldn't take much before it all came barreling out. Rex made a mental note to keep an eye on this particular trooper. Knowing he had much bigger things to worry about at the moment, Rex turned his attention to the bio-beds.

Rex tried to figure out the best way to secure the bed. He glanced over at what Torch and the strange clone were doing, trying to imitate their efforts. _This isn't going fast enough_, Rex thought with frustration.

Torch had already finished securing his bio-bed and was moving on to another one.

"Thanks for watching out for us, Captain," said the paralyzed clone trooper in the bed Rex was working on. Rex looked down, a little startled to hear the man in the bed speaking. The clone's lips were parched and it was difficult for him to speak. Rex wondered when the last time was he'd had any water.

"Rest easy, vode," Rex said, gently, "no brother gets left behind, OK?"

"That's a nice thing to say," the trooper said, through his dry, cracked lips, as if he wasn't sure whether to believe it or not, "even if I die, it's nice to know somebody cared what happened to me in the end. Thanks for that."

Those words punched Rex right in the stomach. He remembered being at the hospital and feeling like nobody cared anymore if he lived or died.

Rex clapped him on the shoulder, "You can thank me again in person when we all make it safely down to the planet."

Rex made a mental note to bring the man a drink of water once they made it safely down. He needed to bring all these men water. He kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. No one had been tending to these brothers at all. Rex had seen them for the past three days. Everyone had. Yet, these brothers had been left unattended. Why had it taken a pirate attack to remind them what it meant to be brothers?

Rex pushed the thought aside and concentrated on the task at hand.

Rex didn't have time to continue the conversation, so he just gave the trooper a reassuring pat on the shoulder and kept working on securing the bed. He finished securing the bed, and moved on to the next one.

"Here," Torch said, coming over to help Rex. Rex looked up briefly, curious where the 'strange' clone had gone. Without even being asked, Torch answered his question.

"I ordered him to get to a jumpseat, and get strapped in," Torch said.

Rex nodded.

He tossed Rex a piece of webbing. Rex caught it easily, and the two of them made a good team, deftly tying knots. The trooper in this bed was unconscious, but Rex still briefly put his hand on his brother's shoulder, and said: "Rest easy, vode."

Torch gazed at Rex for a moment, curiously.

Rex and Torch moved on to the next bed.

They worked quickly to tie down the bed and secure the person in it.

This time, Rex avoided looking at the person in the bed, so he could concentrate on working as quickly as possible. He knew they were very quickly running out of time- were likely to run out of time before they finished the job at hand.

"Captain," Odd's voice came on in Rex's comm, "we're approaching the planet now. Less than 5 minutes before we make planetfall. Get ready for a bumpy ride."

Rex blinked, using his eyes to adjust the controls in his helmet. He addressed all of the men, while his hands were still busily tying, "Five minutes everyone. So tighten up those straps nice and tight. Make yourself comfy and cozy. We're going in hard."

Rex looked down—just one more bio-bed to go.

Torch looked at Rex and his crutches pointedly, "You should go strap in, sir. I'll finish this."

Rex shook his head, "You won't finish in time. We're doing this together."

Rex and Torch worked as quickly as they could. As they were securing the last bio-bed, Odds commed Rex: "Entering the atmosphere."

Rex kept tying, focusing on getting the job done right. The ship started to shake around him.

Torch met his eyes. "Sir, you should-"

"No," Rex growled, "let's finish this together. Come on, move it! Let's go!"

The ship began to shudder even more. They finished tying off the last bed, and started working their way over to a place to strap themselves in. Rex had a tough time staying on his feet with the way the ship was shuddering. Rex pitched backwards at one point. Torch was right behind him, caught him, and set him back on his one foot.

They were just a handsbreath from their seats when Odds commed on the general channel: "Brace for impact! "

# # #


	30. Chapter 30 Brace for Impact

_Revised: April 29, 2013. Many thanks to CaptainRexisBest for catching an error in this chapter._

_A/N: Hello All! This chapter brings in more of the clone names and characters that you submitted. In upcoming chapters, I will continue to use the names you submitted. I also had a few requests for more of Ahsoka's point-of-view. So, this chapter sets things up for Ahsoka to make an appearance in upcoming chapters. (However, it is primarily going to be Rex's story for a while.) I keep trying to write shorter chapters, so that they will be easier to manage. Long chapters make my brain tired. But, the chapters keep writing themselves. It seems that I am just along for the ride. I hope you enjoy the journey, as well. - Diana_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 30**

"Brace for impact!"

The aged troop transport shook alarmingly as it plummeted through the atmosphere of Ando. Torch and Rex struggled to make their way over to the nearest set of jump seats. They were both moving as quickly as they could, trying to beat the clock, yet not lose their balance. Torch had an advantage of Rex, since he had two legs on the ground. But, Rex did surprisingly well, considering he could only put weight on one leg. The other troopers watched them, wanting to help in some way. But, there was little they could do without unstrapping themselves, and adding to the problem. They were just seconds from impact, and everyone knew it. It was a tense question of whether those few seconds would be enough for Rex and Torch to make it from the bio-beds, along one wall, and over to the jump seats which had been deliberately kept open for them.

Surface winds, high up in the atmosphere of Ando, were buffeting the ship. The atmospheric currents sheering off the hull created an eerie whistling sound that reverberated around the ship from all sides. Except for this haunting cacophony, there was no sound aboard the doomed ship. It was as if every clone on the ship were holding their breath while they waited for the two commanders to reach their seats.

They finally crossed the room and touched the edge of their seats, but Rex didn't sit down, yet. He had to secure his crutches or they would become lethal projectiles when they hit. Rex clearly recalled numerous training-vids showing highly detailed animation of clones getting speared in the head, torso, and limbs by improperly secured cargo. The Kaminoans were most thorough in their training. Rex always tried to make a point of securing stray cargo in the event of "unanticipated landings" and thanks to Skywalker, he had a great deal of experience in crashing.

Rex began tying his crutch to a nearby post using a spare piece of webbing he'd brought along with him. He felt Torch grab the other crutch from him to secure it for him. He felt like cursing the Lieutenant out for not already being strapped down. Torch was watching out for him, instead of watching out for himself.

"Fierfek, Torch!" Rex said, turning around, "strap-"

Rex never finished his sentence. The last thing he remembered hearing was Odds' voice in his HUD, shouting: "Impact!"

The aged transport slammed into the surface of Ando with a bone-jarring impact that Rex felt in every muscle and nerve of his body. Rex groaned, and heard the same groan echoed a hundred times over by every clone in the ship. He felt his teeth grind down into each other, and his head snapped back painfully against his helmet. The transport had still been moving very quickly when it hit, so it bounded back up again off the snow plains, and began skidding along the icy surface.

Rex was sent airborne, hurtling across the cabin.

_Not this again! _Rex thought as he hurtled all too quickly toward a bulkhead. His mind immediately flashed back to his past crashes. All of his previous crash landings blurred together at once in his mind into one big endless crash, _this is just like flying with Skywalker…_

He suddenly got the unreal sensation that all he'd ever done in his lifetime was spend his days getting hurtled back and forth in airborne crashes. Rex tried to throw his arms out to brace himself, but he couldn't get his arms up in time. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, yet, he couldn't seem to move his limbs fast enough. There seemed to be this strange disconnect between his brain and his limbs. Rex also felt like time and reality were somehow out of sync, too. Everything was just so slow, and so fast, all at the same time. It was so clear to Rex that he was going to hit the bulkhead. So, why he couldn't he get his body to do something about it?

As Rex saw a bulkhead coming up to meet him, it was almost like greeting an old friend. _Hello again, bulkhead. Remember me? _

Rex slammed into a bulkhead chest first.

"Ooooooooph!" Rex felt all of the air being punched out of his chest in one slamming gust. He felt ribs crack, as his armor slammed up against the unyielding metal of the bulkhead. He was too stunned by the impact to feel any pain, but bile instantly rose up in his throat. He knew he'd be feeling pain later, though. Ventress had broken his ribs at Teth. He remembered how unsettlingly painful it was. With all of the air completely knocked out of him, Rex couldn't take a breath, either out or in. Having had the wind knocked out of him countless times before, Rex was hopeful that things in his chest would ease up and he'd be able to breathe again.

The ship began to scrape and slide across the surface of the planet. At any moment, Rex expected the ship to split wide-open, belching him and the others onto the snow plains of Ando at un-survivable speeds. But, despite all the shaking, rattling, and pitching of the ship, the structure remained intact.

_Thank you, Chance and Odds_, Rex thought, realizing the only reason why the ship was still together were the talents of the two combat pilots at the helm. Granted, it was still a wild, if you weren't strapped in. But, it beat having everyone die on impact.

_Where is Torch?_

Rex tried to crane his head around and spot Torch, wondering if he had fared any better in the landing. He knew Torch hadn't gotten into his crash webbing either, because the shabla di'kut kept stopping to help him. If they both survived this landing, Rex was going to kill him. Twisting his head around turned out to be an unwise move, because he nearly decapitated himself on a corner storage locker as he slid across the floor. At the last moment, Rex was able to duck, saving himself from becoming head-less Rex. And, he still didn't spot any sign of Torch. Not good. Shouldn't Torch be bouncing and sliding on the floor with him? Where did he end up after the landing? Rex got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about Torch's fate.

The ship must have hit a valley, or a ravine, because it lurched up again violently, and then immediately, plummeted again.

At some point, the lights flickered ominously several times, and then went out completely. Rex and the rest of the troopers were left in complete darkness. Rex scrabbled to find something to hold onto to prevent himself from getting injured any further. He reached out with his gloved hands, trying to find something solid that he could use as an anchor. But, it was a near impossible task in the total darkness of the cabin.

_Just like flying Jedi Air, _Rex said to himself, trying to keep completely calm, despite the fact he still couldn't suck in any air, he almost just decapitated himself, he couldn't see, and he was worried as heck about a trooper he didn't even know two hours ago.

_For being 'the Chosen One,' we sure crashed an awful lot. (Sure would be nice if I could breathe…)_

To Rex, everything felt surreal. He felt like he was watching the events of the crash unfold in slow-motion. The effects of oxygen-deprivation were making him slightly punchy, almost giddy.

_And, of course, here goes, bolo-ball Rex, sliding across the floor again! (I never did get to form that inter-Army Bolo team I was always talking about…)_

The ship hit something, and Rex was pitched up.

_Oh, yeah. And, up, we go again! _

'_Chosen One,' Rex mused, Chosen for what, exactly? Crashing?_

Rex saw his body being thrown toward a storage locker.

He could see himself headed toward it, and knew it would hurt, but could not seem to get his body out of the way fast enough. Rex groaned as his shoulder hit the sharp corner of the cabinet. His armor protected him from the worst of the blow, but it was still a very painful impact.

_Owwwww...OK, I really could have done without that. How am I going to enjoy my vacation on Ando with all these new bruises? I will look awful in my swim gear!_

Rex realized he didn't actually own any swim gear, and he'd never taken a vacation. And, he probably never would. Still, he was familiar with the concept, having seen advertisements for them on the holonet. _Amazing how much you can learn from the holonet… Take sex for example… Why am I thinking about sex again?_

The lights briefly flickered on, but then the room was plunged into darkness again. Rex heard the rest of the power in the ship cut out as well. The engine noise suddenly stopped, and made the sound of debris smashing and grinding up against the hull that much easier to hear.

The ship continued to slide and shift along the surface, tumbling Rex along with it.

_Ow, Ow, Ow…. Oh, for the love of bolo, when is this ship going to stop moving? I honestly think I've reached my quota of injuries this month..._

Almost as if taunting him in response, the ship lurched upwards again, pitching Rex into the air with such force, he figured this would be the end of him. _  
_

It was still pitch-black in the cabin, but Rex figured at any moment he would likely collide with something undoubtedly painful, and very likely fatal. Rex tried to focus on an image of Ahsoka: _Don't forget me, OK? _he said, to the image in his mind, trying to express to her what he felt, without actually saying the words.

But, instead of hitting a bulkhead, or cabinetry, Rex found himself thrown into - armor. Rex recognized the familiar sound of plastoid armor clanking into more plastoid armor. He realized he'd flown into someone. Torch? No, make that several someone's.

Several pairs of armored hands immediately grabbed onto Rex, gripping onto any piece of him they could grab onto.

_Whoa! Let go of little Rex!_

Rex still couldn't see anything, but he definitely recognized the familiar feel of being gripped securely in the armored hands of his brothers. He'd been carried off the battlefield enough times by brothers to know the feeling. He knew just what it felt like to having his life in the hands of brothers, just as he did now.

_Thank you, vode._

Rex couldn't see anything in the extreme darkness of the rattling, pitching, sliding ship. He was being gripped at the same awkward angle at which he'd been thrown into his brothers' arms. They'd simply caught him, and held on for dear life, (his), the moment they'd caught hold of him. His head seemed to be in someone's lap, (he didn't even want to know whose.) The boot of his good leg was gripped in someone's hands, his boot seemed to be in someone's face, and his other leg was dangling free. Someone was grabbing onto his shoulder right where he'd hit the storage cabinet. Fresh pain poured into the area as his armor was pressed down, digging right down into what Rex was sure was one big bruise. But, still, it sure beat getting thrown all around the cabin.

_Now, if I could only... breathe._

The ship was slowing down. Rex just stared into the pitch-blackness, taking in the cacophony of sounds, and the onslaughts of sensations. Everything was starting to seem very surreal. He began to feel very weak, and lethargic. He was suddenly just content to just lay there, even at this awkward angle. Part of him knew that he was suffering the effects of oxygen deprivation. Another part of him didn't care about anything anymore.

The sounds were starting to sound further and further away. The ship finally ground to a halt. It was completely dark in the ship, and for a brief second, eerily quiet and still. Nobody moved at all. There was that briefest second of hesitation, when everyone was just mentally saying: "Hey! I'm alive! Now what?"

Then, as if from some hidden queue, training took over, and the troopers were back-in-action again. Helmet headlamps were quickly switched on, one after another. Rex heard a strange gasping sound, and then realized it was him. He heard voices shouting. It took him a long moment to realize everyone around him was talking about him. It all seemed so far away, and surreal. He knew he was dying, and quickly, too, but he just couldn't bring himself to be concerned about it.

"The Captain's hurt!"

"Find a medic!"

"He can't breathe!"

"Lay him down! Get his armor off!"

"Find a medkit!"

As Rex's helmet was removed, he blinked up into the blinding headlamps of many different clones peering down at him at all once. Darkness was swimming in front of his eyes as he gasped for air. His brain was struggling to make sense of everything.

_Too bright… want to sleep… leave me alone… so tired…_

Rex closed his eyes. It was all too much. He lay there, hurting all over, wanting to tell them to leave him alone. But, he just didn't have the energy to talk.

"Lance is a medic! Get him over here!"

"Lance!"

"Who's Lance?"

"Are you Lance?"

"Somebody find Lance!"

There were shouts as 'Lance' was sought out by a crew of clones who were not familiar with each other, but were suddenly forced by circumstance to work together as a team.

Rex felt himself being quickly stripped down by multiple pairs of hands. He didn't move at all. His whole body had gone completely slack. The only movements coming from his body were his pained attempts at breathing. He dimly thought of an ocean-creature he'd seen washed ashore, dying as it gasped for oxygen onshore. After watching its' struggles, Rex had picked it up and tossed it back in the water. No creature should have to suffer like that.

As his chest armor was removed, Rex was able to take a small shuddering breath.

_Oh, shab, that hurt… _Rex's brain was dully able to register pain coming from his chest. Rex tried to take another breath, but it sent his whole chest into spasm.

_Shab! Not doing that again!_

His lungs were demanding oxygen, but the rest of him refused to cooperate, arguing that it was just too painful. Rex's whole body shivered involuntarily as the top half of his bodysuit was removed. Wherever they'd finally ended up touching down, it was _**cold**_. The temperature in the cabin was already dropping. The strong movement of the involuntary shiver increased the pain of his ribs.

He was fading fast. He tried to get his arms up around his ribs, in a vain effort to somehow protect them. But, he just didn't have any strength left in his arms. His arms sank back to his sides.

"Where's that medic? We gotta' do something!"

"I'm right here, guys! I was seeing to the other guy. Let me through!"

A clone in armor with red striping appeared at Rex's side, painted to match his armor. The other clones had parted to make room for him, like a breaking wave, then surged around him again.

"Hey, Captain. I'm Lance. Medic from the 442 Siege Battalion," the medic spoke to Rex calmly as he quickly took Rex's vitals and then examined Rex's chest with the confident, practiced movements of someone who had done this many times before. He pulled a syringe out of the med kit, checked the dosage, and stabbed it into the muscles just above Rex's ribs. Rex jerked upwards in surprise at the sensation. All the movement set his chest on fire. Rex grabbed at his chest, this time succeeding in getting his arms wrapped protectively around his ribs. The clones gathered around moved in closer in concern, their headlamps suddenly making the area even brighter.

"Easy, Captain," Lance said, putting a bracing hand on Rex's shoulder, "it's going to get better in just a moment. Bear with me." Lance gently but firmly pulled Rex's arms away, so he could get access to his chest. Lance glanced up at all the troopers gathered around them and shook his head with a small, bemused smile. He was already in the process of filling up a second syringe. Lance's hands moved very quickly, as if he'd done these moves many, many times before. Rex eyed the second needle blearily. It was a _big_ needle. Rex was beginning to understand how this clone had earned the name "Lance." Rex's vision was starting to blur, but he could see that Lance's face was scarred, the type of scarring a clone gets when he's caught near a fireball and his armor can't handle the heat.

"Just a tiny pinch, sir," Lance said, stabbing Rex again, close to the site of the first injection. The shot was _not _a tiny pinch. It was downright painful. Rex gasped, both hands again going to his chest.

"Sorry about that, sir," Lance said, gently, but firmly, pulling Rex's hands away again. As the medic tugged at his hands, Rex could just make out the fine lattice-work of scarring that crisscrossed the back of Lance's hands, "but, it had to be done. Looks like you took a hard blow to the chest, and fractured some ribs. Your whole diaphragm is spasming. I just gave you a muscle relaxant, and a pain killer. Try to relax and let those shots do their thing. Just focus on taking slow, shallow breaths in and out," Lance coached.

It was easier said than done. Rex still felt like his whole chest was seizing up. He put his hands to his chest again, gasping. He just wanted to somehow ease the fire in his chest, so he could breathe again.

"No, no, sir, you need to relax, and take some slow, even breaths, OK? You're not getting enough air," Lance checked Rex's vitals again, and frowned worriedly. "Come on, sir, you'll have to do better than that. Breathe!"

Rex tried to comply, but just couldn't seem to get his chest and lungs working together. Breathing just seemed too difficult a task. The painkiller sure felt nice. Rex was getting so pleasantly drowsy. He also felt curiously content. Nap time! All Rex wanted to do right now was sleep. He'd breathe at some later date.

"No, no, no, Captain! Come on, stay with me! Focus, now!" Lance pulled Rex's hands away from his chest again holding them by his sides. Rex felt stars swimming in front of his vision again, from lack of oxygen. Maybe those silly stars would go away if he took a nap. Yes, a nap was such a nice idea. Why is everyone making all this noise?

"Come on, sir, _breathe_."

Rex peered just one eye open, and shot Lance an annoyed look. We're still talking about this breathing business? _Oh, fine. If I take a stupid breath, will you leave me alone?_ Rex took a small shuddering breath. It _**hurt**_.

"That's it, sir! Very good! Now, I need you to do it again. Come on, Captain!"

Again? Rex tried to focus on what Lance was saying, but it was hard with all the black spots now in front of his vision. Can't I just take a nice nap, first? I'm sure this would all be a lot easier after a little nap. So tired...

"Sir, sir! Stay with me, come on, you need to breathe!" Lance's voice was getting dimmer and dimmer, as were all the bright headlamps shining down into his face.

Rex felt himself drifting away. It would be so peaceful to just let it all go. He'd get to see all his fallen brothers again. He could apologize to them for not protecting them better. He'd finally be free of the war… But, what about Ahsoka?... Could he really leave-

Rex was rudely awakened by a hand smacking his face.

"Wake up, Captain! You CANNOT leave! You have to breathe! Come on, you can do this! What about all those Kaminoans we're supposed to shoot! Breathe!"

Rex _**did**_ want to shoot the Kaminoans.

He also wanted to see Ahsoka again.

Rex felt the hand smack his face again, this time hitting the other cheek. _Fierfek, I'm awake! Why are you still smacking me?_

_Oh, my eyes are still closed…_

Rex opened his eyes, and saw Lance peering down on him anxiously. Right above him, the cluster of troopers had moved in even closer, forming an anxious circle of bright headlamps staring directly down.

"That's it! You're awake! Breathe, Captain, breathe!"

Yeah, easier said than done. Rex struggled to take another breath. Owwwwwwwwwwww. Shab, that hurt.

"That's it, sir!" said Lance, "breathe!... breathe!..."

He really didn't want to take another breath. Breathing hurt. Lance's voice had taken on a musical quality. He'd turned "breathe" into a sort of chant, saying the word rhythmically, pausing just the right amount of time to allow for a breath, then repeating again.

Rex tried to focus on Lance's voice as anchor through the murky blackness. It was hard. It was so easy to want to rest now. So tempting.

Then, he heard the other voices join in.

A whole chorus of male voices, together as one, picking up on the chant, encouraging him to breathe. The voices were identical in pitch, yet, each man singing it was so utterly unique.

All the bitterness, and loneliness, of his time at ArmyMed disappeared in that moment. He felt it then- the love, the camaraderie - everything that it meant to be a brother. Their encouragements had settled into a sort of a chant as they urged him to not give up.

"Breathe… breathe… breathe…." The chant was so rhythmic, and so utterly contagious.

These were his _brothers_, and they wanted him to _live_. Rex couldn't do anything to help his brothers who'd already died in battle. But, he could help these brothers. He knew he could. He was going to make things work out for these brothers, in memory of all the brothers he'd lost.

"Breathe…breathe…breathe…" as the chant continued, it was as if everyone on the ship had started breathing together, as if in those few moments all of the clones on that ship were in perfect sync together. Rex pushed through the blinding pain in his chest and forced himself to take another breath. The pain was almost enough to make him pass out, but he fought the encroaching blackness. Rex squinted up into the bright headlights of dozens of brothers clustered around him, all focused on keeping him alive. He took another breath, and then another. Rex could feel some of the strength returning to his body. The whole compliment of troopers were crowded around him and Lance, cheering him on. Rex started to breathe more normally again, and the spots cleared from his vision.

After several more breaths, Rex was able to lift his head and look around. A cheer erupted from the men. Rex looked around in confusion, blinking up into the bright headlamps.

Rex squinted up into the bright contrasts of light and shadows cast by the headlamps. Darkness and light- a good metaphor for all the lost souls on the ship.

"Is everyone OK?" Rex hoarsely asked, peering around at everyone.

This earned a round of good-natured laughter from the men.

"The rest of us are fine, sir," said Lance, "it appears you and Torch took the brunt of the crash landing. We almost lost you, and Torch was in pretty rough shape when I checked on him last. I need to get back to him. Let me just finish with you."

"Torch! What happened? How is-" Rex tried to rise up. It hurt to talk, but Rex forced the words out anyway. As Rex tried to rise, Lance immediately pushed him back down with two firm hands on either one of Rex's shoulders.

"Whoa! Captain! You're not going anywhere. You've got some broken ribs. I need to see if you have anything else."

Rex tried to relax, and just let Lance check him over. But, he wanted to go over and see what had happened to Torch. If Torch hadn't stopped to help him, and if he hadn't spent so much time at the bio-beds-

"The bio-beds!" Rex said, trying to rise up again, and get a better view of the bio-beds. He moaned and grabbed at his mid-section, "Owwwwww." A dozen pairs of hands reached down to push him back down again. Lance just looked up and laughed.

"Thank you," he said, earning some good-natured laughter from those above him, "it seems we need a small army to get the Captain here to hold still long enough to fix him up."

"Now, Captain," Lance chastised, looking Rex directly in the eye, "I need you to just hold still, so I can patch you up. OK?"

"Yeah," Rex said, acquiescing, but he still tried to peer over in the direction of the bio-beds, "but the beds… what happened when we crashed? How did the men in the bio-beds fare?"

"The beds stayed put, and all five men are accounted for."

Rex breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Thanks to you and Torch," Lance added in, meaningfully.

"Torch!" Rex said, alarmed, trying to rise up again. All those pairs of hands reached down, and pushed Rex down again.

"He's injured," Lance said, with a somber tone of voice that conveyed how serious the injuries were, "but, I'll do everything I can for him. It was a brave thing the two of you did."

"We just did what any brother would do," Rex mumbled.

Lance shook his head slightly, "Mmmm… perhaps. Or, maybe you set a higher standard for all of us brothers to follow, Captain."

Rex didn't know how to respond to that. So, he just lay still while Lance probed various areas of his chest. Rex groaned when Lance pushed on his ribs.

"Oya, I'm not surprised that hurts," Lance continued to prod Rex's chest and side carefully. Rex winced whenever Lance hit a particularly tender spot. Lance watched his reactions carefully, and then had Rex take some deep breaths. Rex closed his eyes briefly against the pain, as he breathed in and out deeply.

"Well, Captain, you've done an impressive job cracking some ribs. You're already getting a huge beauty of a bruise in that area. Let's get you taped up. It will help with your breathing."

A brother named Mako lifted him up and supported him, while Lance carefully wrapped up his ribs. Rex closed his eyes. Between the painkiller and the muscle relaxant, the whole room was spinning.

Once his ribs were taped, Rex could breathe more easily. Everything started to come back into focus, and Rex could make sense of his surroundings.

"Thanks," Rex said, once he could speak again.

"I wanted to say that I also thought it was a good thing you did, sir," said Mako, the clone who was holding Rex up. "All the guys, they think... " he nodded his head toward the direction of the bio-beds, "what I mean, to say, is, sir... it's good to know there are still people out there who won't leave another brother behind."

Rex tried to twist around to see the clone who was talking to him, but he stopped midway because it hurt too much to turn.

Lance put a bracing hand on Rex, "Hold still, I need to check your shoulder. Looks like you either hit something pretty good, or something came flying into you.'

Rex had a witty remark in his head about showing a supply cabinet who was the boss, but it was still rather painful to talk. So, he kept the comment to himself. Lance probed Rex's shoulder with his hands, and had him move his arm in various directions. It all hurt, but nothing felt broken. Rex flinched as his shoulder was sprayed with bacta.

"Luckily, it doesn't seem to be fractured. But, with that much bruising, it's going to be very tender. You definitely damaged some soft tissue. I'm going to pad it, and wrap it. Otherwise, with a bruise that size, it's going to be painful to wear your armor."

"Thanks," Rex said, appreciating the medic's thoughtfulness.

"You want your armor back on?" Lance asked, holding it up. "I'm not quite sure which way to go on this one. It could either dig in uncomfortably, or maybe it help brace those ribs."

"I'll wear it," Rex said, without hesitation, reaching for his armor. He'd spent enough time out of his armor, when he was at ArmyMed. He wasn't leaving it off now. He needed the comforting familiarity of it. Well, that, and he had no idea what was waiting for them out on Ando.

Rex didn't get very far trying to put his armor on by himself. Between his injured ribs, and his sore shoulder, his range-of-motion was limited. Lance and Mako insisted on helping him get dressed, and Rex was grateful for their help. He was quickly armored back up, with a minimal amount of discomfort. It was only while he was getting dressed that he noticed Mako was missing a hand. He was doing everything with just one hand. Rex found it ironic that the brother who had been supporting him, and holding him up this whole time, had only one hand himself.

His bodysuit had been sewn off at the end, covering up the stump, and allowing the suit to seal. Mako noticed Rex looking at his arm stump. Mako shrugged and held up the damaged appendage.

"I used to defuse bombs," he explained calmly, "the bomb squad goes through brothers very quickly," Mako looked down at his arm stump, "You only need to make one mistake…" He looked thoughtful, furrowing his brows. "I can't even remember what I did wrong. The bomb just went off."

Mako shrugged, and met Rex's eyes again, "Doesn't really matter in the end, though, does it? What's done is done. They told me at ArmyMed that I couldn't be a soldier anymore. The way my hand was damaged—it couldn't be fixed. So, I was 'retired' from the Army."

Mako looked down at Rex's leg meaningfully, "I'm surprised they retired you, Captain. You're Captain Rex of the 501st. You're practically a legend, sir, if you don't mind my saying so."

Lance chuckled at this, and looked over at Rex, to see how he'd react. Rex looked embarrassed.

Rex shook his head, "I'm just another brother."

Mako snorted at this, and mumbled: "Yeah? And, I can grow ujj cake out of my shebs. Just another brother. Hah!"

Fully dressed, Rex struggled to his feet. Mako and Lance helped pull him up, holding him steady while he regained his balance. Rex nodded his thanks.

"If we hadn't just crashed in an unknown area, I'd order you to rest for a few days with your injuries," Lance said, looking sternly at Rex, "As it is, I doubt you'll listen, so I'm just going to say take it easy, OK? You had a close call, Captain. Another minute, and I think we would have lost you."

Mako walked off, and returned very shortly with Rex's crutches. Rex had to admit the idea of resting someplace for a couple of days sounded appealing. Then again, he always felt that way after a hard crash landing. Rex couldn't remember ever getting the luxury of actually getting such pleasant rest after crashing. They always had to pick themselves up, injured or not, and be off again.

"It's alright. I'm OK," Rex said, trying to convince himself he really was OK. The room had stopped spinning around him, so that was a good sign. He'd actually survived the landing, so that was another big plus. Rex wasn't sure how he was going to be able to move, though. Everything in his body felt so sore, at the moment. But, there was no time for resting. He felt responsible for these men, and he wasn't going to let them down. He reached out with his good arm for his helmet. Mako ended up helping Rex get the helmet on. With his injured shoulder, Rex couldn't get his arms at the proper angle to seat his helmet on his hand.

Rex muttered a grateful "Thanks" to Mako once his helmet was on. For a moment, all the info streaming at him through his HUD made Rex dizzy again. He felt himself sway slightly. He quickly shut down the streaming down with a blink of his eyes, and set his HUD to simply display a forward view. Rex squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them again. The dizziness got better.

Lance stood with his arms folded, chewing on his bottom lip, studying Rex. He was obviously not pleased with what he was seeing.

"I'm fine, really," Rex said, trying to sound convincing.

"I can stay with the Captain," Mako offered, "get him anything he needs… Catch him if he is about to pass out from exhaustion, because he is a di'kut who doesn't know his limits…"

Lance laughed, "You know, I think you'd be the perfect companion for our Captain here. Great idea. Hey, Rex, you have a new sidekick."

"Greaaaat," Rex drolled out, with great emphasis, making both Lance and Mako laugh. But, Rex was actually glad to have the help. He'd already taken a liking to Mako. There was something about his energy, and brutal honesty, that Rex found refreshing.

"OK, fine. But, I'm going to check-up on you, periodically, to make sure you're still 'fine.' Got it?" Lance said.

"Yeah, got it," Rex said, in a more somber tone, he said, "keep me posted about Torch. I'm headed up to the cockpit to check on the pilots, then I want to see him."

"If the pilots are injured, comm me right away," said Lance. Lance turned to Mako, giving him final instructions regarding Rex, "Any signs of trouble, like he passes out, gets totally spaced out, something like that, come find me right away."

Mako nodded, "Got it."

Lance moved away quickly, headed back over to his other patient.

Rex moved gingerly, trying to find a way of moving that didn't hurt. He finally figured out a slow, shuffling sort of moving that didn't aggravate his injured shoulder, or make him breathless with pain from his injured ribs. He was about as graceful as an injured Bantha, but at least he managed to move from one point to another. He could feel that Mako was just one step behind him, keeping a close eye on him. It was rather reassuring to know someone had his back again. Rex was just now realizing how much the isolation, and subsequent depression, he'd felt at ArmyMed had affected him.

_Guess you never truly realize how depressed you've been, until you are no longer depressed,_ Rex mused, as he worked his way toward the cockpit.

Rex worked his way forward to the cockpit, moving as efficiently as he could without losing his balance. His legs ached as he moved, but he was grateful he'd survived. His bruises and fractures would heal with time. _I wasn't expecting such an eventful flight._ Rex thought, _But, still, this was a much more interesting day than the previous two days. Anything was better than that dreadful silence – even crashing._

The door to the cockpit was jammed from the crash, and wouldn't open.

Rex commed the two pilots, and opened up the comm so that he could include Mako on the link, "Chance, Odds, you guys OK up there?"

As Rex awaited their response, he remembered all his previous crashes, and how many times the pilots _didn't_ survive. The cockpits usually were crushed upon landing, whereas the passenger cabins had crumple zones. Rex tried the comm again, a sense of dread sinking in to the pit of his stomach. He'd already taken a liking to the two chirpy combat pilots, and was impressed with how well they worked together as a team.

"Chance, Odds, this is Captain Rex-"

"That was fun, Captain. Can we do it again? But, faster this time!" came the chipper voice of Odds.

Rex breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Don't listen to him," said Chance, "However, I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the sunny world of Ando."

"We have now finished bounce-bounce-bouncing you to your final destination," said Odds.

"Our gear bag attendants handlers will now cheerfully unload your flame throwers, droid poppers, and blasters," added Chance.

Rex could hear Mako snickering as he listened to the two pilots.

"White is very in at this time of year, Captain, so we clones should be at the pinnacle of Ando-fashion!" chirped in Odds.

Rex glanced out at a side window, and saw the sun shining blindingly bright over endless plains of snow, as far as the eye could see.

"Are you two quite done?" Rex asked, although behind his helmet, he was smiling. He breathed a sigh of relief that the two pilots were OK.

"Sir, yes-"

"Never mind," Rex cut them off, before they could get caught up in their 'sir, yes, sir' routine.

Rex tried to open the cockpit door. He had no luck. He signaled to Mako, and they tried to open it together. It wouldn't budge.

"I'm glad you two are having such a good time up there. I can't open the hatch door from this side."

"Jammed from this side, too," said Odds. "maybe we could try crashing again, and see if it pops the door back open..."

"One crash was enough for me, thanks guys," Rex said, shaking his head, but smiling, "Just sit tight, and I'll get some guys up here to work on getting you two out of there. I'm not sure we'll be flying this bucket anywhere soon."

"Are you implying we broke the ship, Captain?" Odds asked, in mock horror.

Mako was trying to contain his laughter, but not having much success.

"Hey, Captain! You brought a friend!" said Odds. "Who's your merry companion?"

"Chance, Odds, say hello to Mako."

"Hello, Mako," Chance and Odds said together.

"Hi," Mako said, "so, you guys are the ones that broke the ship?"

"Guilty as charged," said Odds.

"Such a fine vessel it was, too," Chance said, sounding heart-broken.

"How are we ever going to get to Kamino, then?" asked Odds.

"Shab. We were all so looking forward to that," said Chance, sounding somewhat convincingly forlorn.

"Does this mean we won't get to shoot the Kaminoans?" asked Odds, innocently.

Rex, Mako and Chance all laughed.

"Not today," Rex said, "but, the idea isn't off the table. Set some ammo aside, OK?"

"I will, Captain! Yes! I'm going to shoot Kaminoans!" Odds said happily, in a sing-song voice.

"Doesn't take much to make him happy, does it, sir?" Mako observed.

Rex made a hand signal to indicate 'crazy.'

"Pilots," Rex shrugged, "they're all a bit odd."

"Hey, Chance, I think the Captain just insulted our honor," said Odds.

"No, actually he called _you_, Odd," Chance corrected.

"Oh," Odds said, sounding thoughtful, then added, "perhaps I should just go out there and-"

"You planning on passing through solid metal?" Chance interrupted.

"A Jedi could do it," Odds interjected.

Rex burst out laughing, "Jedi are better at crashing planes, than… oh, never mind…. OK, guys, sit tight," Rex said, rapping his knuckles on the hatch door.

"Yeah, OK, then, I think we'll just wait right here," said Odds, cheerfully.

_Wiseguy, _Rex thought, shaking his head, smiling.

As he and Mako headed toward the back, he commed the whole group through his HUD. Rex located skilled volunteers to work on opening the cockpit door. Rex also got a team working on restoring power to the ship. Without knowing what was outside, they would need to rely on the heat, lights and food inside the ship for now. For now, they were dependent upon their headlamps, and their bodysuits for light and warmth.

"We need to make one short stop," Rex said to Mako, "I have a promise to fulfill."

Rex gingerly worked his way to the crew galley, and started bending down toward the conservator.

"Ahh," he stopped, clutching at his ribs, just at the same time as Mako was trying to stop him.

"Sir! What are you doing? No stupid stuff! Remember? That's my job! Now, what do you need?" Mako carefully pushed Rex back into a full upright position. "You, OK, sir?" Rex nodded. Rex took a moment before answering. He was still seeing stars from bending down, and flaring up his fractured ribs.

"Bottles of water," Rex finally replied, pointing stiffly toward the conservator, "five of them."

Mako knelt down and retrieved the bottles, placing them up on the countertop, "Thirsty, sir?" He asked, eyeing the bottles.

Rex shook his head, still holding one hand across his ribs. "The men in the bio-beds."

"Ah," Mako said, as understanding dawned, "do you want me to-"

Rex shook his head, "I made a promise. Come on. We'll do it together."

Rex pushed off from the countertop, and made to leave the galley. Mako put his one hand on Rex's arm to stop him. "Sir, promise me you won't do anything like that, again? I made a promise, too. I'm supposed to be watching out for you, until you're healed up. So, if you need something, then that's my job, OK? Look, I can't defuse bombs for my brothers anymore, but if I can watch out for Captain Rex, well, at least I can make myself useful again, you know?"

Mako looked directly at Rex, and in that moment the two men reached an understanding. Rex needed to learn to accept help, and Mako needed to be useful again. They were a perfect fit, if Rex's innate stubbornness didn't get in the way.

Rex reached a hand out, and grasped Mako's hand, Mando style, "Agreed, brother."

Working together, Rex and Mako began administering water to the men in the bio-beds. As they were working, one by one, other troopers wandered over, and offered to help. Rex and Mako tossed them bottles of water. Soon, each one of the paralyzed men had someone by their side. It was amazing to see how the men in the bio-beds lit up when they were interacting with their brothers again. The transformation was remarkable, as their faces lit up with laughter again. They felt like men again, not discarded units, sent for disposal.

Rex handed off his bottle of water to another brother standing nearby, said a few parting words to the clone he'd been speaking with, and then signaled to Mako.

Rex craned his neck, looking around.

"Who are you looking for, sir?" asked Mako.

"Lance. The medic who loves the big needles," Rex said, still searching around the crowded room for signs of the red-striped medic.

"You feeling alright, sir?" Mako asked, instantly concerned, looking over at Rex.

"_I'm _fine," Rex said. (Mako rolled his eyes at Rex's signature response), "I wanted to see Torch."

"Ah, this way sir," Mako said, leading the way, "after he was injured, they made a place for him over in this corner. He's getting the best of care this old bucket can offer, being watched over by both the medics."

"Nothing much gets by you, does it?" Rex asked, glancing sideways at Mako.

Mako shrugged, and laughed, "Just trying to keep up with you, sir. Been an interesting day so far. Almost as fun as blowing things up."

"Almost?" Rex asked.

Mako began summarizing their day, like a storyteller recounting a favorite tale, "Well, blasting those pirates was great. I mean, how could you not enjoy taking down scum like that? Then, well, tearing the ship into pieces, was well, different, never done that before. Then, we crashed the ship, which believe it or not, sir, I haven't done a lot of before. So, that was kind of new and novel for me. I'm just waiting to see how the rest of the day plays out."

"Hey Mako, did you suffer any brain damage in that explosion, by any chance?" asked Rex.

"Not that I know of sir, why do you ask?"

"Never mind," Rex said, shaking his head. They'd arrived in the corner where Torch, and a second medic, were tending to Torch. Rex carefully eased himself down onto his good knee. Torch was unconscious. His face was greyish in complexion, and he had a bloody bandage wrapped around his head.

"How is he?" Rex asked, quietly.

"Not good," Lance responded, quietly, "he fractured his skull, and I think he's got bleeding on the brain. He's got a severe concussion, and it appears as though his brain is swelling."

"How long does he have?" Rex asked, knowing Lance had just given him a dire diagnosis.

"Unless we can get him to a med facility, Captain, less than a day," Lance said. "I've given him everything I can to try to contain the brain swelling. But, he needs surgery before the brain swelling kills him."

Rex put a hand on Torch's shoulder, "Hang in there. We're not going to let you die."

"Now, what sir? I mean, none of us are keen on going to Kamino," asked Lance. "Do you suppose anyone from Kamino, or Coruscant, is going to notice we suddenly dropped off the charts? We didn't send out a distress call. But, do you think they're going to send someone looking for us anyway? I mean, are we going to go so far as to hide our transponder signal, sir?"

Lance's mind was lightning quick. Rex could see why he was such a good medic. He was always thinking two steps ahead.

Rex could feel how everything how quieted down around them, as everyone listened in on their conversation. They'd all been granted a temporary reprieve from their final destiny. But, how far were they going to take this thing? Would they hide their transponder signal and intentionally prevent a "rescue"?

_Yes, where do we go from here? _Rex paused for a moment to think, before replying.

He worked his way back up to his feet, so he could address the entire group. Both Mako and Lance were right by his side, helping him up. Rex didn't know whether to be irritated by all their attentiveness, or grateful for it. He decided to be gracious about it, and just nodded his thanks.

"Power is out," Rex switched his comm so that everyone could hear him, "which means long-range communications are out. But, even before we lost power, we'd lost communications. Communications have been scrambled since we entered the Ando System. No one knows where we are. No one knows we engaged the pirates. And, no one knows we've crashed landed here."

With all of the clones headlights focused on him, Rex felt like he was on stage. He could feel everyone intently listening to him. Their futures were totally tied in with his right now.

"No one, that is, except the folks who attacked us in the first place. Not all of them boarded our ship. Some of them stayed behind on their ship, and those that did, panicked when we completely wiped out their boarding party."

There were a few snickers and cheers amongst the men, as they fondly relived the memory of ambushing the pirates. Rex lifted up a hand, his good arm, to settle the men down.

"So, for the time being," Rex continued, "we are completely on our own. Without power, we're going to run out of air in here. While we wait for power to be restored, we can take this opportunity to venture outside and do a bit of recon. Those who wish to go out, meet me at the forward hatch in fifteen minutes. Full weapons. Unless you are notified otherwise, I want you to carry full weapons at all times. Let's do an assessment of our resources, and then we can decide next steps."

_Yup, that was a great way of saying I have no clue as to what we're going to do next._

"Sir, yes, sir!" the troopers said enthusiastically.

Rex rolled his eyes.

"Dismissed," he said, with a sigh.

"I had nothing to do with that," Odds said, over the comm.

Rex could hear Chase trying to contain his laughter.

"How are they coming with that door?" Rex asked.

"Ah, we're still locked up tighter than a Separatist blockade," said Odds, "nobody's getting in, and nobody's getting out."

Rex shook his head again with a smile.

Lance appeared by Rex's side, "You planning on heading outside in the snow, Captain?"

Rex eyed Lance warily, "Yes. Why?"

Lance sighed, and looked at Rex's crutches pointedly: "You really think that's a good idea with _those_, plus your other injuries?"

There was no way Rex was staying behind in the safety of the ship, while he sent men out into unknown territory.

"I'll be-" Rex started.

"-fine," Lance finished for him, "yes, that seems to be your standard answer."

"Yes, well, I've got _him_," Rex said, jerking a thumb back toward Mako, "he's better than a good pair of legs, _anyday_."

"Uh, thank you, I think," Mako said, trying to figure out if that was a compliment.

Lance sighed, "Alright, then, but, before you go out, when was the last time you ate something, Captain? You seem to be having problems with dizziness. Low blood sugar can cause that, you know. When I was examining your ribs I noticed how you're a bit on the thin side for a clone."

_Thin? _Rex looked down at himself. It was true that he didn't fill out his armor as fully as he used to. He had lost a lot of weight in the past month. He'd tried to gain it back, but it had been a tough month. He suddenly felt homesick for the mess hall on _the Resolute_, where he'd shared so many meals with the men of Torrent Squadron. The food was never much good, but the company was always great. He also remembered how many of those meals had included Ahsoka, slipping away from Skywalker whenever she could, and coming over to join him and his men. She'd always say the same line: "Hey boys, any room at this table for one more?" Everyone would answer at once, trying to make room for her, but somehow, she always ended up right next to Rex. Rex remembered how she would laugh at all the jokes his men made, no matter how bad they were. Rex suddenly wondered if Ahsoka still sat at Torrent Squadron's table, now that he was gone. It pained him to think of her sitting there without him. But, it also pained him to think of her getting stuck sitting with the other Jedi, night after night. Rex realized when he thought of Ahsoka, it was downright painful no matter how he looked at it.

"Captain! Captain!" Lance snapped his fingers in front of Rex's face.

"Huh?" Rex muttered, for lack of a better response, realizing that Lance had been talking to him.

"You didn't answer my question," Lance prompted.

What question? Rex thought, drawing a blank at first. Oh, right, something about food, and Lance thinking he was too thin.

"Uh, yeah, well, I can't remember exactly when, but it's been a while. A couple of days, I guess," Rex said, with a small shrug that he immediately regretted, because it made his shoulder ache, "I had some water, though, just a few hours before the crash," Rex added, hoping that would sound reasonable.

"Uh huh," Lance said, looking at him skeptically, "you need to eat before you head outside, understood? You seem to be zoning out. You can't expect your body to run on adrenaline indefinitely."

"Yeah, OK," Rex said, not wanting to argue the point. He had nothing against food. He loved to eat as much as the next clone. It had just been a very unusual couple of weeks.

Lance turned to Mako, "Make sure he gets to the galley, and gets some food into him. Stay with him, and make sure he actually eats it."

Mako nodded, and gave Rex a gentle tug on the arm, "This way, sir, delicious, pre-prepared, freeze-dried cuisine awaits. Yummy."

"Oh, joy," Rex intoned, following him. Rex turned back to Lance, who was watching them walk away, "Thanks."

Lance nodded, gave a small smile, and then headed off, back in the direction of where Torch was laid out.

Rex and Mako both decided to eat a ready-made meal of nerf steak, mashed tuber root, and some sort of assorted vegetable mixture. The meal wasn't great, but it was edible enough. It included a generous heaping of pudding for dessert, so as far as shipboard cuisine went, it was surprisingly satisfying.

Rex checked his chrono. He still had about seven minutes before he was supposed to head outside. He had Mako gather up a couple more of the ready-made meals. They headed over to the bio-beds, and they began feeding the meals to any of the paralyzed men that were hungry,

"So, we really don't have to go to Kamino, sir?" asked the clone in the bio-bed.

Rex smiled, and shook his head, "Well, for now, this ship isn't going anywhere. We did a good job of crashing it."

"My name is Saber," the trooper said, smiling back, "I heard you were injured in the crash. You, OK?"

"Yeah," Rex said, stretching his limbs a bit, "just got tossed around the cabin a little."

"If you don't mind my asking," Saber said, studying Rex, "how did the Captain of the 501st end up on _this_ ship?"

Rex snorted, "I don't think titles matter much back at ArmyMed. I've got nerve damage in my leg. According to the Army, I'm not Captain of anything anymore. I'm just another damaged clone."

Saber swore, and then let off a long string of Mando'a expletives, describing what he thought of the powers that be at ArmyMed, "Most of the clones that get sent back to Kamino are all nerve-damage cases," said Saber. "Too expensive and time-consuming to try to fix nerve-damage. Easier to dispose of the damaged goods, and order replacement 'units.'"

Mako came over, tapping his chrono, "It's time, sir."

Rex signaled to somebody who was watching over the bio-beds. He handed off the meal he'd been holding.

"Hey, Saber, I've got to go. We're headed out to scout the area a bit. Take it easy. We'll talk some more later," said Rex, standing up to leave. It was easier to get up this time. Mako was immediately by his side, wanting to help him up, but Rex waved him off. Rex could feel his natural strength and stamina returning.

"Hey, Captain?" Saber said, as Rex was leaving.

Rex turned back toward Saber, "Yeah?"

'Thanks for not ignoring me," Saber said, with all sincerity."

Rex stopped, turned around, and walked right back to Saber's bedside. "No matter what, you're still a brother. Never forget that, OK?"

Saber's eyes teared up, "Yeah," he said, gruffly, "now get going," Saber admonished, "before snot comes dripping out of my nose, and I start feeling humiliated because I can't wipe my own nose."

Rex laughed at the image Saber had presented, and headed on his way again.

There was a large group of armored, and armed, troopers at the hatch leading to the outside.

No shortage of volunteers here, Rex thought, once again pleased and impressed with this group of men.

Rex moved to the front of the group, and then turned to address them, "As I'm sure you've heard, we are not going to Kamino anytime in the immediate future."

A cheer went up amongst the men.

"However, that does leave us with the challenge of what we are going to do, and how we are going to survive. Since this ship only has a finite amount of supplies, and is not currently capable of flying, well, that means we are going to have to start exploring this lovely little place we've crash-landed on. I'm not one for long speeches, so, let's get going."

Rex gave a nod, and a curt hand gesture to the men closest to the hatch. Thankfully, this hatch opened without protest. Rex, and his merry group of misfit survivors, headed out into the sparkling white snow world of Ando.

# # #


	31. Chapter 31 Don't forget me

Chapter 31

"Don't forget me."

Ahsoka stood on the bridge of _the Resolute_. She wasn't sure how long she'd been standing there. Minutes? Hours?

Her Master was talking to General Kenobi. When had General Kenobi arrived back onboard? He'd left, along with Commander Cody, and the 212th Airborne. They were back already? Ahsoka continued to stare blankly at the stars speeding blankly by, only partially aware that she'd lost touch with the comings and goings onboard the ship.

Her back ached, and her feet felt like they were asleep. She wasn't sure she could move if she wanted to. Just how long had she been standing there staring out at that window? She had no idea what her Master was talking to General Kenobi about, but her input in the conversation didn't seem to be required anyway.

It had been several days since their conversation with the administrator at ArmyMed. There had been no success in contacting the transport vessel Rex was on. Ahsoka and her Master had petitioned the Jedi Council to send a Republic ship to try and intercept the vessel. The Council's initial reaction was that this was not a "Jedi matter."

After General Kenobi got involved, they'd agreed to "take it under advisement." Ahsoka had heard nothing, and assumed they were still busily "advising." She imagined the Jedi Council, sitting there on their padded chairs, talking and meditating, and talking some more, while Rex drew ever closer to Kamino.

Her Master told her to be patient, although she could sense tell he was having difficulties with this himself. General Kenobi had said basically the same thing, although he'd used a lot more words to say it. He'd ended his rather lengthy speech, (Ahsoka had tuned out about 40 minutes into it), with the words "have faith." Ahsoka wasn't exactly sure if he meant she should have faith in the Jedi Council, or the Force itself. She wasn't going to ask him either, because that might mean a repeat of the whole "have patience" speech. She knew she didn't have the patience to sit through a repeat of _that_ speech. But, still, Ahsoka really didn't see how she could have be expected to 'have faith' considering the circumstances.

Her entire being was screaming at her take action, and _do __**something**_**.** _Anything_.

She wanted to race down to the hanger deck, gather up a squadron of 501st faithful, and chase down that ship. But, she'd done the math in her head ten thousand times over trying to come up with different results—but, she couldn't bend the fabric of time and space. She was on the other side of the galaxy from Kamino… She'd never make it on time.

She felt sick inside with worry. She couldn't sleep, and she certainly couldn't eat anything. She wasn't sure if she'd showered either. She remembered turning on the shower, but wasn't sure if she actually ever stepped inside. Judging by how rumpled her clothes looked, it's possible she showered with her clothes on.

So, the only way she was coping was by… not coping. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt powerless. The confidence that had always carried her through and allowed her to cope with being the padawan of the much talked about "Chosen One," seemed to have now abandoned her. So, she was mastering a new technique now. This was a technique she'd figured out on her own. It involved just shutting her mind down so that really couldn't feel much of anything at all. It was a bit different than Jedi meditation, which involved a lot of _thinking_. She was more mastering not thinking. And, until she got news about Rex, well, she was trying to avoid having her mind think about all the things that could be happening to him. If she did, she'd absolutely go insane. She just couldn't take it.

So, when the voice whispered in her mind, it was so shockingly clear, and so distinctly Rex that Ahsoka nearly fell over from shock.

"Don't forget me."

Ahsoka gasped.

And, with those three words, a window opened in her mind.

Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with feelings, sights and sounds. She could feel Rex's presence just as strongly as she had when they connected in the cave. He was surrounded by darkness—utter, pitch blackness. He was in pain, he was anxious, and he knew he was about to die.

He was reaching out to Ahsoka to say good bye. Suddenly, he sent Ahsoka all the feelings and emotions he couldn't express in words. She could feel his aching regret. He'd wanted to say all of these things to her in person. He'd _meant_ to say all of these things when the time was right. He'd wanted to hold her in his arms, look her in the eyes, and tell her passionate words meant for her ears only.

He was letting her know that now they'd never get the chance. So, he was saying his final good byes.

"No! Rex!" Ahsoka could feel that Rex was dying.

He couldn't breathe. His chest was on fire. Ahsoka could feel the way his chest and lungs were screaming with pain. Whatever the Kaminoans were doing to him, he was suffering a great deal.

Blackness was rushing in on him. Ahsoka didn't want him to suffer anymore. She could feel how much pain he was in. But, at the same time, she didn't want to let him go. She knew it was selfish, but she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

She could feel him thinking of his lost brothers, from Teth and Christophsis, reaching out to them. He was ready to join his dead brothers. He was actually looking forward to it. He was already stepping toward that world. She could feel it.

"Rex!" Ahsoka cried out, trying to hold on to the tenuous thread between them for as long as possible for as long as possible. He just couldn't breathe. She could feel Rex's pain as he struggled for air.

With one final desperate gasp, before he faded into the blackness, Ahsoka heard his beautiful, deep, haunting voice once again echoing in her mind: "Don't forget me."

With a keening cry of anguish, Ahsoka slumped unconsciousness, falling forward headfirst into the large glass view window of _the Resolute._

# # #

"Ahhhhhhh!" Rex cried out, "look, Mako! Snow! And, over there, it's more snow! And, there, off in the distance. Do my eyes deceive me? Could it be?"

"Ah, yes, sir. I think you are correct. It is indeed, more snow," supplied Mako, picking up on Rex's playful mood. This was the most light-hearted he'd seen the Captain, other than the banter he'd exchanged with the two oddball pilots trapped in the front of the ship. Mako suspected it wasn't often the Captain bantered about like this. Having lived through the landing seemed to have put the Captain in an uncharacteristically cheery mood.

The light from outside had seemed almost blinding after the darkness of the ship. Bright sunlight sparkled back off unbroken snow for as far as the eye could see.

Rex, Mako, and several dozen other clones had piled out the side hatch of their crashed transport. They were now checking out the snowy plain where they'd crashed.

Rex looked off into the distance. Well, some snow was unbroken, and other snow contained huge jagged burn and scrape marks, as if a bunch of crazy escapee clones had just bashed their ship across the better part of the continent.

Rex had expected the weather to be biting and bitter, much like it had been on Orto Plutonia. But, the only thing Ando and Orto Plutonia had in common was snow. The weather on Ando was surprisingly temperate. Ando rotated around a single star. It was a sunny day, without any wind.

It was pleasant to be outside again after being confined on the gloomy transport for three days, and inside ArmyMed for several weeks before that. Rex could feel his brothers muttering in satisfaction as they piled out of the hatch behind him. He had yet to meet a trooper who preferred to be confined inside, versus spending time outdoors. Perhaps it was a reaction to being raised on a perpetually rainy planet, but somehow the allure of a pleasantly sunny day never seemed to get old.

The air temperature was comfortable enough, even without specialty snow armor. It probably got uncomfortably frigid at night, but for now, the climate was a lot better than Rex had expected for a snow planet.

They walked quite a distance from the ship, until they reached a rather slippery slope. Maneuvering in the snow was a hassle with his crutches, but, Rex wasn't planning on winning any speed records. He was just trying to get a feel for the terrain. He wanted to know what they were facing in their immediate environment, and get teams assigned accordingly.

"Careful, sir," Mako said, hovering right by his elbow, his one hand just inches from Rex's arm, prepared to catch him the moment he slipped. Mako knew they were very fortunate to have someone of Rex's caliber aboard the ship with them. The Captain of the 501st? What were the odds that he'd be sent back to Kamy, (OK, granted that was a bad piece of luck), but that Captain Rex himself would be onboard? Mako wished there was someway he could contact his buddies back in his old unit. They weren't going to believe this!

Rex eyed Mako out of the corner of his eye, part of him wanting to give Mako a thorough tongue-lashing about how he was fine, and did not need this constant over-protectiveness. On the other hand, Rex had to admit the footing was slippery, and a header into the snow probably wouldn't be a good idea at the moment. Not only would it be very un-Captain like, it would likely prove painful, considering the number of injuries he'd managed to accumulate over the past month. It wasn't the most he'd ever been injured in one month, but it was close.

Eventually, Rex reached snow too deep to traverse any further. He pulled his helmet off, and was about to clip it on his belt, but Mako offered to hold it. Then, he pulled a small pair of binoculars from his belt pouch. He was about to jam his crutches under one arm to get them out of the way, but Mako was right there, ready to help.

"I'll hold those, sir," Mako said.

Rex nodded, and handed them off to Mako. He balanced on his one foot, and used both hands with the binoculars. He scanned the surrounding area slowly and carefully.

"Feel free to grab on to me, sir, if you feel yourself losing your balance," Mako offered up helpfully.

"I'm not going to lose my balance," Rex growled out, trying not to get annoyed at Mako's eager helpfulness, and not quite succeeding.

"Well, all the same, I'm right here, steady as a rock, sir," Mako said, not at all intimidated by Rex.

All Rex could see in every direction were more snow-covered plains. Wait—off in the distance there—something dark on the horizon. Rex amplified his magnification as far as it could go, straining to make out what the dark shape could be. He leaned forward, as if that could somehow bring him close enough to identify the mysterious object.

"Wait- what is that?" he muttered to himself, leaning forward a bit to get a better angle of viewing, and promptly lost his balance.

Mako caught him before he landed face-first in the snow.

"Easy there, sir! According to my social calendar, we're not due to make snow angels until later on today,"" Mako said, the amusement easily apparent in his tone. He held Rex steady until he got his balance again.

"Thanks," Rex said, a bit embarrassed at having almost lost his temper with his new assistant earlier, "look, Mako, I-"

"Don't, sir-" Mako interrupted, "we're good."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have-"

"Honestly, sir, I expected the Captain of the 501st to be a total ass. I've been pleasantly surprised to find you're actually kind of likable," Mako said, earnestly.

"Uh, thank you, I think," Rex said, handing the binoculars off to Mako, and then holding a hand out for his crutches. "So, look off in the distance there, what do you suppose that is?"

Mako looked pleased to be consulted on the matter. He took the binoculars and perused off in the distance carefully, "Hard to say, sir, but it doesn't look manmade."

"What makes you say that?" Rex asked.

"Too big. Too symmetrical. Too modest in shape. Humanoids always tend to like a bit of bling-blang in their constructions. That has none. Only nature is that modest in her constructions."

Rex nodded, and stared off into the distance, thoughtfully, considering what Mako had said, "Interesting… "

He put his helmet back on, and commed the group, "This is the Captain. I need at least one scouting party to check out our new vacation paradise, preferably more than one. There's the possibility we might be here a while, since we all seem to be in agreement that we're none to keen on getting to Kamino anyhow. So, if you have any experience with scouting, or working in this type of terrain, and you can walk better than your Captain can, please come see me. Rex out."

"Very inspiring, sir," Mako said.

"Are you being sarcastic, or just sucking up?" Rex asked, not sure he had his new personal assistant figured out yet.

Mako chuckled, but wouldn't answer.

# # #

Ahsoka awoke in the medical bay with her Master sitting in a chair by her bedside. She looked around groggily, trying to figure out where she was, and what she was doing there.

"Wha… why…" she croaked out, in confusion. Her head was pounding.

"Easy, Snips," Anakin said, kindly, grabbing a cup of water off the side table. He held it up to her lips so she could take a sip.

"Thanks," Ahsoka nodded, her mind still drawing a blank as to how she had ended up here, "what happened?"

General Kenobi walked in, accompanied by Commander Cody.

"Ah, you're awake," General Kenobi said kindly. Almost too kindly. Like he was talking to somebody that was fragile.

"What's going on? Why is everybody acting so weird? So sweet and nice?" Ahsoka demanded.

Anakin and Obi Wan exchanged uneasy glances.

"You fainted on the bridge," Anakin started, in a much more gentle voice than the way he normally talked to her. OK, that alone was enough to put her on high alert.

"I don't faint, SkyGuy!" Ahsoka objected, looking completely put out by the suggestion that such a thing was even possible. Obi Wan and Anakin smiled kindly, and then quickly exchanged those uneasy glances again. "OK, you two are really weirding me out now. What's going on?"

She felt like there was something she should remember, but it was almost like there was a mental block in her brain. But, what could she be blocking out?

Ahsoka realized she was not going to get anywhere with these two.

"Cody, what's going on? Give it to me straight," she demanded, "that's an order."

"You shouted out Rex's name twice, and then lost consciousness," Cody said, in a voice that sounded almost emotionless, unless somebody knew him really well. She could hear the underpinning of tension when he mentioned Rex's name.

Hearing Rex's name spoken from Cody's lips hit Ahsoka like Force lightning.

"Rex!" she shouted out with a gasp. She put a hand to her head, and suddenly remembered her fall and hitting the window on the bridge. Her face turned completely white, and her body went slack. Cody caught her before she fell, and gently lowered her back down to the medical bay bed.

When he went to pull away, Ahsoka grabbed at his shoulder plate in a vise-like grip, stared into his face, and told him in a deathly quiet voice, "He's gone, Cody."

Cody didn't need to ask 'who.' He just stood there, locked frozen in position.

But, Obi Wan needed to ask. It was just his way, "Who's gone, Ahsoka? What do you mean? What is this all about?"

Both Ahsoka and Cody ignored him for the moment, locked into a private world of their own grieving. Cody met Ahsoka's gaze, and patiently waited for her to continue. His eyes did all the talking in that expressive way that only clone eyes could.

"He said: 'Don't forget me,'" Ahsoka whispered to Cody, "and then…"

Ahsoka stopped, taking deep breaths, her eyes welling up with tears. It was obvious she was trying very hard not to cry.

"I understand, Commander," Cody said, very quietly and calmly. Too calmly.

There was a pause, just a beat, while Cody absorbed the loss of yet another brother. This loss cut very deeply. As far as brothers went, well, Rex had been his best friend for years.

Ahsoka still gripped his shoulder plate. So, Cody still stood there, completely frozen, in that awkward half-bent position. Obi Wan and Anakin stood back observing and listening, silent for once. But, Cody didn't attempt to pull back or retreat. He and Ahsoka were locked in a shared emotional moment completely separate from the others in the room, even though the others were only a few feet away.

"How?" Cody finally asked, his eyes locked on Ahsoka's.

"He, uh,…" Ahsoka paused, and one of the tears that had welled up in her eyes finally escaped and rolled down her cheek.

Cody had a strange urge to wipe Ahsoka's tear away, but he resisted.

"He, uh… suffocated-" Ahsoka's voice cracked, but she kept going, "-to death."

If it was possible, Cody's frozen body stiffened up even more. "Suffocated?" he repeated, in a voice that was deathly quiet, "the Kaminoans?"

Ahsoka shook her head, her eyes locked on Cody's, "I don't know. I couldn't tell. It was dark. The part that I saw— everything was so dark…. There were strange sounds… a great deal of noise… Rex couldn't see anything…"

Cody was silent for a long moment while he absorbed all of this, trying to make sense of it, just as Ahsoka had tried.

"Was he-" Cody stopped, and looked away, and then back at Ahsoka again, needing to know the details.

Ahsoka understood without him even needing to finish the question, "Yeah," she answered, "he was-", her voice cracked again, -"in a lot of pain."

Cody absorbed this, and then bowed his head. The grief coming off of him in that moment was so thick that it was tangible.

Obi Wan came over and put a hand on Cody's shoulder. Cody pulled away from Obi Wan, and quickly left the room without saying anything more.

Ahsoka watched him leave, tears still streaming down her face. Ahsoka was left alone with Obi Wan and Anakin. There was a long pregnant pause as the three looked at each other. Obi Wan and Anakin looked at each other with raised eye brows, and then over at Ahsoka, both trying to figure out what gem of wisdom to bring to the moment.

"Ahsoka, in times like these-" Obi Wan began.

"Hey, Snips, a good Jedi knows-" Anakin started.

Ahsoka looked at them with her tear-filled eyes. Ahsoka put a hand up, silencing both of them. "Save it," she muttered, bitterly.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin chastised immediately, "we're all sorry about the loss of Captain Rex, but that is no excuse to go and be rude to Obi Wan!"

"It's alright, Anakin," Obi Wan said, with a patient sigh, "I'll inform the council. And, thank them for their efforts, anyway."

"Their _efforts_?" Ahsoka said, her head whipping up to stare at both of them.

"Ahsoka," Anakin growled, warning her not to say anything further.

"Yes, well, while the Council might want to intervene in every matter affecting the war and the clones," Obi Wan explained calmly, "the fact is that time constraints prevent-"

"Tell the Jedi Council they can go to hell!" Ahsoka's eyes blazed with anger, and she used an acidic, biter voice they'd never heard her use before.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin chastened, "that's it! As soon as you get out of medbay, you-"

"Spare me, SkyGuy!" Ahsoka cut him off. She turned her attention to Obi Wan, "Hey, while you're at it, thank the Council for their _huge effort_ on Captain Rex's behalf. It's obvious now what the lives of the clones really mean to the Jedi. They really are just cannon fodder to the Jedi, aren't they? They're not seen as human, at all, are they? Mark my words, this will be the downfall of the Jedi! You can't disregard human life and-"

"Ahsoka! That's enough!" Anakin said, angrily, coming right up to her bedside, and waving a threatening hand right in front of her face.

"What? Are you going to hit me, Master?" Ahsoka taunted.

"Anakin! Ahsoka! That's enough!" Obi Wan shouted, grabbing Anakin by the arm and physically pulling him away from Ahsoka, "we do not _hit_ our padawans!"

"What is going on here?" a medbay doctor, a humanoid one, came over to investigate all the shouting and noise.

Obi Wan immediately intercepted the doctor, putting a placating hand on his shoulder, "My humblest apologies, doctor. We all just had some very upsetting news about a dear friend. Emotions are running very high, right now. We apologize for all the noise. We were just leaving."

"Yes, well, this is a medbay. I have some very sick patients here," the doctor said. He looked over at Ahsoka, "this young lady has a serious concussion. She should be resting."

"I am feeling rather _nauseous_," Ahsoka said acerbibly, as she looked acidly at her master, and then at Obi Wan, "all of this talk of the Jedi Council and all. Come to think of it, I think I might _projectile vomit."_

"Projectile vomit?" the doctor said, alarmed.

Anakin narrowed his eyes back at Ahsoka, giving her a look at that said this conversation is not done.

"Yes, projectile vomit," Ahsoka repeated, "any moment now." She made a few dramatic gagging noises, staring at Anakin the whole time.

The doctor turned on Anakin and Obi Wan, "You two must leave! Go now! Visiting hours are over!"

Anakin spun on his heel and left, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. Obi Wan kept pace beside him, telling him some reassuring tales of how much Anakin had tried his patience when he was a padawan, and how Anakin had turned out alright, hadn't he?

Anakin tuned Obi Wan out, muttering under his breath: "I told the Jedi Council that getting me a padawan was a bad idea."

The doctor had rushed to get Ahsoka a vomit pan, and some medication to ease nausea. Ahsoka actually felt a bit guilty that she didn't actually have to vomit, since the doctor was being so nice to her. She thanked him for his ministrations, and told him she was feeling better now.

She stared down the hallway where Obi Wan and Anakin had left. It was actually easier to think of how mad she was at her Master, and the Jedi Council, then to let herself fall into despair over…

Oh, crud. That didn't last long. Ahsoka's bitter anger crumbled under the onslaught of grief that came rushing in on its own accord. The anger kept her strong, and made her at least somewhat functional. The grief caused everything to shut down. Unable to hold back the torrent of grief any longer, Ahsoka curled up into a little ball on her bed, and retreated in on herself.

# # #

The funeral ceremony for Rex was brief, but poignant. Anakin spoke first, saying what a fine officer Rex had been. Cody spoke next, very briefly, saying there had never been a finer brother. His throat clogged with emotion, he shook his head, wouldn't say anything else. He shoved is helmet back on, and went to stand beside Echo.

Anakin then asked Ahsoka if she wanted to say anything. Ahsoka shook her head, maintaining the same characteristic silence she'd kept since Rex had died. And, that was it. End of ceremony. Total ceremony time: about three minutes.

Since it was unusual for clones to even bury their dead, or have any kind of remembrance, Anakin it was a sufficient length to get the job done.

Cody walked briskly away after the ceremony was dismissed, headed full speed for the turbolift. Ahsoka headed after him.

"Cody!" she called.

Cody kept walking.

"Cody!" she called, a little louder.

Cody stopped, startled. He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts and memories, and it had been a while since he'd even heard Ahsoka's voice. It had taken him a moment to even register that it was her voice that was speaking to him. "Do you need something, Commander?" he asked, gently.

"Can I talk to you?" Ahsoka asked.

"Of course," Cody said, standing in front of her. He assumed a formal pose, place his hands behind his back, and legs hip distance apart.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, in a gesture reminiscent of the 'old Ahsoka.' "I meant, could I talk to you someplace a bit more privately?"

Cody gestured toward the turbo lift. They entered together.

"What is this about?" Cody asked, after the turbolift started.

Ahsoka turned to Cody, looking right into his eyes, "I don't think Rex is dead."

"What?" Cody stumbled back in shock. He tried to absorb the impact of her words. The turbolift stopped and the doors began to open. Cody immediately jammed the button to close the doors, and set the turbolift in motion to another floor. He then hit the 'stop' button, halting the turbolift in motion between floors. "You were the one who said Rex was dead!" Cody said in a voice so accusing it bordered on hostile.

Ahsoka backed up from the vehemence in his eyes. "I know, Cody, I know, but, I-, I-" she began, stammering from nervousness as she saw how angry Cody was.

"But, what!" Cody said, "we just held a eulogy for Captain Rex, and now you want to tell me he's not dead?"

"Yes, I know it all seems strange, and sudden, Cody," Ahsoka tried to explain, "but, I had this feeling-"

Cody took a deep breath, as if struggling to reign in his temper.

"Commander, I know you're under a lot of stress right now, so you're likely wanting to believe that Rex could still be alive. Believe me, I wish that, too."

"No, Cody, it's not like that. This was a vision-"

"Like your other vision?" Cody asked, clearly skeptical.

"Yes, but I think this one means-"

"This vision cancels out the other vision?" Cody's voice clearly showed his skepticism.

"I know it's hard to understand, but, I felt-"

Cody gripped Ahsoka's arm, "Look, Commander, I didn't want to show you this, because I figured there was no sense. We all knew Rex was dead, right? But, now I think you need to see it."

Ahsoka looked at Cody with confusion, unsure what he was trying to say. Cody pulled a small datapad out of one of his belt pockets. He called up an image onto the screen.

"The ship Rex was on never arrived at Kamino, Ahsoka. General Kenobi was able to pull some strings and send a ship to retrace their route. They found this…" Cody called up images of wreckage and debris floating in space. "They confirmed that the debris came from the hull of the Kamino-bound troop transport. It was Rex's ship, Ahsoka. His ship was destroyed en-route. Looks like the work of pirates. So, your original vision was correct. Rex is dead, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka stared at the images, then looked up at Cody in confusion.

"No, this isn't possible, I-, but, I-, but-, I-, felt-, I -, I-" Ahsoka's eyes began tearing up, as she looked at Cody with confusion.

Cody hit the button to restart the lift, "I'm sorry, Commander," the lift stopped and the doors opened. Cody turned and faced Ahsoka, "we both have to face Rex is dead." He turned and walked quickly away, leaving Ahsoka standing alone in the lift, shattered.

# # #


	32. Chapter 32 Katas

_Author's Note: Hello All! I hope you all had an enjoyable President's Week holiday. For those of you outside the United States, well, this is the time that we Americans honor our great presidents by going skiing. My writing mojo has been good the past few weeks. I flew to New York with my husband and son. My husband had some work to do in Times Square, (his company does LEDs, and they are responsible for five of those jumbo signs in Times Square.) My son and I had a snowball fight in the middle of Times Square, which was a great bit of fun for us since we live too close to sea level in California to get snow. All that helped me get into the spirit of Rex and his merry band of clones and their adventures of Ando. The original version of Chapter 32 was 20 pages long. I decided to divide it up into smaller chunks. So, this will be the first of several chapters that I will upload today. As always, if you find mistakes, feel free to let me know. Honest, I don't mind. I'm very appreciative, actually. Oh, and for those of you who read my other story, (Bly/Aayala), I have a new chapter to upload there, too. Something about that snow… good for my mojo… - Diana_

**Chapter 32**

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**

It was early morning, and Anakin and Obi Wan were sparring together in the fitness room aboard _the Resolute_. They'd already been at it for a while, and their lithe, muscular bodies were covered with a fine sheen of sweat. Anakin sent Obi Wan a mental tap across their link, signaling he'd like to call for a short breather. Obi Wan stepped back and deactivated his light saber. Anakin did the same, bowing in deference to his former Master. Anakin stripped off his workout shirt, tossed it aside, then grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink.

"I don't know, Obi Wan," Anakin said, continuing on with the conversation they'd been having, "I still don't get it. Don't you think it's a bit of an overreaction? Sure, we were all fond of Rex. He'd been with us for a while. We all liked him. I even considered him a friend. But, he was after all, just a-"

Obi Wan immediately looked up from where he drinking from his water bottle. His voice portrayed his grave concern as he cut Anakin off, "Don't finish that sentence, Anakin."

Anakin crossed his arms across his bare, glistening chest, "Why?" Defensiveness and defiance was written into his body language. Suddenly, _he_ was back to being the defiant padawan again, and Obi Wan was thrust into the role of the patient teacher.

"Because you will live to regret it, Anakin," Obi Wan mopped his face with a small towel, and tossed it aside. "The clones are '_not just a_' anything. Surely you _know _that," Obi Wan looked at Anakin with genuine distress. "Have I not taught you that much?"

"I guess," Anakin said, with a non-committal shrug. He paced irritability back and forth, too much energy pent up in his lanky frame. He lit up his light saber again, and immediately launched himself into a complex kata, "It still doesn't explain why Ahsoka is suddenly acting so strangely. Sure, she's always been outspoken, but, it's never been like _this_. Up until this whole Rex thing happened, we were actually having a good year. I just don't get it." Anakin launched himself into a dizzifying series of moves that would not have been possible for an ordinary man.

Obi Wan lit up his light saber and engaged in an even more complex kata, surpassing even Anakin. Anakin paused, quirked his mouth, and gave Obi Wan a look of annoyance.

"Don't you?" Obi Wan hinted, gracefully working through form after form of his kata.

"_No_, I don't," Anakin said, countering by beginning an even faster-paced series of lightsaber practice moves. His hair was plastered to his head now with sweat, and his lightsaber hummed dangerously close to Obi Wan several times. "What are you trying to say?"

Obi Wan shot Anakin a look of annoyance as Anakin's light saber came dangerously close to decapitating him. "Anakin!"

"I've got it all under control, Master!" said Anakin, insistently, still spinning through his fast-paced moves.

Obi Wan shook his head, muttering.

"Sooo…" Anakin prompted, breathless now from his exertions, "what is it you were trying to tell me about my padawan?"

"Only that her feelings toward Rex should have been quite after she _carried _the Captain halfway across TriLuna, rather than leave him behind."

Anakin's mouth dropped open. He lost his balance, and came dangerously close to castrating himself.

In one lightning-fast pace, Obi Wan deactivated and caught Anakin's lightsaber, preventing Anakin from being emasculated. Obi Wan extended his palm and returned Anakin's lightsaber to him. Anakin accepted it without comment, as if expecting that Obi Wan would always be there to save his mistakes.

"Carried him?" Anakin exclaimed.

"Well, yes, think about it Anakin," Obi Wan said, as he calmly resumed his kata, "There's no other way they could've gotten to that cave on the hillside where we met up with them. You saw what kind of condition he was in."

"Yes, but, why would-"

Obi Wan stopped what he was doing, and turned to face Anakin, "Isn't it obvious, Anakin? Because she refused to leave him behind." He waited while Anakin worked it all through in his mind. Obi Wan watched while the emotions flitted across Anakin's face.

"Are you saying Ahsoka had _feelings _for Captain Rex?" Anakin asked, looking shocked that such a thing were even possible. "But, she's only-"

Anakin paused, trying to remember how old his padawan was exactly.

"She's almost 15 now, Anakin," Obi Wan said patiently, "her lifeday is coming up."

"Oh, yes, yes, her life day, right," Anakin said, still looking puzzled, "but, Captain Rex-…he was…uh…", Anakin paused again.

"Eleven, if I remember correctly," Obi Wan said, "and, although clones don't celebrate lifedays, Rex's also had a lifeday coming up, not long after Ahsoka's. He would have been turning 12 soon."

Anakin frowned again, wondering why it was Obi Wan knew more about his padawan and second-in-command than he did. How did he keep track of everybody's lifeday? He was starting to think that perhaps he'd allowed himself to be distracted by other things, and maybe he should have focused a bit more on his staff, "OK, OK, so, you're saying that you think Rex and Ahsoka, well, OK, that they…" his voice trailed off, and he suddenly got uncomfortable taking the conversation to the next level.

"I'm not sure how far their relationship went," Obi Wan clarified, "but, she obviously cared for him a great deal."

"But, attachments are forbidden under the Jedi code," Anakin objected, the words sounding hollow, even as he said them.

"Yes, they are," Obi Wan agreed, "and, yet, they happen anyway, don't they?"

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"Just when it comes to attachments, you've had your share of difficulties," Obi Wan extended his light saber, and assumed the '_en garde'_ position, engaging Anakin into a parry. He quickly forced Anakin onto the defensive with several well placed thrusts, "I wouldn't be so quick to judge Ahsoka," Obi Wan had a very nicely excuted move that forced Anakin to quickly duck to avoid losing his head, "She's just taking after her Master on this one."

Anakin frowned, not sure how to respond. He decided the safest tactic would just be to change the subject, "So, what do we do about Ahsoka?" He threw himself into a complex aerial flip and came around behind Obi Wan, forcing Obi Wan to have to spin quickly to avoid the blow.

"Try giving her some space. Some time to heal. She'll come around," Obi Wan said, somewhat breathless now, from the aggressive, rapid pace of their sparring.

"If you say so, Master," Anakin said, still scowling. All conversation ceased as he focused intently now on their sparring. He enjoyed sparring with Obi Wan, as he was one of the few Jedi who could truly challenge him in a workout. Obi Wan's skills were very impressive, and even with all of Anakin's innate talents, it was very difficult to best Obi Wan in a fight. Anakin remained silent as he focused intently on their sparring, giving back to Obi Wan as good as he got.

# # #


	33. Chapter 33 Scouts

_**Revised: May 15, 2013**_

**Chapter 33**

"**Whatever Happened To Captain Rex?"**

Rex retraced his steps, working his way back toward their crashed ship. He wasn't quite ready to head inside the ship. While it was decidedly arduous trudging through the snow on just one leg, the weather outdoors was just so appealing. Rex wasn't sure if it was all the cool, clean fresh air, or the miles and miles of clean, unbroken snow in every direction, or just the complete lack of anything that resembled the concrete jungle of Coruscant. Whatever it was, the cool white planes of Ando felt like a soothing balm after weeks of hot, red, disgruntled anger.

After many minutes of careful maneuvering through the snow, Rex and Mako arrived back at the ship. Rex was exhausted, but it felt like the good kind of tired. His arm muscles ached from supporting his full weight all the time on his crutches, but Rex could feel all the extra upper body workouts were helping add back some muscle that had been lost during his time in the bacta tank.

Rex leaned back against the side of the transport, taking some the weight off of his one good leg. He took his helmet off, so he could enjoy the elements more directly. The sun felt overly bright on his eyes at first, forcing him to squint. But, after a minute or two, his dark eyes adjusted to the bright light reflecting off the snow. Mako assumed a similar pose next to him, just watching the activities of the others as they explored their new surroundings.

Rex enjoyed watching his brothers spending time outdoors because they wanted to, and not because they'd been had to. And, there was nothing shooting at them. Being outdoors was much more pleasant when nobody was shooting at you. Although, having now explored the area immediately surrounding their ship, several of his brothers had started a snowball fight. Being clones, they quickly took it to the next level, and were building decidedly more elaborate defenses and snowballs as the fight progressed. More clones kept joining in, choosing sides, and working together to building up more elaborate fortifications. Soon, there team captains directing each side, and organizing both the defensive, and offensive efforts. The captains figured out how every clone could help, despite their injuries, and no one was left out. On both sides, there were teams of clones assigned to building the snowballs, passing them up, launching them, building the fortifications, and repairing them. Rex smiled as he watched, thinking he couldn't have come up with a better team-building exercise on his own. It was also a great way for the brothers to get to know each other. There were a lot of shouts of encouragements to those throwing the snowballs, and shouts of laughter from those getting hit. A snowball didn't hurt very much when you were wearing full armor, however, clones could throw with enough gusto that you could still feel the impact.

Rex watched for a while, and then found himself getting sleepy from the warm sunshine hitting his face. He turned his face upward toward the sun, and closed his eyes for a moment. Rex actually found himself emitting a sigh of contentment. Embarrassed, he quickly glanced sideways to see if Mako had heard. But, If Mako had heard Rex's unmanly sigh, he discreetly avoided acknowledging it. His eyes remained fixed straight ahead, watching the snowball fight, and his expression unchanged. Still slightly embarrassed, Rex grabbed his helmet and shoved it back on. There was a lot to be said for hiding within the privacy of your helmet. It was a lot harder to embarrass yourself when you had your helmet on.

With a blink of his eyes, Rex checked the time in his HUD. If the ship had stayed on its' original course for Kamino, they would just be landing about now. Rex looked around at the men walking around the clearing, chatting, joking around, and enjoying the good weather. His mind couldn't help wandering back to Kamino. Would the Kaminoans have started euthanizing them right away after they touched down? Or, would they have made it a long, dragged out process with all manner of procedures to follow? They always were big on processes and procedures.

Just the thought of all those processes made Rex sleepy. He emitted a loud, lazy yawn within the privacy of his helmet. By Coruscanti time, it was well past midnight. Rex closed his eyes, and allowed himself a moment of rest. Unless you count the time he'd spent unconscious because he'd nearly suffocated, he hadn't had much 'rest' over the past 24 hours. Rex shifted his body weight into his sleep standing up position, and decided to nod off for a few moments. He was quite good at sleeping within his helmet, and looking like he was actually standing up and looking straight ahead. Rex began to nod off, counting Kaminoans to help himself drift off to sleep…. _ Blam! One dead Kaminoan! Blam! Blam! Two dead Kaminoans! Blam! Blam! Blam! Three dead Kamin-_

"Uh, Captain, sir?"

Mako tapped on Rex's shoulder, interrupting Rex's pleasant little nap. Rex became instantly alert again. He swiveled his head over to look at Mako. Mako was pointing toward a group of four clones jogging toward Rex. They all looked very fit for clones who just got off of a medical transport. Rex studied them curiously as they approached. One member of the four, stepped forward, and saluted smartly.

"Trooper CT-4356. My name is Hok," his voice was unusually loud, practically shouting. Rex actually turned down the sound sensors in his helmet with a blink of his eyes. Hok made a sweeping gesture with his hand, indicating the three troopers with him. In his overly loud voice, he began to make introductions, "this is Jagger, Saber, and Flex. We served together in the same squadron, out of the 38th Armored Division, prior to being re-assigned to the Kamino Express here." Hok nodded his head toward their crashed ship.

Rex snorted at the new nickname for their miserable, rusted-out ship.

"Anyway," Hok continued, "we'd like to scout for you, sir." Jagger, Saber, and Flex nodded in agreement, looking at both Rex and Mako.

Rex and Mako shook hands with the four troopers, wrist-to-elbow, Mando style. "Hok," Rex nodded to the leader of the group of four, and then greeted the others by name, "Jagger, Saber, Flex. This is Mako. I'm Rex."

Hok laughed. Rex winced. Even Hok's laugh was unusually loud. "Begging your pardon, Captain, but, every clone in the galaxy knows who you are, Captain Rex."

Rex actually blushed, causing Mako to laugh.

"You didn't know that?" Mako asked, looking at Rex in surprise.

Rex shook his head.

"Don't you watch HNN?" Mako asked, in surprise. His voice took on the tone of a newscaster, "Jedi Skywalker and Clone Captain Rex today continued their heroic battle against the Separatists on a remote outpost in the Outer Rim. Leading the 501st Legion, the brave duo took out 12 billion droids, today alone, with both hands tied behind their backs, and using only their feet, and their breath…."

Hok and the others burst out laughing. (Rex winced, as he realized not only was Hok unusually loud, but the other three clones from his squadron as well. What was with this squadron?)

"Yeah, OK, very funny, guys," Rex said, although the tone of his showed that he could take some good-natured ribbing, "now I know why I can't stand to watch HNN. They sensationalize all the news, and then repeat it, ad nauseum. I actually tried watching it my first few days at ArmyMed," Rex admitted, "but I got so frustrated I wanted to shoot the holoscreen. And, unfortunately, the staff at ArmyMed got all antsy everytime I took my guns out. For a military hospital, they had some really uptight weapons' policies."

Rex shook his head, thinking back to ArmyMed. The other five clones nodded their heads in agreement, also muttering under their breath about ArmyMed. (Although, Rex noticed that even muttering under their breath, Hok and the others were LOUD.)

Rex looked sideways at Mako, and pretended to be blowing air at him, "12 billion, huh?"

Mako and the other clones burst out laughing. Rex winced again at how loud Hok and the others were. Did the 38th Armored Division take out droids by sheer loudness alone?)

"You know, sir, you're much less of a stiff than I had you pegged for," Mako said. The other four clones looked at Mako in surprise, then back at Rex to see how he'd react to this jab. Rex simply gave Mako a hard, solid smack across the chest plates using the back of one of his armored hands. It was a brotherly hit, but still a solid one. Mako emitted a quiet "oooph" as some of the air was knocked out of him.

"Nice shot, sir," Mako said, slightly winded.

"Thank you," Rex said, with some satisfaction, "Now, if you're done insulting me, and have gotten all of _that_ out of your system, let's get some work done."

"Sir, yes, sir!" all of the clones, including Mako, said, snapping to attention. Hok and the boys from the 38th did it so loud that Rex had to adjust the noise filter in his helmet down another notch.

"One question, though…" Rex cocked his head to the side, and studied the four clones from the 38th Division, puzzled. Other than the fact that they were all excessively loud, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with them. Matter of fact, none of these four clones showed any outward signs of physical injury. Hok noticed Rex's gaze. He removed his helmet, and pointed to his ears.

"Hearing loss, sir! Our AT-TE took a bad hit by some high-powered ordinance," Hok's loud voice dropped in pitch somewhat, "We lost some good brothers that day." He looked down at the ground and sighed heavily, shaking his head. His other three brothers did the same, remembering the day they lost their brothers, "The three of us survived the hit, but the concussive force was so severe that it blew out all of our ear drums. We all suffered other injuries too, but that stuff was repairable. Not the ears, though. All of us—since that day-we're all completely deaf, sir," Hok stared Rex in the eye defensively, as if daring him to declare him unfit for duty. Rex knew that look. He also knew that feeling. He'd felt exactly the same way when he was told he wasn't fit to be in the Republic Army anymore. Hok jammed his helmet back on, and tapped the side of it. "Anyway, we can hear you well enough with our buckets on. We just crank the sound way up. Don't know why the frak that makes us unfit to serve. But, according to ArmyMed, a deaf clone is a damaged clone," Hok shook his head, and Rex could hear the bitterness in his voice. Hok took a deep breath, and then looked at Rex again, "The four of us – we'd like to make ourselves useful again. We want to work again."

"Well, Hok, I think I'm about the last person who would hold a brother back just because he got injured in the line of duty," Rex smacked his leg brace with his crutch, emphasizing his point. He sucked in his breath, totally surprised that smacking his leg had actually _hurt_.

Mako was the only one who noticed Rex's quick intake of breath.

"You, OK, sir?" Mako quietly asked.

"Yeah, fine," Rex muttered back to Mako.

Rex turned his attention back to Hok and the others. He put his hand on Hok's shoulder, "As far as I'm concerned, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Hok. Or, you, Jagger," Rex put his hand on each clone's shoulder as he addressed them, "or, you, Saber. Or, you, Flex. When I look at you, I don't see a damaged brother. I see a brother. I'm honored to have you a part of the team."

"Thank you, sir," Jagger, Flex, Saber, and Hok said, and Rex could hear the emotion in their voices.

"So, consider yourselves the first official scouts of …" Rex looked around at the miles of unbroken snow surrounding them, "the Ando Legion- an _independent_ legion."

All of the clones chuckled at the new name, and Rex ended up joining in as well. He didn't usually laugh this much. Crashing had been good for him. Crashing in itself was not an unusual event for him. But, somehow, this crash was a lot more fun than the ones he was usually in.

"Is the name too much?" he asked his brothers. The other clones shook their heads.

"No, I like it," Mako said.

Hok and the others nodded their agreement as well.

"Ok, then," Rex said, still smiling, and thinking that commanding clones was somehow a lot easier and more enjoyable without Jedi getting in the way. "We've just created the first independent clone legion. And, if anyone objects, well, we've got guns and armor, we spent our whole lives learning how to use them, and we're all pretty pissed off. So, there you go." Mako and the scouts laughed again.

"OK, Scouts," Rex said, resuming his 'Captain' voice, "divide up into pairs. Scout in every direction. I'm sure you know what to look for," Rex began ticking things off on his fingers, "stuff we can eat, stuff we can drink, stuff we can use for fuel. I think we may have emergency shelters onboard, but, in case we don't, look for possible shelter, or materials that could be used to create shelters. Ando is populated, so let me know if you spot some settlements. Observe only, do not engage. And, keep in radio contact, so I know you haven't been swallowed up by the local wildlife. Keep in mind that although the weather is good now, the weather could turn on us quickly. Don't go too far."

"Understood, sir. Thank you again, sir," Hok said.

The four scouts saluted him smartly, and headed off. Rex studied them thoughtfully as he watched them hike enthusiastically away in the snow. He looked down at his chrono.

_If those rather incompetent pirates hadn't decided to interfere, we'd be touching down in Kamino right about now. _

As Rex leaned back against the ship, feeling Ando's sun beaming down on his face, he tried to imagine what it would be like to be facing the Kaminoans right now. Would they have exterminated us right away, or made it a long, drawn-out process?

_Fate is a strange thing._

He wasn't sure how much be believed in the mystical side of the Force, that is, that there was something out there that guided and surrounded all living things. It had seemed to him in the past that whatever that thing was, it only favored Jedi. However, more and more, that mystical thing seemed to be affecting him, too.

"You thinking about Kamino, sir?" Mako asked. He seemed to be relaxing comfortably up against the wall next to Rex, but Rex could tell he was actually standing watch, keeping a close eye on everything going on around them. In a short amount of time, Mako had already become very protective of him.

Rex nodded, "Yeah, Mako, I am."

"Me, too, sir," Mako admitted, "I guess those pirates did us a favor in a way. Well, assuming we don't starve to death, freeze to death, or otherwise meet some horrible end down here on the planet."

Rex swiveled his head over to look at Mako, "Well, not quite the way I was picturing it, but remind me to include you in our next worst-case scenario planning session. You have a natural knack for this kind of thing."

"Thank you, sir," Mako looked at Rex, "uh, I think."

Rex laughed, "Well, Mako, I think we've had our little bit of a breather in the sunshine. Let's head back inside and get back to work," Rex picked up his crutches from where they were leaning against the side of the ship, and turned to head back inside. Mako put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Mako looked down at Rex's leg, meaningfully.

"Your leg, sir," Mako asked, "is it bothering you?"

Rex shook his head. "No. I'm fine," He led the way back toward the hatch, "Come on. Let's get back to work."

Rex and Mako rounded up troopers, both from outside the ship, and those who were still inside the ship. Those who had been participating in the colossal snowball battle were ready to call it quits. Prolonged kneeling in the snow had exceeded their bodysuit's capabilities to keep them warm, so they were ready to head back inside and warm up. Having the Captain call them inside to work was a welcome end to the battle, since neither side had wanted to concede defeat. As it was, both sides decided to call it a draw, with a possible rematch later. The elaborate snow forts were left up, and the enormous stock piles of snow balls were left in place for later use. Tired, cold and laughing, the two teams of snow battlers came back inside the ship, retelling highlights of the game back and forth to each other.

Rex assigned all able-bodied clones into work teams, with simple names like Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, etc. Rex considered anyone who could move at all as being "able-bodied." He was trying to figure out a way to put the four paraplegics to work, so they could not only contribute for the greater good, but also feel like valued contributors to the team. Rex knew all too well how devastating it was to feel unwanted, unneeded, and unvalued. He didn't want a single brother onboard to feel that way.

Rex assigned Alpha Team to search through the ship's cabinets for field gear, like emergency shelters. He assigned Beta Team to figure out if there was a manifest of troopers onboard, and if not, come up with a roster. (Rex realized, with a slight twinge of guilt, that this information might have been contained on the R4 unit he so happily destroyed.) He assigned the Team to inventory the supply of food and water in the galley, and then figure out a rationing schedule, based upon the number of people onboard.

There was still more work to be done. Rex needed to assign a team to work on restoring power to the ship. But, first he wanted to check out the damage to the ship, and see if working on restoring power would put any of the men at risk. Normally, Rex would allow his men to simply clamber all over a damaged ship and take that risk upon themselves. Since Rex was dealing with a crew of men that were all injured like he was, he was a bit more sensitive when it came to taking potentially life-threatening risks.

Rex leaned back against a bulkhead, looking over a partial crew roster that the Beta Team had already managed to assemble, and just handed to him.

"Here you go, sir. You looked like you could use this," one of the troopers assigned to the kitchen held out a steaming mug of instant caf and a rations bar to Rex. "I'm Hodges, by the way."

Rex imported the roster from the datapad into his HUD, and made a note next to Hodges' name to ensure he'd remember him. (Hodges- Team Delta, *coffee and rations bar.) Rex was good at remembering names, but there were close to a hundred men on the ship. Since Rex was learning a great number of names all at once, he figured he'd best start making notes so that he didn't make any errors in names. Nothing eroded confidence in command faster than not being able to remember your own troops' names. It was totally tacky and impersonal to call a trooper by the wrong name. Rex had never made that mistake, and he never planned on making it either.

Rex took off his helmet, and hooked it on his belt. He gratefully accepted the food and drink with a nod of thanks.

"How do you did heat up the caf?" Rex asked, surprised.

"Tek has managed to restore partial power. He rigged something up in the galley," Hodges said, reaching behind him to grab a crate. He set it down next to Rex, creating a seat for him.

Rex nodded his thanks, and sat down while he ate. He carefully stretched out his injured leg a little, trying to find a place to stick his leg where it wouldn't get in anyone's way as they were walking by.

"Who's Tek?" Rex asked, taking a long sip of caf.

"Oh, Tek is a genius. Pure genius," Hodges said enthusiastically, obviously very proud of this particular clone, "He and I come from the same battalion. He can wire just anything together."

"Ah, seems like he's way ahead of me then," Rex said, taking a bite of the rations bar. "Sounds like just the person I've been looking for." The bar was tasteless and bland, as always, but somehow it didn't seem as awful as it usually did. Rex almost _enjoyed_ it. He washed it down with a swig of caf, while he listened to Hodges extol the virtues of his tekkie genius buddy.

"…and, another time, we were pinned down and totally out of ammo. We thought we were 'a goner for sure. But, Tek said that as long as he had his tools, and we were all still alive, there was always hope. And, he was right. He rewired these droids, so that they fired on these other droids, and they got so confused they all just kept firing on each other! We just watched while they all took each other out. Most amazing sight you ever saw. At the end of it, there was nothing but scrap metal left. Well, and, us. Totally saved our skins that day, he did!" Hodges said, enthusiastically, warming up to the telling of his story. He noticed Rex had finished his caf, "Do you want more, Captain? I could heat you up another cup."

Rex shook his head. He finished off the last bite of rations bar. Hodges took Rex's garbage from him. "Let me dispose of this, Captain, and then I'll walk you back to meet, Tek."

As if in response, the lights flickered on briefly, causing everyone inside to cheer, and then immediately went out again, causing a collective groan of disappointment. Rex heard someone shout: "I'm working on it!"

When Hodges walked back, Rex smiled and said: "I guess, that would be Tek."

Hodges laughed, "Ah, yes. That's him, Captain. This way."

"Thanks for the caf, and the food," Rex said, as he followed Hodges.

Hodges laughed good-naturedly, "Not sure a rations bar can be put into the same category as food, but you're welcome all the same."

"Could you please make sure that any of the troopers who are immobile, such as those in the bio-beds, get offered something to eat?" Rex asked.

"I'll see to it, Captain. Matter of fact, you can consider it my assigned duty from now on, sir. No one will go hungry while I'm around," said Hodges.

"You're a good man, Hodges. Thank you," Rex said. He almost said: _you're just the kind of man we need in the 501st, _but caught himself in time. _Guess I won't need that line anymore._

Rex felt a pang in his gut when he thought of the 501st- all the brothers he'd served with that had died, and all the brothers currently serving. Rex quickly switched trains of thought before his mind could start thinking back to _the Resolute_. That life was gone, dead, and left behind, just as they had left him behind at ArmyMed. Rex wondered if he'd ever be able to think back to _the Resolute_ and the 501st without feeling this deep pang inside. He wouldn't even let himself think of Ash- _No, don't go there. Don't even start thinking there. Too much work to do. Too painful._

Rex and Hodges worked their way toward the back of the ship, passing by a crew busily pulling out the ship's supply of emergency gear. A team of four was busily pulling shrink-wrapped packages out of a very tightly packed storage cabinet. Two clones were actually completely inside the cabinet tugging the tightly packed bundles free, with just their butts visible, as they passed them back to two troopers standing behind them.

"What's the verdict on emergency gear? Anything usable? Or, should we start fashioning ourselves houses out of snow? " Rex asked, with a teasing edge to his voice.

"Hello, Captain Rex, sir! An honor to meet you, in person, sir!" answered a fifth clone, who was inventorying everything onto the tiny datapad built into his wrist gauntlet. He saluted Rex sharply. Rex rolled his eyes, thinking all of this saluting was getting out of hand. The guys in the 501st didn't salute him nearly this much. But, then again, they were used to him, and these guys were all treating him like some sort of celebrity, or something. It was a bit, unnerving, to say the least. "My name is Price. It seems some of our emergency gear was blown out with the outer compartment. But, we still have a good chunk of it. It's old, outdated, and stinks to high heaven. But, it's sturdy enough stuff. We can use it. We've got tents, emergency blankets, some medical supplies, and also some weird plastic things that we haven't identified yet. We don't have enough outdoor gear for everyone, so it will be at least two men per tent, and we'll have to divvy people up between inside the ship and outside. I'll transmit the final inventory list to you as soon as we're done. It shouldn't be much longer, sir."

Rex added 'Price- Head of Inventory' to his ongoing database of trooper names.

"Don't forget to add 'weird plastic things' to the list," Rex joked.

"Already have it down, sir," Price said, deadpan.

Rex quickly consulted his HUD for average nightly temperatures on Ando. The planet had both snowy and temperature regions. It seems they'd crash-landed in the snowy region.

_OK, would have been nice to crash in the more temperature region, but it still beats dead. And, it beats Kamino anyday. _Rex had a weird flash of the lead Kaminoan scientists standing up outside in front of one of the recently snow forts, and being assaulted by vengeful snowball wielding clones. _OK, I must be getting loopy from lack of sleep_, Rex thought, shaking his head to clear the image.

"Sir, you, OK?" Mako asked, peering at him.

_Wow, he's good. Doesn't miss a thing,_ Rex thought, giving Mako a sidelong glance.

"Fine, fine," Rex said, "just lost in thought. Thinking about logistics, and such." _OK, stretching the truth a bit, but better than saying their Captain is having weird delusional fantasies along the theme of 101 Ways to Eliminate a Kaminoan. "_As long as the emergency tents seal tight, and the heaters in our suits are in good working order, we'll be fine, even with the temperatures dropping at night. Make sure that any clones who are assigned to sleep outside don't have any injury that affects the seal of their suit."

Rex's knee had healed to the point that he could get his now-repaired bodysuit on again. It was held together by a knee brace worn on the outside of his suit, so he actually had a fully-sealing suit again. He'd seen other clones with injuries that prevented them from being able to wear their full body suit. Without a tight seal, they wouldn't be able to withstand cold nighttime temperatures.

"Understood, sir," said Price, "I'll assign somebody to double-check all seals before allowing anyone to be assigned to a tent. If anyone has a questionable seal to their suit, they'll be assigned inside. Once we're done here, should we go ahead and begin setting up the tents?"

"Get something to eat first," said Rex, "you've been working hard. Take a break, OK? Then, yes, go ahead and set up Ando Legion Base Camp. Gather extra men if you need them. Those weird plastic things can get tricky to assemble properly."

"Very good, sir," said Price, saluting smartly.

He heard Price repeating "Ando Legion" to the others. The others repeated the words back, and inside of an hour, the name had spread to all one hundred clones.

# # #


	34. Chapter 34 Servo

"_**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 34**_

Hodges led Rex to the furthest point back in the ship. They could go no further as the ship was crumpled from the landing at this point, the metal bent from the impact. A pair of booted feet was barely visible, upside down, plunged deep inside an access hatch.

"Servo!" called a voice from inside the hatch.

"Hello, Captain!" called a chipper clone in green camo armor, completely missing his right leg from just below the hip socket on down. He was leaning against the hatch, handing tools down to the booted figure, deep inside the hatch. "Servo, coming down," he said, leaning in as far as he could, and carefully handing down the tool. He reached down to accept something back. "My name is Tank," the clone said, making eye contact with Rex, but still busily working at the same time. "Pleased to meet you in person, Captain." Tank pulled up a hydro-spanner and replaced it into the box of tools he had sitting next to him. "We're making good progress. We should have power restored-"

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" There was some dramatic sparking from within the hatch. Rex and Mako looked at each other, and then back at Tank. He gave them a reassuring smile, "He's alright." He then leaned way down into the hatch, and said softly: "Hey Tek, you OK?"

"I'm OK!," called the voice inside, "just a little singed. Remind me not to cross _those_ wires again… OK, well, now we know what the connection _isn't_…. OK, OK, what about these two?... hang on…. give it a moment… come on, baby… don't blow up…"

Rex and Mako exchanged a concerned look, and then looked back at Tank. He gave them a calm, reassuring smile again, and said: "He was kidding about the blowing up part." He then leaned down and whispered: "You were kidding, right Tek?"

In response, more sparks erupted from the hatch, causing Tank to pull his head back out of the hatch abruptly. With a sputtering whine, the power on the ship blinked several times and then came back on. Rex could hear the heaters started blowing. A cheer went on throughout the ship.

"Ah, that's the way it's done!" called out a satisfied voice from within the hatch.

"You, OK, Tek?" Tank called, the upper half of his body leaning into the hatch, "that was an awful lot of fireworks there."

"A few minor burns. My armor protected me from most of it. I probably should have been wearing my helmet and gauntlets. But, well, anyway, it's fixed," Tek called out from within the hatch.

The pair of feet slowly worked their way back out of the hatch revealing a clone dressed in the distinctive green camo armor of the 41st Elite Corps. The right side of his face was scarred from what looked to be an explosion, and one of his eyes was translucent, and scarred all around. He also had some new, more recent burns on his face, likely from all the electrical sparking that happened when he rewired the ship. He was missing some fingers on his right hand, and wasn't wearing armor on either hand. His hands had also suffered some electrical burns. But, none of this seemed to deter him. He scrambled out of the hatch, and pounded Tank on the back with satisfaction. "Well, that's done it, then!" He looked over and noticed Rex. "Oh, hello, Captain! Pleased to meet you! I'm Tek!" he stuck out his hand, the one with the missing fingers, and enthusiastically shook Rex's hand. If the burns on his hands bothered him, he certainly didn't seem to show it. "I hope you don't mind that Tank and I took it upon ourselves to fix some of the electrical wiring."

"Nice job," Hodges said, nodding his head toward the lights, "you did it again, Tek. Always saving our arses, you are."

"Yes, well done," Rex said, "I didn't think we'd get the ship back online so quickly."

"My pleasure, Captain," Tek said, "although, I have to admit it was a bit self-serving. I was watching out for some of our guys. Two of the guys in the bio-beds are from the 41st Elite. So, I guess you could say we were being self-serving."

"I don't think watching out for your brothers counts as being self-serving," Rex said. He looked at the burns on Tek's face and hands. "Track down the medic and get those burns treated. No more working until those burns have been properly taken care of." Rex looked over at Tank, "I'm ordering you to make sure that he gets himself looked at."

Tank nodded, "Yes, Captain. I'll make sure of it."

Tank and Tek headed off to find a medic.

Since his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the ship now seemed very bright. And, with the glaring brightness, Rex could see the extent of the damage.

"Well, I guess this ship isn't going anywhere soon," Rex said, looking around at the crumpled back section.

Mako looked at Rex curiously, "Are we planning on going someplace, Captain?"

Rex shook his head, "No, just thinking if we need to get away from those pirates. We may not have seen the last of them, and I believe we might have angered them just a bit."

"Just a bit, sir," Mako said, "although, in all fairness, they did start it."

"True," Rex said, "but, I don't think that will count for much, if they start gunning for us and we are stuck here on the ground, immobile."

"Point well taken, sir," Mako said, "I can see why they put you in command."

Rex glanced sidelong at Mako again, "Are you sucking up, or do you always talk like that?"

Mako shrugged, "I don't know. I've never been anywhere close to the command structure before."

"A pity, you have a knack for this kind of work," Rex said.

"Well, then, it's a good thing I got shot then, eh?" Mako said.

Rex smacked him again, across the chest plates.

"You do that a lot, sir, you know," Mako commented, looking down at this chest plates.

"I know," Rex said, with a smirk, "it's because you aren't allowed to hit back. Come on, let's go check on the pilots."

"Not fair," Mako said, still looking down at his chest plates, "that's so not fair."

# # #


	35. Chapter 35 Chance Odds

**Chapter 35**

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**

The two troopers assigned to opening the door to the cockpit had given up on springing the latch manually.

"The door was frame was bent during the crash, Captain," explained the first trooper, who identified himself as Shadow, a member of 5th Fleet Security. As with Hok and the others, Rex could see no obvious signs of injury on Shadow. And unlike his new scouts, Shadow's voice wasn't any louder than normal.

"We've give up on springing the latch manually, Captain. We're just going to have to force the door," explained the second clone, who'd identified himself as Drax. Drax's armor had dramatic rust red stripes from shoulder to gauntlet, identifying him as member of the 55th Mechanized Brigade.

"Yes, well, Shadow, Drax, good work, carry on, then," Rex said. He made notes in the crew roster in his HUD, adding these two team members in as well. There certainly were a large variety of clones onboard. It seemed like there were clones from every brigade in the Army.

Drax was missing a hand, just as Mako was, but it didn't seem to deter him from his efforts to break down the cockpit door. He'd found a variety of tools, and improvised hammers, around the ship and was attacking the door with gusto.

The noise level from the hammering was tremendous. Rex switched his helmet settings to filter out the background noise, and used his helmet comm to radio the two pilots, "Chance, Odds, how are you guys doing up there?"

"Oh, hello, Captain, sir!" said Odds, "nice of you to check in on us."

"We haven't been able to get a wink of sleep up here," added in Chance.

"Bang, bang, bang! It's all you hear! Keeping me and the missus awake!" said Odds.

"We clones need our beauty sleep," said Chance, deadpan.

"We were thinking of registering a complaint with the Chancellor," added in Odds.

"Because we all know how concerned he is about us clones," finished Chance.

There was a dramatic pause, and then Rex, Chance, Odds and Mako all enjoyed a good laugh at that one.

_We've got a regular bunch of comedians aboard, _thought Rex. _These guys_ _are even worse than the 501st. _Thoughts of the 501st once again brought a twisting stab of pain to Rex's gut. _Don't think about the 501__st__. Don't think about the 501__st__…._

Rex tried to block out thoughts of the 501st, but he couldn't. Before he could stop them, he was assaulted with images.

Suddenly, he had a clear vision of men from the 501st, _his_ men, on the hanger deck of _the Resolute_, hanging out after a mission, telling bad jokes and working off tension. The vision seemed so real that Rex felt like he was seeing something that was actually happening, rather than a memory.

For the moment, it seemed more real than the hammering on the cockpit door that was happening directly in front of him. His men were all there. No, not quite all of them. Some were missing since he'd left for ArmyMed. A good majority of them were there, though.

Rex saw each of their faces, and recognized all of their distinctive armor markings. The sight of them caused Rex's gut to hitch so painfully it was hard to breath. And, then that little hitch turned into a full-on double-punch when the doors swished open and… in walked Skywalker, Appo and Ahsoka.

Rex was shocked at Ahsoka's appearance. Gone was the bouncing, over-enthusiastic, difficult-to-contain padawan that he'd been watching out for since her first cocky appearance on Christophsis. She had changed, and not for the better.

Ahsoka was no longer dressed in the inappropriate attire that had always irked Rex. She was now dressed in traditional floor-length, Jedi robes. The clothes hung limply on her thin frame. She was the thinnest, and _frailest_, Rex had ever seen her. Drowning in the oversized robes, she looked so small and vulnerable. Rex never thought he'd want to see her back in the inappropriate attire that had vexed him so much, but she looked _awful _now.

As Rex watched Ahsoka slowly trail into the room, almost like a spectre, he was slammed with several emotions all at once. He was struck with this overwhelming urge to want to protect Ahsoka. The Ahsoka he used to know would have rebelled at the idea of even needing to be protected. But, the Ahsoka he saw now looked desperately in need of help. Rex desperately wanted to hold her against him, offering physical comfort, like he'd done both on TriLuna, and on their last night together aboard _the Resolute_. But now, Rex could do none of these things. He could only watch the scene unfold in his mind's eye, knowing all the while he could not physically touch Ahsoka.

Ahsoka continued to walk slowly, several steps behind Skywalker. His men stopped their conversations, and joking when they caught sight of their commanding officers. They immediately formed up into two perfectly straight lines for debriefing.

Ahsoka stood deathly quiet, and completely passive, one step behind Skywalker for the entire meeting. Unlike her usual behavior in a debriefing, where it was impossible for her to remain quiet, and not contribute her ideas and opinions, now, she said nothing. She contributed none of her ideas. If she had a thought or opinion on anything Skywalker was saying, she didn't voice it, or let her emotions show on her face. She put her hands behind her back, and gazed impassively out at the men. She was the perfect vision of a quiet and humble padawan. Perfect, that is, if one didn't know that such behavior ran entirely contrary to essence that was Ahsoka. It broke Rex's heart to see it.

When the briefing was over, Appo and Skywalker walked away, continuing on with their earlier conversation. They were discussing tactics for an upcoming mission. Rex didn't recognize the name of the planet they were talking about, or even this new enemy they were talking about confronting. Ahsoka followed, trailing once again, several steps behind them, like a ghost. It was as if she was there, but also not there at the same time.

Rex could make no sense of what he was seeing. He'd never seen Ahsoka behave in such a fashion. This was not the Ahsoka he knew.

"Little'un, what's happened to you?" Rex said, anguished, in the privacy of his helmet.

Ahsoka's head snapped up, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Rex?" she said, her eyes wide open with hope, fear and anguish.

Rex felt his heart slam inside his chest.

"Ahsoka!" Rex said, feeling suddenly as if he could-

"Are you still out there, sir?" asked Chance. His voice cut into Rex's mind, snapping him back to the scene outside the cockpit door, with the loud hammering.

"AH!"

Rex stumbled backwards against the side of the ship, disoriented. Off-balance, he began to fall. Shadow immediately dropped his tools, and made a grab for Rex. Rex had to give him points for reflexes. Mako, on Rex's other side, reached out with his one hand, and caught a hold of Rex as well. Between the two of them, they caught Rex before he hit the floor, and hauled him back upright.

"Easy, sir," said Shadow, "you know, you got bashed around quite severely when we crashed. Maybe you shouldn't be up and about."

Drax pulled down a nearby jumpseat, "Here you are, sir. Perhaps you should sit for a spell?" He patted the seat. "Nice and comfy. The Republic's finest foam."

Rex sank down into the seat, letting his crutches fall down to the floor with a clatter. He sank rested his head back for a moment, taking a deep breath. Mako was right by his side.

"Captain, I'll get the medic. Something is wrong, right? The medic-"

Rex gripped Mako's one arm before he could go any further, "I'm fine, Mako, really. Just lost my balance is all. Nothing's wrong. Could you get me a bottle of water from the galley?"

Mako looked at Rex critically, unconvinced.

"Really, I'm fine," Rex said, trying to sound convincing, but more than anything, just wanting a few moments to himself to absorb what had just happened.

"Yeah, yeah, OK," Mako said, getting up and walking toward the galley. He cast another concerned look back toward Rex, "one more episode like that, and I am hog-tying you and dragging your arse to the medic."

Rex smiled at his back, and then closed his eyes for a moment.

_What the hell was that?_ he wondered. _Did I really just see Ahsoka? Did she just - _

"Captain Rex?" said Chance, his voice cutting in on Rex's helmet comm.

Rex realized he'd never responded to Chance. He closed his eyes for a moment, cursed in the privacy of his helmet, and then switched his comm back on:

"Sorry for the delay, Chance, Rex here."

"Good to hear your voice, Captain. Started to worry something had happened to you….We're very lucky to have you with us, sir…It would be a big loss to lose you," Chance said, all joking and levity gone from his voice.

Rex looked up and noticed Shadow and Drax hadn't resumed their hammering. They were just watching him, as if worried he was going to keel over at any moment. Rex changed the audio on his helmet, so Drax and Shadow could listen in on the conversation as well. They were all in this together. No reason why they couldn't hear this conversation, and it would also show them that there Captain was mentally fit, and not about to keel over and die.

"There's something I think you should know," Chance continued, "Right before we went down, Odds and I caught a glimpse of that pirate cruiser. They definitely took some damage, but curse the bastards, it didn't look as bad as what happened to our hull. They were headed toward one of Ando's moons."

Rex absorbed this information for a moment, "Must be their base of operations. Would make sense with the timing of when and how they ambushed us."

"Yeah, that's what we figured as well," Chance said, "and they are probably none too pleased about the way we completely took out their landing party. Other than the fact all their guys are missing, I'm sure they've found a body or two floating about in space by now. And, if they know we crashed here on Ando..." his voice trailed off.

"-then we might be expecting some company," Rex finished for him, "Thanks for the heads-up. We'll make sure we're prepared, just in case they do decide to drop by for another visit."

Mako had already returned from the galley. Rex twisted off the cap, and downed the entire bottle of water. He had been very thirsty. He hadn't even realized it. "Thanks, Mako," he said, handing the empty bottle back to him. "See that gets into the reclaimed waste, would you?" Ando was such a beautiful planet, Rex didn't want to trash any part of it.

"Hey, Mako," Rex said, trying to infuse some enthusiasm back into his voice, despite the shock he'd just received from seeing Ahsoka, "guess what? We might be receiving our first visitors in our new vacation home. Time to do a little party planning."

"A party, sir?" Mako said, picking up Rex's crutches and handing them to him, "I love a good party!"

"Yes, well, I'm sure you'll love this one. Explosions. Ambushes. Ammo. All the things we clones love so well."

"Will there be food, sir? Explosions are lovely, but what really makes for a good party is some cake. I've never actually had any, but I've heard it's quite the stuff."

"Me neither. But, the clone who kills the most pirates gets a bonus ration bar."

Mako sighed, "It's not cake. But, I suppose it will do. Before I die, though, I'd like to try some cake."

Rex reached over and gave Mako a brotherly pat on the back, rather than a smack on the chest plates. He hoped, too, that Mako got a chance to eat cake one day, before he died, too.

# # #


	36. Chapter 36 Ando Legion

_**Revised: May 15, 2013**_

_"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 36**_

Rex and Mako had just returned from checking on the two trapped pilots. The 501st Captain was by himself now, having ordered Mako to take a break and get something to eat.

The pilots remained trapped. Rex hoped they could get them out before the pirates came back. If they had to evacuate the ship, and the two pilots were still trapped in that compartment… Rex shook his head, thinking of all the crashes he'd been in where the pilots had been the first casualties. So many good men lost. _No more. This has to stop. No more brothers lost._

Ando Legion. Brothers first. Brothers united.

Rex smiled to himself. Yes, that just sounded so right.

_When had brothers ever been put first? From an early age, we were taught our lives were secondary to the Jedi. Throw down our lives for them. "How many times did we tell the Jedi we were 'dispensable' and then throw ourselves in harms way for them? Shielding them with our bodies? And, what did it get us? Rex looked down at his ruined leg. He looked around at all the clones around him missing limbs, and over at the clones who were fully paralyzed. And, we are the lucky ones. We are so vastly outnumbered by our dead brothers. What did their deaths accomplish, in the end? I want to think that this is all going to end well, and all of their sacrifices will turn out to be so worth it. But, somehow, if they could throw us away like trash, why do I get the feeling that this war is not going to end well?_

Rex leaned back against a bulkhead overlooking the latest update of the crew manifest. Yes, OK, he was doing a lot of leaning and sitting. He had to admit he was tired. Very tired. But, there was a lot of work still yet to be done before he could sleep. The safety of his men always came first. So, he would only rest once he knew he'd done everything humanely possible to assure the safety of his men.

Because it would be a warm day in Hoth before he would call ANY man on this ship 'dispensable.'

Rex tore his thoughts away from the Jedi, and back to more pressing matters. He rubbed one hand against his eyes to clear away the grit, and focus his eyes more clearly.

As Rex scanned the names, he found what he was looking for, but it wasn't going to be easy. It never was.

_Part of me doesn't want to see this di'kut again. But, I need to find him. _

_He's got to be here somewhere. He's on the crew manifest._

Rex scanned the sea of armor looking for one man in particular. He had to give the men credit, they were doing a good job of keeping busy. Even the ones he hadn't assigned specifics tasks to had found things to do.

The downed ship was being gutted. All the cabinets in the ship were being pulled open, useful items being pulled out. Rex kept getting updates of inventoried items found sent to his HUD. With just a flick of his eyes, he sent the data into a master spreadsheet. He already was working on calculations of how long they could hold out here, based upon the supplies found so far. Of course, that didn't take into another firefight with the space trash that had landed them here in the first place.

_And, that is why I need to find the one person I'd rather not see again. And, I'm sure he'd rather not see me again._

He spotted the distinctive burgundy armor of the Marines back in the small Engineering section of the ship. Just as with Tek, this particular brother was working lying underneath a panel. He was fully engrossed in his work, with just his chest and feet visible. Rex watched him work for a moment. _Well, I certainly can't fault him his dedication_, Rex thought, as he watched him work to repair the ship. Rex hesitated for another long moment, then finally gave one of the booted feet a gentle whack with one of his crutches.

"This better be good," called the voice from underneath the panel, "or I'm breaking fingers."

Rex put his helmet back on, and set it to text everything he spoke: "Good to see you, too. I understand you're fully deaf now, but other than that, I'm sure you're the same di'kut I remember."

The distinctively colored helmet of the Galactic Marines emerged from under the panel. "Well, if it isn't the grand hero of the 501st. What do you want with me?"

"Pirates are regrouping. If we want to keep these men alive, we need to establish some command structure."

"And, I see you put yourself in charge," the Marine's voice was dripping with scorn.

"It's what I was trained to do, same as you. So, stow the attitude, Travis," Rex folded his arms across his broad chest, and studied the trooper in front of him.

"Why me? 'O Magnificent One?" Travis ground out, his irritation evident, "With this many brothers onboard, there must be other command clones onboard."

"I'm sure there are. But, I know you and what you're capable of. Even though you're a pain in the ass, you were top of the class."

"Yes. I was," Travis ground out, "and, yet you still got the 501st." The bitterness was clear in the Marine's voice.

"Can the pity party, Travis. That's all in the past," Rex was clearly losing his patience, "we've got work to do."

"For you, maybe," Travis stood up in one swift motion. He threw his helmet down, and suddenly his face was inches from Rex's helmet. Rex immediately took his helmet off, and tossed it down. The two stared each other down, eye-to-eye. "I AM working, you stupid, stuck-up, kama-wearing, chuff-sucking Mynock!" said Travis, "this ship wouldn't have power if it wasn't for me and Tek!"

Rex's eyes widened the slightest bit when Travis called him a 'chuff-sucking Mynock.' But, his eyes were locked with Travis,' staring him with an icy, cool gaze.

"You are still every bit as annoying as Kamino!" Travis said, through gritted teeth, "Speaking of which, I still owe you something!" Travis drew back his fist.

Rex looked at the fist, and shook his head, whether with amusement or annoyance, it was hard to tell. Rex went to speak into his wrist comlink.

"Don't bother texting, you odious Bishwag," Travis said, with an irritated sigh, "I can read lips just fine. Even the annoying scud coming out of yours."

Rex shrugged, "OK, back to you hitting me then."

"You think I won't do it?" Travis said, sizing Rex up.

"Go ahead," Rex said, with a shrug, "if it will make you feel better. But, it won't change the fact that I got the posting you thought you deserved."

"You were always a suck-up and a cheater!" Travis' eyes flashed with anger.

"A cheater?" Rex snorted, "How could one cheat in command school? We both have Jango's genes, Travis."

"The 501st should have been mine!" Travis said, tension radiating off him in waves. "I should be Captain!"

"You were assigned to the Marines, Travis," Rex reasoned, "just accept that-"

Travis let loose a solid punch that connected with Rex's face, knocking him backwards. Rex would have fallen, except Travis caught him, holding him on his feet. Rex nodded once he had his balance again.

"Fek," Rex grumbled. "Do you feel better now, or do you need to hit me again?"

"I was just trying to get you to shut up," Travis murmured. "But, hitting you always did make me feel better."

Rex scowled and rubbed at his sore chin, "We have a lot to get done, Trav. You can hit me again if it help you get your head in the game, but we're short on time. We need to talk defensive strategy."

Travis scowled at him, "You're such an ass." He shook his head, "This doesn't change anything, Rex, but, we can finish this when you aren't such a mess." He gazed down at Rex's injured leg. Throwing the punch seemed to have put Travis in a better mood. His tone was at least conciliatory now.

"It's been a long few weeks," admitted Rex, "come with me. I need to finish assessing the damage to the ship. We need to figure out what we're going to do if those pirates come around again."

He paused, "Are you finished here?" Rex looked back down at the panel Travis had been working on.

Travis looked at Rex, shocked, "Now, that _is_ a change from the old Rex. You actually thought beyond your own little sphere."

Rex shot Travis an annoyed look, "Just answer the question. Spare me the commentary."

"I was just about done. Tek can finish up the rest. Lead the way, 'o great Captain of the 501st," Travis made a grand sweeping gesture indicating that Rex should go first.

Rex shot Travis one last annoyed look, and then replaced his helmet so they could walk and 'talk' more easily. Reading lips was definitely harder to do when you were walking side-by-side. Travis replaced his helmet as well, so he could easily read text messages in his HUD as they walked.

Travis looked at Rex's injured leg, encased in the metallic knee brace, "So, what happened to you anyway?"

Rex hesitated a moment, then answered: "Clone-shredder ammo."

"Clone-shredder?" repeated Travis, "well, you are full of surprises. I hadn't realized the Seps' were using that yet."

"They're not. I was on a covert mission, and despite everything that has happened, it's all still classified H.C."

"If it's highly-classified, then why are you telling me? I don't have the same rank or clearance as you."

They had just emerged from the ship, and stepped outside the hatch. Rex stopped, and faced Travis: "Because I trust you, Travis, and at one point on Kamino we were friends. Good friends. And, you trusted me."

Rex turned around, and started walking again, struggling through the snow. Travis just stood there a moment, speechless, before following him.

# # #


	37. Chapter 37 Big guns

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 37**

Rex and Travis stood outside the ship, not far from the battlefield remains of the impressive snowball conflict of hours earlier. They were deep in discussion about creating a defensible perimeter around the newly named 'Ando Base Camp.' Tents were springing up quickly, and emergency supplies were being offloaded from the downed ship. Travis looked out at the surroundings, and frowned.

"This is not good. We're really exposed out here," Travis scowled as he studied the perimeter. "Other than that bit of trees and scrub there's just not enough natural cover. We _need_ to find a more defensible position. Have the scouts reported back in yet?"

Rex shook his head, "No." Rex looked over at the meager tree and brush line, then back at their downed vessel, "I agree, Travis. But, we can't move the ship, and we can't move some of our men. I don't think the spinal guys can survive outside the ship. They're not dressed for it. None of them are in bodysuits or armor. They'll freeze. And, I'm _not_ leaving them behind," Rex raised up one hand to point for emphasis, "**no **trooper gets left behind. Not anymore," Rex shook his head, bitterness creeping back into his tone for a moment, remembering the hurt of being decommissioned. His voice dropped, as if he could somehow be overheard by the Jedi, and he shook his head sadly, "I won't do to them what the Republic did to us."

Travis shook his head, sadly, also giving a brief glance back over his shoulder toward the ship, before he said in a hushed voice, "How did you know those guys in there even want to live? None of them can walk- most can't use their arms. What are they going to do for the rest of their lives, other than just stare at the ceiling and wait for the day when the rest of their body shuts down? What kind of life is that for a soldier?"

"How do you know they want to die?" Rex challenged. "Has anyone asked them?"

"Did anyone ask us before they packed us on this ship?" Travis countered.

Rex raised up his hand to make a point back to Travis, but started losing his balance in the ice and snow. Travis grabbed at his arm and steadied him, and then shook his head at Rex. "Sit down before you fall down, you stubborn di'kut," [idiot] Travis said to Rex. He pointed at a nearby overturned storage crate, "Rex! Sit!"

Rex looked rebelliously at Travis a moment, and at the crate, wanting to refuse just because it was, well, Travis. The two men locked gazes through their helmet visors, just glaring at each other. Then, Rex relented, and nodded. He didn't realize until that moment how exhausted he was, and had to lean on Travis heavily on Travis. Travis held on to him, and was surprisingly gentle as he eased Rex down onto the crate. Rex was not quite able to stifle a groan from his broken ribs.

"You know, that was stupidly brave- what you did right before we landed," Travis said, regarding Rex critically, "and, very typical of you."

Rex raised up an eyebrow at Travis, and finally huffed out a breath tiredly, saying: "It just had to be done, Travis. That's all there was to it."

"Yeah, and somehow you're always the guy to do it," Travis countered, staring at Rex critically, arms folded across his chest.

Rex looked up at Travis, annoyed, "Do you have a point here, Travis?"

Travis shrugged, "No, not really. Just never met a clone with such a big hero complex as you. Thought we were supposed to be genetically identical, and all that. But, you always seem to be taking things one step further than everybody else," Travis pointed at Rex, as he emphasized his last point, "there's something different about you, Rex."

A strange expression crossed Rex's face, a look of almost panic. As quickly as the look appeared, it was gone again. "You're imagining things. There's nothing different about me," Rex's mouth quirked up in a grin, and he looked up at his hair, "except maybe my great hair."

Travis regarded Rex critically, "Your changing the subject."

"Am not," Rex said, defensively, "you should do something with your hair."

"Are too," Travis said, "why are we talking about hair?"

"Your hair is uptight as the rest of you, Travis," Rex said, pointing at Travis' head, "you need to loosen up a bit. Start by ditching that Kamino-cut hair. Blech! Boring!"

Travis gave Rex one last critical look, and then shrugged. He ran a hand over his hair, then said defensively, "This cut looks good on me."

"You and two million other clones," Rex said, rolling his eyes. "Borrring!"

"If we're done discussing my hair," Travis said, defensively, "could we talk about defensive strategy? I don't think we've seen the last of those pirates."

"Agreed," Rex said, "and, we're an easy target here. Obviously, with your black hair making us stand out against all this white snow, and all."

Travis whipped his hand back like he was going to smack Rex. Rex just burst out laughing.

"You're lucky your injured, Rex, or I'd do it, too. As soon as you're healed, you and I are going a round or two."

Still chuckling, Rex said: "Can't wait." Getting more serious again, Rex said: "OK, let's discuss some scenarios. Say we restore communications. The Republic gets in touch with us. What then?"

Probably not even realizing he was doing so, Travis self-consciously ran a hand over the hair on the back of his head, "Well, that's probably about the worst thing that could happen to us right now. Ask any man here, and I think they'd all agree it's a far better to death for a soldier to die here on this frozen planet, than die in some infirmary on Kamino. I certainly don't want the cold blue eyes of Ko Sai and her creepy minions to be the last thing I ever see."

"I agree," Rex nodded his head thoughtfully, trying not to grin at Travis and his newfound hair obsession, "OK, then, restoring communications needs to be off the repair list. Permanently."

"I could accidentally misplace a key component," said Travis, twirling a lock of his hair between thumb and forefinger, "I have been known to be forgetful."

Rex snorted at that, "You?"

"It's a new skill I've been working on," said Travis, defensively, rubbing the palm of one hand against his hair.

Rex desperately wanted to go someplace so he could burst out laughing. But, he needed to finish discussing operational details with Travis first.

"I'm headed inside to see if I can lend a hand to the repair teams. Not having any kind of sensors, or big guns, makes me edgy."

"You and your big guns," Travis said, shaking his head.

Rex narrowed his eyebrows at Travis, then clarified, "The repair teams think they can jury rig some of our weapons to at least mount something on the roof to fire at an incoming hostile. Tie it in with sensors, assuming we can get those working again, which so far we haven't been able to…. But, now that we have at least partial power restored well, we're trying some new stuff… Might not work, but it's worth a try… It won't be pretty, but it could keep us from being melted into slag if something comes at us from above. As you said, we likely haven't seen the last of them."

Travis nodded, "Yeah, agreed. And, big guns are good. Sensors, would be great to know what's coming at us **before** it gets here," Travis eyed Rex's bad leg, "A little less activity would benefit you right now. Get off that leg for a while."

Rex raised his eyebrows in surprise. He was touched by Travis' concern for his well-being. Now, he was feeling bad for giving him such a hard time about his hair.

"Hey, Travis, about your hair-" Rex started, in a conciliatory tone.

"-Yeah, Rex, I get it," Travis said, quickly, cutting him off before he could finish, "I'll cut it, or shave it, or color it, or whatever, so it meets your exacting 501st standards of creativity and originality as soon as I'm finished making sure we survive another day here, OK?"

"No, Travis, you misunderstood-" Rex started, trying to explain.

"Look, I'm gathering together the able-bodied men for some defensive drills. I have a lot of work to do. I'll check in with you later," Travis gave Rex a stiff, formal salute, and walked away without saying another word.

Rex sighed, and watched him leave. He grabbed his crutches, and pulled himself stiffly to his feet with a groan. Might as well focus my energies on keeping us alive for another 24 hours, or making things right between me and Travis will be a rather moot point.

# # #

It was a busy afternoon of overseeing repairs on the ship.

Not overly surprising, it was determined the ship would never fly again, short of completely replacing the outer hull. However, one of the inner crew compartments had survived intact, so it was still usable as a shelter from the cold. So, they continued to work on restoring power, restoring some of the sensors, and trying to get the cockpit doors open.

Late in the day, they finally soddered their way through the cockpit doors. A great cheer went up, as Odds and Chance were freed from the cockpit. Rex was on hand outside the door to welcome them as they came out. They were hungry, thirsty, and had to pee very badly, but were otherwise not much worse for the wear. After eating and using the refresher, ironically, the two pilots actually returned to the cockpit.

"Captain, with power restored now to some of the systems, we're getting some readings from the sensors. We're detecting some activity in space right above the planet. We can't tell what it is yet, but we'd like to continue to monitor," advised Odds.

Rex thanked the two pilots for their dedication, and asked them to keep him informed of every development. His sixth sense was tingling, telling him something was getting ready to happen.

# # #

The scouts reported in shortly before dark. They'd come across a river two kliks east. They'd sampled the water, and it was drinkable. They'd followed the river downstream and further down, the river spilled out into the ocean. Rex had seen from orbit that the planet had a great deal of ocean. He just hadn't realized they'd crashed so close to water. This was a bit of good fortune. Provided they could fish, they now had a reliable food source. Not that he doubted the skills of the troopers when it came to hunting. After all, they'd done nothing but train to shoot and kill since they were toddlers. But, running was an issue for some of the clones, including him. So, not having to chase down all their food made their odds of survival better. While looking out onto the ocean, Sabre reported seeing flashes of light. He believed it to be light reflecting off the metallic of a ship. So, perhaps they'd crashed in the vicinity of one of Ando's fishing communities? He requested permission to stay overnight where they were, and continue scouting in the morning. Rex talked it over with Travis. He was hesitant at first, reluctant to split up the group at all on their first on planet. Sabre said there were a number of natural coves on the beach which would provide adequate shelter from the elements. They could use all the recon they could get since the ship was immobile, and the sensors were down. While it made him uneasy, he decided to trust in Sabre's judgment. He granted permission for the leader of the scouts to stay in position and continue scouting in the morning. Rex just hoped his scouts would be OK, and he hadn't signed the first four death warrants of his new team.


	38. Chapter 38 Hok

Revised: October 25, 2012

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 38**

Rex sat on an overturned storage crate in front of the campfire. There were some scraggly trees about, indicating the area must thaw at some time of the year. Combined with various scrap from the ship, the troopers had created an impressive bonfire. Except for those on watch duty, and those watching over the wounded inside, the entire group was outside gathered around the fire. Rex had just come from checking inside in the biobeds. He'd had a lengthy conversation with 'Catcher,' an ARC who turned out to be a close personal friend of Commander Bly. Rex had told Catcher about the time he'd crashed with Bly on Maridun, the deadly creatures they'd faced off against, and the subsequent battle he and Bly had engaged in against the Confederacy General Lok Durd. Rex could hear some of the deep emotional pain in Catcher's voice when he spoke of K Company, and finding out he was permanently dismissed from the 327th Star Corps. Rex was deeply lost in thought, trying to think of ways to help the ARC.

Travis walked past the campfire and handed Rex a rations bar, and a bottle of water. Rex shifted over on the crate, making room for Travis to sit down. Travis settled in comfortably next to Rex, making sure to shove Rex with his hip first, just to annoy him.

"Aw, come on Travis, we're both 11 now," Rex growled, "let's try to act our age."

Travis just chuckled, shaking his head, "You haven't changed."

"Neither have you, apparently."

Travis laughed again. "We need to share the water," Travis said, switching topics, as he nodded toward the bottle he'd just handed Rex, "we don't have many of these left."

Rex nodded, "I'm not too concerned about water, not on this planet." Rex gestured to all the snow underfoot. "But, even if all this stuff thaws, the scouts found us a supply of fresh water. Seems this planet is more hospitable than it looks from orbit. Nice to crash someplace that doesn't try to kill us within the first ten minutes of touchdown."

Rex took off his helmet so he could eat. As he chewed the tasteless ration bar, he filled Travis in on the initial report from the scouts. As Travis commented back on the findings, Rex nodded with satisfaction. Travis pulled up a mini-display on his wrist and showed Rex an updated roster of who was aboard the ship. Travis gestured with his hands, talking about drills he wanted to run in the morning. He went over the many different ways he could accommodate various types of injuries.

"Very creative," Rex said, as Travis finished his report, "I'm impressed."

Travis grabbed at his heart, "Ouch! I can't take it! A compliment!"

Rex elbowed Travis sharply in the gut, "Quit it."

"Ooooph," Travis said, reaching one hand to smack Rex in the head, but Rex expertly dodged him.

"Ah, you're still fast. That's good," Travis said.

Rex eyed him warily, as he chewed his ration bar, waiting to see if Travis was going to pull anything else.

"So, you concerned about the scouts staying out there overnight?" Travis asked after a moment, looking off into the pitch black surrounding them. With no lights from any cities, the darkness was complete.

"Yes," Rex admitted, without hesitation, looking into the darkness.

"Yet, you agreed to let them stay out there because…"

"I wanted to show the team I trusted their judgment. And, because they are in a position to gather valuable intel."

"A calculated risk for the good of the whole."

Rex nodded, looking grim and uneasy.

"Even when the good of the whole could mean sacrificing individuals."

"This isn't command school, Travis," Rex said, giving Travis an acidic look.

"Yet, that's what you're thinking?"

Rex's brown eyes blazed into Travis' identical ones.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Travis insisted.

"You're a total shabbuir, is what you are." [jackass].

"But, that's what's bugging you," Travis pushed, "the burden of command. Always worried if you've sent men out to die."

"Yes! Travis!" Rex hissed, trying to keep his voice low enough not to disturb the other men around the campfire, "it _is _bugging me, OK? It's not the first time. It's happened to me many, many times. Too many times. And, it never gets any easier. If I had known how many men would die under my command, Travis, I never have accepted the promotion into command school." Rex turned away.

Travis stared at him, stunned. "I can't believe you just said that."

Rex said nothing, just continued to stare off into the darkness.

"If you're talking right now, I can't hear you. Totally deaf, remember?" Travis said to Rex's back.

Rex turned back around. "I wasn't talking, Travis. And, I haven't forgotten that you are deaf. Although mute might have been a more palatable injury."

"Oh, that's cold, even for a place like this," Travis said, gesturing to the snow. "But, you're upset, so I'll just let that comment slide."

Rex turned away again. A long moment of silence ensued.

"You're still not saying anything, right? Because without our buckets on, I can't hear a thing."

Rex turned back around, "No, Travis. Unlike you, I am not constantly always yammering."

"Yeah, OK, just checking… You know, much as I hate to admit it, and this bugs me to know end, but, you're considered like," Travis rolled his eyes, "the finest officer in the entire GAR."

Rex looked at Travis for a long moment, trying to judge his sincerity, "Travis, if you would've lost the men I have, I don't think you would have coveted this position so much." He sighed heavily, the pain he was feeling so clearly evident in his eyes. "Since we left Kamino, Travis. They came on right on top of each other. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, that it would never get any worse than this..." Rex shook his head as if in denial, "Travis, if you could have seen it, "Christophsis," Rex grimaced, "I was betrayed by one of my own men," Travis' eyes went wide at that," Rex paused for a long time, lost in the memories, before he finally continued, "and, then, Bothawaui," he paused, again, Travis, just waited patiently, until Rex continued. Rex swallowed hard, and finally whispered, "Teth." He looked away, and was silent for a long while.

He felt Travis grip his arm. Rex looked back, and quickly swiped at the corner of one eye. Travis looked away, and pretended not to notice, "Hey, uh, I know I always give you a hard time about, well, everything. Always have since we were, uh, well, little cadets, and all. Because, well, I was always better at everything, and, somehow, but, uh, somehow they ended up picking you for the big command job and all. But, if you ever want to take a walk. Well," Travis looked at Rex's bad leg, "uh, you know what I mean, uh, sit someplace quiet, and talk, just us two brothers, well, I mean, uh, -"

"I appreciate that, Travis," Rex said, "especially coming from you. That can't have been easy for you to say."

"It wasn't," Travis admitted, "it really wasn't."

"And, no, I don't want to talk about it," Rex said, forcefully, "but then added, "thanks, though."

The two sat in silence for a long moment, just staring into the flames.

"Hey, do you mind if I called and checked in on the scouts in another hour or two? Don't know what it is, but I'm just getting a bad feeling. I'd feel better if I checked in with them," Travis said.

"Be my guest, call away," Rex muttered, "your obsessiveness to detail is why I picked you."

"Well, actually, you picked that other guy first," Travis corrected, "but, he was knocked out by a head injury 30 minutes after you picked him. I won't read too much into that, though."

Rex just shook his head, muttering, but underneath it all, there was a glimmer of a smile.

# # #

"OK, who gets to sleep on these cozy beds of frozen sand, and who wants the joy of first watch?"

Back at the coast, the four scouts were settling in for the night. Earlier in the evening, they'd sat around on a driftwood log, chatting about bolo teams and the championships. They talked about meeting Captain Rex of the 501st, and his heroics in saving the men in the biobeds. Then, they compared notes, talking about some of the other interesting people they'd met from the ship, and any interesting armor upgrades or specialized weapons they had. By unspoken consensus, they stayed away from the topic of Kamino. It had been an exciting day, but a good day, and everyone was in good spirits.

Hok, leader of the scouts, volunteered to take first watch. He wasn't particularly sleepy yet anyway. He paced back and forth, occasionally checking in on his sleeping men. The moon had an orangish tint to it, likely caused by some phenomena in the atmosphere. On Coruscant, the moon was never visible due to all the competing glare from the city-planet's lights. Hok had never liked being stationed on Coruscant. The whole place felt jittery, strung out and five minutes late for _something_.

Hok remembered been stationed on planets where smoke from their battles quickly obscured any chance of seeing the stars and moons in the night sky. Well, tonight was going to be different. If fate hadn't intervened, he would have died today, or shortly thereafter, at the hands of the Kaminoans. Hok decided he was going to take the time to admire the moon, and all the other things he'd been missing out on from now on. So, after taking one last peek at his peacefully sleeping team, he found himself a comfortable place to sit on the beach. He laid his blaster carefully across his lap, craned his neck back, and studied the moon. After a while, though, he got a crick in his neck. He took a long look up and down the beach. He took another look back toward his peacefully sleeping men. And, then, he just lay all the way back, so he could rest his head comfortably onto his hands, and stare up at the moon. It had risen all the way and was dominating much of the sky. The color was absolutely magnificent—shot through with oranges and grey that seemed so luminescent, yet strangely muted at the same time. Hok reached a hand up, feeling like if he could just get his arm up to the right height, he could touch it. He sighed with pure satisfaction, knowing at the same time if he ever caught one of his men lingering on guard duty like this he'd totally be blistering their ears out about it for weeks.

His attention was so fixed on the moon above, he did not notice the large sea creature poke its' head up out of the water and focus hungry eyes on him. Hok rose up, and glanced back again toward his sleeping men, assuring himself that they were well. Hok liked this planet- nobody was shooting at them. He sighed contentedly, and settled back down again.

_Just another five minutes, and then I'll get back to rounds_, Hok thought. _What a gorgeous night! The only thing that could make this moment more perfect, he thought, would be a beautiful woman to share this with... He c_losed his eyes for a moment, trying to imagine the perfect woman.

The enormous sea reptile silently left the water and rippled onto the sand- his stealth all the more impressive considering his sheer size. The dragonesque creature was at least four times longer than Hok as he silently slid up behind him.

_I wonder if I'll ever even get a chance to meet a girl?_ Hok wondered, gazing up at the moon. _Not like there's a lot of chances for that kind of stuff in GAR life. How many civilian women have I had the opportunity to meet over the past three years? Hmmm… won't take long to add that list all together, since there have only been-_

Hok never had a chance to complete that thought. His danger sense suddenly flared, and he sprang to his feet, blaster in hand.

He heard a loud crack of plastoid snapping and giving way as something very sharp clamped down on his leg and side. He screamed as the razor sharp teeth penetrated through his armor and into the muscle and flesh underneath. In a flash, Hok realized his leg might not even have been the intended target. A moment or two earlier, his head and neck were in that same place. If not for his quickened clone reaction time, his head would now have been down the beach from his body. The creature reared up taking Hok with it, bellowing in rage, with the realization that it's prey was still alive and fighting back. Adrenaline flooded Hok's body allowing him to temporarily block out the pain from his side and leg. His arms were still free and he could still fire. He focused intently on trying to get a clear shot at whatever it was that had him in its' grip. But, all he could see were teeth, tentacles, and a flailing tale.

_Shab! Where are the vulnerable spots? The eyes? Inside of the ears? Someway to hit the brain? There! The eye!_

Hok focused and squeezed off a carefully aimed shot. The creature bellowed in rage, and suddenly bit down harder. Hok yelled in agony as he felt tissues in his leg tear apart. Judging by the creatures' reaction, he must have scored a direct hit. The pain was absolutely intense, and Hok started seeing blackness in front of his vision. He thought he might pass out. Hok began firing as fast as he could all around him, trying to disable the creature before the creature finished him off. He heard the creature bellow in pain again.

Hok felt a surge of victory, and thought that he would now be let go. _Come on__, __you__ big, ugly meat bag!_ _Let me go!_ But, as the creature continue to bellow in pain, he just grabbed Hok that much harder. Hok screamed in pain again. The creature began dragging Hok backwards toward the ocean.

Hok began yelling louder, and suddenly turned his speakers on external so his men could hear him. He could hear his men running, shouting for him. They must have heard the bellows of the sea creature and the blaster fire. _Why aren't they firing? _Hok thought, frustrated, then, of course. _Oh, yeah, they don't want to hit me._ "Shoot it! Shoot it! Ahhhhhh!" Hok screamed, as the creature clamped down again. Hok immediately heard the sound of blaster fire, and saw his men in formation with their sights on the creature. All of them dropped down to one knee and began firing on the creature.

Hok was in agony, and felt like the creature was biting him in half. Even in the dark, with just the moonlight, he could see blood spilling everywhere over his armor. If it wasn't for his armor, Hok was sure he'd be in two separate pieces already. His men were already firing, but at this point Hok was in a full-on panic. He was in so much pain he couldn't think straight anymore. He heard his men shouting for him, but his breathing was so ragged, he couldn't respond. _What was there to say anyway? Yes, I'm here, and yes, I'm being chewed in two? _ Hok continued to hear the blaster fire, and continued to hear the creature bellow in pain and rage. The reptile must have very impressive natural armor to be able to withstand this much blaster fire. The clones could do well against the Separatists if they had some next phase armor made of this creatures' thick reptilian outer layer, Hok thought grimly.

And, then, suddenly the creature was moving at twice the speed it was before. Except this time, the creature was diving back into the water, and unfortunately for Hok, the creature was not letting go of 'its prize.' Hok's last thought before he hit the water was _'Forget Kamino. I guess I'm going to die on this day after all.'_

# # #

The Ando Fishing Fleet was not what it once was. How could it be? The planet had lost half its population.

Stupid men.

Ashla hauled up the net and stared at the contents in the bright glare of the fishing trawler's spotlight. A gust of wind blew across the ocean's surface. Ashla pulled her parka more tightly around her, trying to find some warmth against the chilly night winds that gusted across the ocean. She clapped her hands together to get some warmth into them.

She turned to the women next to her, "Jade, why are we up at this Hutt-forsaken hour? Normal people sleep at night."

The woman next to her laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, don't complain to me. Take it out on your sister, the town's biggest Science Geek. She was always the one who was playing with her microscope, when she should have been out chasing boys, like the rest of us."

Jade sighed, "Those were the days, huh? Sure miss that. The chasing. The _men_." She looked at the third woman, "Aw, come on, Xyra. Even you must miss 'em. Your microscopes are no substitute for a good man by your side."

The third woman, who was on her knees, closely examining one of the creatures with a scanner, completely ignored her statement. "OK, you two, cut the chitchat. We have a lot of work to do tonight. If we focus just on the eleven-legged starfish, we can probably haul in-"

All three women were suddenly silenced by the shots and blaster fire at shore.

"Whoa! What was that?" Jade looked at Xyra, "this part of Ando is supposed to be completely uninhabited!"

Ashla pointed a finger at Xyra, "I told you, didn't I? Both Maya and Lily _swore_ they saw what looked like a ship coming down sometime yesterday. Karyn was going to head over here to the WestShore first thing in the morning and check it out. She just wanted to gather a good sized group first, in case it might be _pirates._"

Jade put one hand on the blaster at her hip, "Oh, if it is pirates, We'll give them one hell of a welcome to Ando. Ashla! Shine the light-"

Ashla already had the same thought, and had retreated to the Captain's cabin of the fishing trawler. The ship's spotlight was aimed toward shore just in time to catch the tale end of the drama unfolding.

"I can't be sure. It's been so long, but I think those might be soldiers from the Republic," Jade gasped, grabbing a pair of binoculars and trying to make out the insignias on the uniforms.

"Men!" Ashla said, finding her binoculars, and staring at the soldiers in fascination.

"Oh, wow, a full-sized specimen of an adult oppee," Xyra said, gazing calmly through her high-powered science binoculars, "that is an unusually large one, too."

All three then heard the screaming at the same time, and Xyra quickly readjusted the spotlight. The three women gasped in horror.

"Oh no!" Ashla said, immediately spinning the wheel of the trawler and adjusting the ship toward shore.

Jade grabbed onto Xyra, "The oppee's got one of the men!"

Xyra smacked at Jade's hand, "Let go of me! That oppee's going to break for the water!" She shoved her binoculars in Jade's hands, "I have to get the depth charges!"

As Jade watched the scene unfold in horror, Xyra ran down below in the trawler. She emerged a moment later with a red box in hand.

"Bring us in as close as you can!" she bellowed up to Ashla.

"Can't go any closer than this!" Ashla yelled down, "there are rocks closer to shore. "We'll be run aground!"

"The oppee's making for the water, Xyra!" Jade shouted, looking through the binoculars, panic evident in her voice. "He's dragging him under!"

"I'm ready for him," Xyra said, her voice rock steady. She stood by the railing of the ship, a depth charge in each hand.

They watched the inevitable as the sea creature quickly dragged his struggling prey into the water, and began swimming extremely quickly for deep water. As soon as he did, Xyra dropped the first depth charge.

A BOOM resounded under the ship lifting it up slightly. The oppee floated to the surface, stunned, its prey still gripped in its' jaws. Jade, Xyra and Ashla all drew their blasters and began firing on the creature, careful not to shoot the unmoving, white armored men still grasped in its' jaws. The oppee startled, and dove back under.

Jade let out a long impressive string of courses in ancient Andoan.

Xyra glanced over at her. "Figures that would be all you'd remember from your Ancient Ando studies classes," Xyra shook her head, not looking up. She tossed the second depth charge, aiming at the area where the sea creature had disappeared. Once again, the ship lifted up with a resounding boom.

They looked around for the sea creature.

"Where is it?" Ashla said, searching around with the spotlight. They flashed the spotlight around and around on the surface of the dark water. Fog was started to roll in, making their search even more difficult.

"Xyra! Another charge!" Jade shouted, desperately.

"No, just wait," Xyra said, "another charge might kill the man."

They waited, the spotlight still circling and circling, the tension mounting. They could hear the desperate cries of the men on shore, shouting for their stolen friend.

"There!" Ashla shouted, the spotlight, pointing to a dark shape floating along the surface. It was the sea creature, floating weakly, just part of him visible. They couldn't see his prey. He was still submerged below the surface. The three women were ready, blasters drawn.

"This pains me," Xyra said, "such a beautiful oppee, too." She began firing methodically at the creature, joined by the other two women. They methodically kept firing at the creature until it stopped moving.

"Jade, the scoop net!" Xyra bellowed. "We need to find the head! The jaws should release the prey now."

"Already on it," Jade said, appearing at her elbow with the long handled net.

Ashla kept shining the spotlight, "OK, I'm at a loss here guys. Where the heck is the head? Does anyone see this guy? He might already have sunk. I'm not seeing him."

"Skrag!" Xyra said, biting her lip with frustration.

"Language," Jade said, sarcastically.

Together, they maneuvered the long-handled net, poking at the unmoving sea creature.

"Xyra?" Jade said, her voice getting desperate, "I'm not seeing him. What do we do?"

The shouts from the three men onshore added to the tense atmosphere.

"There!" Ashla pointed, "I just saw a flash of white!"

Jade and Ashla together tried to maneuver the scoop net to grab up the unmoving white armored figure. His armor must have provided him with some small amount of buoyancy, because he floated for just a moment. But, then he began to sink.

"NO!" Ashla cried. Despite the bright spotlight, he began sinking from sight, disappearing into the dark sea.

"NO!" Ashla and Jade cried together.

The three men on shore picked up on their cries, "NO!"

Xyra began quickly stripping off her warm fisherman's coat.

"Xyra! What are you doing?" Jade cried out in alarm. But, it was too late. Xyra had already plunged off the side of the ship.

# # #


	39. Chapter 39 Comfortably Numb

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Comfortably**_**Numb**_

**Chapter 39**

_There is no pain you are receding  
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon.  
You are only coming through in waves.  
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying._

_- Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb_

Hok could feel himself sinking. Dimly, he was aware that the creature had released him. There was some comfort in knowing he wasn't going to die from being eaten. He'd always imagined being torn piece by piece by a rancor as one of the worst possible deaths. Initially, being dragged by the sea creature had set him into a full-scale panic. He knew he must be in shock now because he no longer felt any pain. Strangely, he now felt at peace. He knew his suit had been breached in multiple places because he wasn't even cold. He was comfortably numb. He watched dark bubbles drift by his visor with a kind of dispassionate interest. _Bubbles._

He couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not. He knew that his suit had twenty minutes of air, sealed for the vacuum of space and in case of a watery plunge, just such as this. _Bubbles. _Hok was finding it difficult to concentrate. _Nice_ _bubbles._

If the creature hadn't bitten him from the neck up, he probably still had air. The seals on his helmet were probably still holding. As Hok watched the dark ocean water drift past, he wondered why that mattered. He continued to drift. Ah, but the pressure will kill me. So many ways to die… This wasn't such a bad way to go, really. It was peaceful down here in the ocean, actually. _Lots of tiny bubbles going by. Tiny bubbles. In the sea. _

He was having difficulties concentrating, at the moment. Well, what was there to concentrate on anyway? He was drowning. _Not like there was a right way and a wrong way to do this. Hey, clone. You are going to get a performance score on how well you drown. Nope. Sorry. Go back and do it again! Heh. That was funny. Yeah. Hok. You're a funny guy when you are drowning. Too bad you have no one to share it with. Hey, where did that big ugly sea creature go? Maybe I could share some of these great one-liners with him. Her? How do you tell the difference? Bubbles…_

_No, scratch that. I don't want Mama sea beastie to come back. Getting bit hurt. Yes, well, you'd think it would. Sea beasties having all those big teeth and all... Seafood, I like seafood. Stands to reason they like us, huh? Well, at least it didn't boil me alive. That would hurt. Huh. Nuh, OK, I don't really want to give that one too much thought because with my armor and all I do kind of resemble some of those critters that you cook in their own shells. What do they call those back on Corrie?_

_No, no, let's stop thinking about Cooked Hok. Would I taste good? I hope not. I want to leave this world in one piece, not many little itty bitty pieces._

Yup. Hok decided to think about something else, entirely. No sense dwelling on unpleasant things if these were going to be his last few thingies he was going to be thinking about...

_Last thoughts? Huh? Oooooh, that was a pretty bubble. Big, too. Wish I could have said good bye to my team. I mean, something other than: 'Shoot it! Shoot it! Aaaah, gurgle, gurgle.' Jagger, Saber and Flex. Yeah, we're all deaf as the day is long, but, still, we could have made a good go of it here with Captain Rex. Stupid sea beastie. Seriously, did you have to eat me just when I got a second chance?_

Here he was dying and he'd never kissed a girl. Shouldn't every guy get to kiss a girl at least once before they die? Shouldn't there be some cosmic rule? Hok really wanted to kiss a girl. Just once. Hok sighed. Oh, I must have some air. Can't sigh without air.

Granted that was always a far-fetched fantasy. How many girls have I ever really seen anyway, other than Twilek pin-up posters? Hok wasn't necessary into Twileks, as nicely endowed as they were. He just always thought it would have been nice to have a kiss…

Hok's random musings were abruptly interrupted.

_Shab! What now? Can't a man drown in peace?_

Hok felt something grab onto him. His arms were clamped tightly against his sides. He didn't like the feeling at all. He felt trapped. He struggled against his new attacker. Hok suddenly realized he was being dragged again. Another sea creature? So much for my peaceful death at sea…

Hok felt a lot of pressure building up in his ears as he was tugged forcefully through the water. _Shab! My ears! _The pain was worse on one side than the other.

Hok tried to turn his head to see what had him in its' grip, but the pain in his head was so blinding. Ah! The pressure! My ears! He also couldn't see anything other than bubbling water rushing past. Hok felt something POP in one of his ears. My eardrum? He felt fluid dribbling down. The sense of pressure eased a bit.

Alright, beastie, let me see if I can take a piece of you down with me! Hok succeeded in flexing his arms enough to extend his vibroblade. _Hah! OK, now if I could just get enough leverage to swing my arms… Not going down without slicing off a piece of you…_

Hok continued to struggle. At that moment, they broke the surface of the water. Hok was stunned by a bright spotlight shining directly into his visor.

"Ashla!" a breathless voice bellowed from right behind his head, "I've got him! Reel us in! He's fighting me!... Hey, I'm on your side! Stop struggling before I end up dropping you!"

Hok froze, stunned. He looked up in shock at the seemingly huge boat right above him. His half-frozen brain tried to comprehend everything that was happening. He tried to turn his head, and see who it was that was holding him.

Fog had completely swirled in over the ocean, giving everything a surreal atmosphere.

_What?_

His brain tried to catch up with this completely unexpected turn of events.

"Yeah, that's better. Just hold still, OK, soldier? I know you're hurt. I've got you. We'll have you on ship in a minute. We're going to help you," the voice behind him sounded winded and breathless. It also sounded nothing like one of his brothers.

Not a brother.

Hok tried to wrap his mind around that, and make sense of it. _Not a brother. Then, who? Who is holding me?_

Hok felt blackness overtaking him. Adrenaline had carried his body this far, but now his body was shutting down.

_Rescued?_ His mind whispered the word to him, and Hok was stunned as he realized the significance. As much as he wanted to stay awake and see how this played out, he felt consciousness slipping away. Hok fought against it, struggling to stay awake. He wanted to see his rescuer. He tried to twist again and see who it was that was holding him, but his body seemed to be moving very slowly. He remembered to retract his vibroblade back into its' sheath. Poor manners to stab your rescuer.

Hok was able to catch a glimpse of his rescuer. Whoa. Not a sea monster, after all. Soaked. Hair plastered down. Flushed cheeks. Beautiful green eyes. Red lips. No, not a sea monster, at all. Ah, shab. Hok couldn't stay away any longer. He felt the blackness swallow him up completely.

# # #


	40. Chapter 40 Sea Wookies

_Author's Notes: This chapter was revised on March 5__th__, 2012. As I mentioned previously, I made a mistake in the rank of Travis. He should be a Lieutenant, and not a Commander, (don't know what I was thinking.) Anyway, I corrected this throughout the chapter. Many thanks to Sachariah who provided a great read-through on the original chapter. If there was an award for MVP on this site, you would most certainly get it. A note on the eleven-legged starfish, actually, it's not such a far-fetched concept. They actually exist here on earth. All of the sea creatures mentioned in this chapter, (except the oppee), are real, and are actually used in healing. The oppee was the smallest of the reptiles in the sea creature sequence on Naboo. Glad you're enjoying the character of Hok. He'll continue to pop up throughout the story, right through until the end._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 40**

Xyra felt the form in her arms twist, and then go completely slack. Before he slumped unconscious, she did get the sensation he was looking up at her through the T-visor of his helmet.

"Hurry up, guys!" Xyra shouted, clutching the slumped over form, "I don't think he's doing so good!"

She was quickly hauled onboard _The Manifest Destiny _clutching her hard-won burden. Xyra collapsed onto the deck, shivering uncontrollably, her arms still wrapped tightly around the stranger in white armor.

Jade pulled the two apart, laying the injured soldier aside for the moment.

Jade grabbed Xyla's thick coat from where she'd had it waiting nearby and quickly wrapped her sister in it. "You have done some insane things sister, but this tops it," she muttered. She thrust a thermos into her sisters hands, quickly yanked off the cap, and poured a steaming cupful of liquid into it. "Drink!" Her sister opened her shaking jaws obediently, and Jade poured the steaming liquid between them. "More!" Jade demanded, making sure she drank the whole cup. "OK," Jade said, satisfied, giving her a hand up, "let's get both of you below."

"I'm good. I'm good," Xyra insisted, as soon as she was upright, "I can help get him carry him."

"You are bloody insane, is what you are, Xyra! But, we'll talk about that later!" Ashla agreed, as the three of them worked to carry Hok below, "But, shouldn't we let the other soldier guys onshore know we've got him onboard?"

The three of them paused for a moment, and peered off into the fog. It was completely hugging the coast, completely obscuring the shore from view. They could still make out some shouts from shore, but not specific words.

"Yeah, good thought, but we gotta' just deal with him now," Xyra said, nodding her head toward Hok. "He's in bad shape."

"Alright, but maybe after we get him settled, I could at least try light signals, and signal with the horn," Ashla said, thinking of her Captain duties. "It would be the right thing to do. They must be freaking out."

"Uh… maybe…" Xyra murmured, clearly distracted. She was staring down into Hok's visor as the three women awkwardly carried him. She wished she could see through the helmet. She was hoping for some sign that the injured man had not perished.

"Xyra! Did you even heard what I said?"

"Ashla! I can't think right now! Do what you think is right, OK?"

Ashla peered one last time into the fog before they headed below deck. "Well, I am not broadcasting out on a general radio frequency. "Not with those pirates up there. Karyn said she was headed the WestShore tomorrow. We'll just have to take him back to town with us, and make arrangements through Karyn to return him to his people."

Xyra muttered back an indistinct sound. Between being half-frozen herself, and totally distracted by the person they were carrying, she couldn't focus at all on the conversation.

"Watch!" Jade said, as Xyra nearing stumbled down the stairs.

The scientist barely caught her footing on the narrow ship's stairwell. Jade and Ashla exchanged a sharp look of concern and shook their heads.

"You are _soo _getting it from both of us, once this is done," Jade muttered under her breath at her sister.

Xyra didn't even hear her. Her attention was riveted on the unconscious soldier. The three female crew members finally succeeded in getting the heavy, muscular soldier below deck.

"OK, now, who gets to undress him?" Jade asked brightly.

# # #

"Why do I have to do the stitches?"

"Because you were always much better at sewing than I was. Come on, you know you do incredibly neat stitches. Just look at those curtains you did for the galley."

"Those are _curtains_!"

"As if the needle and thread knows the difference. Get stitching, sister."

"You fish him out of the sea, yet I have to stitch him up. Go figure."

"Hey, do you want to swim with the Oppee next time, or do the sewing?"

"It was your stupid choice to jump in the sea with the 20 foot reptile! Now shut up so I can stitch! And, I'll have you know I am only stitching him up because he is cute!"

Hok dimly heard muffled voices back and forth, shortly before he felt something white hot stab into his side. He moaned, not quite conscious, but not quite unconscious either. He felt someone grab hold of his hand, and give it a gentle pat.

"Hang in there. I know this can't be any fun."

"Fun? Xyra! The man was just dragged through the ocean by an Oppee!"

"How's he doing?"

Hok thought he heard a third voice join in. The scout shook his head, trying to clear his hearing. Although strangely enough, he felt like his hearing had actually improved greatly since his big dunk'n'crunch in the ocean.

He felt someone grab and hold his other hand. "Poor guy. Look what that awful Oppee did to you… Whoa! Look at his leg! Really tore him up good, huh? Hey, you can actually count the individual teeth marks…"

What was an Oppee anyway? And, maybe his half-healed ears were playing tricks on him, but he could swear he was hearing female voices. And, they all seemed to be talking about him. He tried to open his eyes, but his body didn't seem to be up to cooperating yet.

Hok drifted in and out of consciousness. It felt like the white-hot pinpricks went on and on. He groaned.

"There, there. Just hang in there. I know it hurts," he felt someone pat his hand comfortingly, and give it a squeeze. He couldn't remember anyone ever holding his hand before when he was being patched up. It was actually a pleasant sensation, other than the fact he was in terrible pain.

"I'm going to need more thread. The Oppee really did a number on this guy. I've never actually seen an Oppee bite, except for in pics, and in the Ando museum. Didn't he know he was on their hunting grounds?"

"Maybe he's not from around here. We're going to need to numb his side some more because those stitches are going to ache something fierce. We need to numb the leg, too."

"There, I did my part. Now, you do his leg."

"Fine, but, first the sea cucumber, and be generous with it."

Hok tensed up as he felt pressure on his injured leg.

"Easy. It's going to get better in a moment," a voice soothed, "I promise."

The trooper felt something cool and sticky being gently applied to his injured leg. He sighed with relief as some of the pain in his leg began to recede.

"OK, I think that's the best we can do for now. Hmmm… we're going to have to work together on this leg. We need to get this closed up before he bleeds out."

"Fine. Just make sure to use small stitches."

"Small stitches. Got it."

Hok moaned, as he felt the white-hot pinpricks start-up again, this time in his leg, instead of on his side.

"Do you think we numbed him enough? He still seems to be in pain."

"That's all we can do. Sea cucumber to numb it, Then sea urchin and starfish to help the flesh heal, and keep infection at bay… he's in pain because his wounds are deep and there's just so many of them. The oppee tore a great deal of muscle in his leg. I've seen worse, though. He'll make a full recovery. Just keep stitching."

Hok could feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. His whole leg felt like it was on fire. He remembered the oppee chomping down on his leg. He was fortunate it hadn't bitten straight through his leg.

"OK, that should do it, let's clean him up."

Hok felt cool clothes against his skin. He tentatively opened one eye and peered out.

Women! There really were women! He open his other eye and watched as one woman gently held his leg up, and two others scrubbed the blood off of it. He watched with interest as they worked together to bandage his leg. He closed his eyes to just a slit, and watched as they bandaged the wound on his side.

"He's awake," one of the women said, and all three heads were suddenly turned and staring at him openly, curiously.

Hok stared back, in wonderment. Women!

# # #

Sabre, Jag and Flex ran into the water shooting at the sea creature.

"Hok! Hok!"

They looked back and forth at each other in desperation, getting as deep as they dared, without getting to the point where their blasters would short out from the water.

"HOK!"

The three looked at each other, trying to figure out next steps.

"Jag, what do we do?" Sabre asked.

Jag was next in the command chain, if something happened to Hok. Jag wracked his brain for something relevant from his training that would cover a scenario like this. Just at that moment, though, a call came through on his comlink.

"This is Lieutenant Travis, calling the Scout Team for a status update. Come in, Scout Team. Please provide an update. Captain Rex and I are waiting to hear from you."

"Lieutenant!" Jag yelled into his helmet.

"You know, I might be completely deaf. But, according to the optic sensors in my helmet, you're shouting at me," Travis stated calmly.

"Lieutenant!" the scout shouted again, even more desperate.

"Still shouting," Travis pointed out.

"Lieutenant, please listen!" Jag shouted, "we have an emergency situation here! Scout Hok has disappeared!"

Jag retreated back to the beach, and signaled for his team to do the same.

There was a pause, then, "This is Captain Rex, Scout Jag, please advise as to your situation."

"Captain!" Jag breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing Captain Rex's reassuring baritone voice suddenly made the situation seem more manageable. He took a deep breath, and then described what had happened as calmly as possible, "Captain, Scout Hok was on watch. We woke up and some giant sea creature dragged him off. We were unable to intercept. But, it does appear that some of the locals may have intervened."

"Come again?"

"A local fishing boat appeared, Captain. We are hoping that a member of the Ando Fishing fleet picked up Scout Hok. He's wounded, Captain, but we are hoping that he might still be alive."

"Are you currently in danger, Scout Jag? Anymore of those creatures about?"

"I don't think so, Captain. But, we'll stay up the rest of the night, just to be sure.

"Report back at first light. We'll search out this fishing fleet and get back Trooper Hok."

"Thank you, Captain. We'll see you in the morning, then, sir."

"See you then. Captain Rex, out."

# # #

Rex looked at Travis.

"Your bad feelings seem to have a way of being uncannily accurate."

Travis nodded, soberly. "On the bright side. It appears that the locals may be friendly, even if the wildlife is not."

Rex nodded, sighing, "Wouldn't be a proper crashdown if something didn't try to kill us."

# # #

"Careful! Easy now, don't hurt him!"

Hok just looked on in amazement; jaw slightly agape, as the three women bustled around him. They were fluffing his pillow, checking his bandages, feeling his brow, and carefully placing a pillow under his injured leg. Hok noticed he was completely undressed except for his black boxer briefs. He supposed he should be wearing a bit more, for propriety's sake. But, propriety could make an exception because of that big oopsie, or whoopee, or whatever they'd called that sea creature.

"Get him a blanket! Better make it two!"

The scout felt two thick, warm blankets draped on top of him.

"Thank you," he said, his voice sounded rough, thick and gravelly even to his own ears.

"He talks!" one of the women exclaimed, and the three of them just stopped what they were doing and stared at him again.

Hok blushed, feeling self-conscious, "I can write my name, too, if that counts for anything," he rasped out.

One of the women, leaned forward, pulling the blanket a bit tighter around Hok, "Ignore these two idiots. I'm Xyra, chief scientist, this fluff for brains is my little sister, Jade. That's our cousin, Ashla."

"Captain of the boat," Ashla pointed out, pointing a thumb toward her chest.

But, Hok had eyes only for the first woman, "It's you!" he said, in a tone that approached reverence.

Xyra smiled, blushing, "Me?"

Ashla's jaw drop, and she whispered to Jade, "I've never seen your sister blush before. She only gets excited about science junk."

"Sssshhh!" Xyra hissed under her breath, then leaned closer to Hok.

Hok untangled one of his arms from the thick blankets, and he reached up toward Xyra's face. He grimaced from the movement, but seemed determined to complete the action, "I recognize you," he whispered, in wonderment, his fingertips lightly brushed her cheek, "your green eyes. Your red lips. I would recognize you anywhere. You're…." Hok's eyes began to flutter closed. He tried to force the words out. Xyra leaned in even closer, and noticed what a warm shade of brown his eyes were, even as he fought to keep them open. "…you're not the sea beastie."

As Xyra's eyes widened in surprise, Ashla and Jade burst out laughing. The scientist turned around to shush them. When she turned back around to her mystery man from the sea again, he was passed out.

"I didn't even get his name," Xyra muttered in disappointment. She leaned forward, checking his forehead for a fever.

"Sea beastie," Ashla chuckled.

"Oh, that nickname is going to stick," Jade said, rolling her hands in glee, "I'm going to get that one monogrammed so we can put it here on the ship somewhere. Oh, wait! Is it too late to rename the ship?"

"Yes!" Ashla agreed, seizing on the idea, "Sea Beastie is so much more memorable than Manifest Destiny. We could get matching t-shirts made! Imagine the artwork-"

"Cut it out you two," Xyra growled.

But, there was no stopping the women once they'd gotten going on an idea.

"Jade, do you still bring your charcoal pencils along in your gear?" Ashla asked.

"Always! Never know when inspiration strikes," Jade answered, a big smile lighting up her features.

"Oh, cousin, I believe it has just struck big time."

"Out!" Xyra pointed, imperiously.

Ashla laughed, "I believe your sister is kicking us out so she can be alone and exchange more romantic words with her beloved."

The two got up laughing, "You're… not a sea beastie," Jade intoned on the way out, and the two burst into laughter again. Jade squealed and ducked to avoid the fishing boot her sister tossed at her head.

"Sea beastie?" Xyra scoffed? "It will be a hot day in Ando before we are changing the name of this ship!" she called after them, then spared a quick glance back down at the sleeping Hok.

Xyra got up, and stuck her head out the top of the stairs. "Hey, you two, make yourself useful. Check the nets, OK? We're focusing on eleven-legged starfish, tonight, remember? Let's still try to get something else in the freezer before we head back to Andoville. And, radio Karyn. Let her know we're headed back in early—with a visitor!"

Xyra came back down the stairs and perched herself on another one of the couches in the narrow crew quarters, "A visitor to Andoville. Imagine that," she muttered to Hok's sleeping form. She shook her head.

# # #

Hok woke up to hear a pleasant female voice telling him stories. His hearing was cutting in and out so he had to try to piece together the story. "… conflict kept escalating… wiped out all our space-going vessels. … idiots. No, seriously. …they all just took each other out. …have been concentrating on our fishing industry… stupid conflict… wiped out all our ships and all our men…. women insisted that they not take it into the towns, where the children were… So, that only left them the option of bombing each other, out in space…..There were a couple of nasty sneak attacks on some villages on the Eastern shore, and then some retaliations on the Northern shore. Ugly. Terrible. … southern shore… horrible times…. … NONE … came home…" Hok heard the woman's voice hitch… "… no ships… no way to mount a rescue…." She sighed heavily…. "Karyn gathered the survivors together… "… town of less than 500."

Hok was confused, but clearly heard the sadness in the woman's voice.

Hok opened his eyes fully, "Are you OK, ma'am?" he asked. He was surprised how raspy his voice sounded.

Xyra startled, she hadn't realized he was awake. She saw those warm brown eyes looking into hers again, and his first words were concern for her. For some reason, that compassionate gesture almost completely undid her.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she said quickly, swiping at one of her eyes. One of the tears left a little trail by the side of her eye.

Hok was not used to tears, at all. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen somebody cry. He reached a hand up toward her face, wanting to wipe the trail of wetness away.

They both looked at his hand, and Hok suddenly froze. He realized what he was doing, and retracted his hand.

"My apologies, ma'am," he said, gruffly.

They looked at each other, awkwardly, for a moment, both uncertain for a long second what to do.

"How are you feeling?" Xyra asked, quickly, trying to get through the awkwardness of the moment.

"Thirsty," Hok admitted.

"I'll get it!" shouted both Jade and Ashla eagerly from the doorway. Hok looked up at them, puzzled.

Xyra laughed, "Ignore those two. We're not used to company. Your appearance here is something of a novelty for us. Anyway, hello there," she smiled warmly at Hok, "we haven't properly met. I'm Xyra, chief scientist of the Manifest Destiny, the vessel you aboard. The three of us own this ship together. We harvest sea critters that are used in medicinal healing. Unfortunately for us, most of those critters are nocturnal. Fortunately for you, we were nearby when you were grabbed by that Oppee." She gave him a puzzled look, "What were you doing in their hunting grounds?"

Hok blinked, and stared at her, trying to take in everything she'd just said, "Ma'am, first off, my apologies." He raised up hand one to point at his ears, and then grimaced as it pulled on the stitches on his sides. "I lost my hearing. I'm deaf. Basically full-on deaf," he reached his hand up again, this time ignoring the pain from his side. He touched his right ear gingerly, looking puzzled, "Well, I was before the oopdee, or whatever it was," he cocked his head the other way, "Still can't hear out of this one, though."

"Can I ask how you lost your hearing?" Xyra asked gently.

Hok shrugged, then grimaced a bit from the movement. "The war. Concussive injury. Blown eardrums. Last words any of us ever heard were: 'Incoming!'" Hok looked puzzled again. He looked off to the side and was completely off in his own world, "They said there was no chance of any of us getting our hearing back, "Dismissed my whole squad," Hok shook his head in disbelief, "Shabbirs _Haar'chak_ _hut'uunlaaruetycate-"_

Hok suddenly noticed, he had a captive audience, hanging on every word. The other two women had returned as well. "My apologies," the trooper blushed.

Ashla shook her head, and gestured, "We don't speak whatever that was. You could have been quoting performance poetry, for all we know."

Jade smiled, flirtatiously, "Your accent is very sexy. Speak it some more!"

Hok's jaw dropped. He looked at Xyra in confusion. She got the feeling nobody had ever called him sexy before.

"It wasn't poetry," Hok said, gruffly, "so, I do apologize."

"Oh, he's so polite!" Jade said, nodding enthusiastically to Xyra. "Can we keep him?"

"He's not an Andovian sea puppy, Jade!" Xyra said in exasperation back to her sister.

Ashla moved in closer to Hok, and was studying him curiously, "Your ear… the one you can hear out of now, was probably affected by all the pressure changes… Oppees dive very quickly." She came in even closer, leaning in over Xyra, "I can help." She reached her hands up and began massaging his ears tenderly, her voice almost taking on a purr. "Is this helping?"

Xyra pulled Ashla back, and then gave her a good shove with her hip, "I think you're probably needed up on the bridge. You've been most helpful. I'll handle this."

Ashla put her hands on her hips, "But, we're here to help! We brought water!" She pulled a bottle out of her pocket.

Jade pulled a bottle out of her pocket, "I brought one, too!"

"I'll give it to him," Ashla said.

"No! You were going to do that ear thing that means I should give him the water. Here you go, sweetie-"

"Yeah, but I never got to do that ear thing, so that means I should still get to give him the water. It's only fair! Here, lovie, I have water-"

Hok stared back and forth in open-mouthed amazement. Then, he tugged on Xyra's sleeve to pull her a bit closer. He whispered to her, "Are they fighting over _me_?" he asked in his raspy voice.

Xyra nodded, "Apparently so."

Hok stared in astonishment, then mumbled, "If only I could have captured this on my helmetcam. My finest moment. The squad would have _loved_ this."

Xyra reached over and plucked both bottles of water away from the other two ladies.

"Hey!" they said in unison.

"Out!" she said, sternly, pointing to the door.

"You can't order me out. I'm the Captain!" Ashla said.

"I just did. Go, Captain the ship back to shore. Call Karyn and tell her we're bringing her a new patient."

"Oh, she'll be thrilled. Finally, something more interesting than a splinter, delayed onset menses, and Mrs. Hibbins' knee replacement."

"She decided not to have the knee replacement."

"Yeah, well, that was the only interesting part about the whole thing. This-" she jerked a thumb back toward Hok, "well, I'm sure this will set the whole town a flutter. They'll probably want to throw him a parade or something."

Hok stared back and forth between the women, trying to read their lips fast enough to follow their entire rapid conversation.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking confused, "I didn't hear that last part correctly. Throw me at a what?"

The three women all laughed at once, startling Hok. The sound was too much for Hok's sensitive ear. He reached a hand up this ear, and then grimaced, both from the sound, and the movement.

"The sounds, they're hurting you, love?" Xyra asked, softly, turning Hok's face so he was looking directly into her face. Their faces were only inches apart.

Hok stared at her, dumb-founded, looking at her eyes, then her hair, as he realized he'd never been this close to a woman. "Uh…." He tried to remember what the question was. Xyra reached forward and touched his ear gently. She began massaging the tip of his earlobe between her thumb and forefinger.

"Is this the ear that's bothering you?" Xyra asked, softly.

"B-b-bothering me?" repeating Hok, finding it difficult to follow the conversation.

"Xyra….exhausted…. let him rest..." Hok missed most of the conversation because his hearing was cutting out again, but the sentence ended with, "… he can barely talk." said one of the other ladies. Hok had no idea which one. He was completely focused on the woman in front of him, Xyra, and the way she was stroking his ear.

"Yes, I realize that, of course," said Xyra, "but, I think we should treat his ear. He seems to be in a great deal of pain from it. Bring the 11-star ointment we extracted earlier."

"Ah! Good thinking, sister!" Jade said, disappearing up the stairs.

Xyra turned her attention back to Hok. Hok had his eyes focused on Xyra, so it was easy to read her lips, "You're lucky you washed aboard a medical research vessel. We have pretty much everything someone recently chewed upon by an Oppee could ask for." She smiled at Hok.

Hok smiled back, "You know, when I woke up this morning, I was just saying to myself, 'Hok, you know what you need to do today, get chewed upon by an Woo-pee. That's what you need to do before the day is out. I can cross that one off my To Do list.'"

Xyra laughed, and ran a hand along Hok's cheek, "You're cute. I like that. And, it's 'Oppee. Just like the letters."

"Ah, well, sure, they might call them that here, 'cause they are so small and all. But, back where I come from we got the big ones and we call them Woo-pees. Like Wookee. Except ours are meaner, and they can swim."

Xyra folded her arms, and looked at him, skeptically, "Really?"

Hok shook his head, laughing, "No. I'm from Kamino, and there is some strange stuff in that sea, but nothing like that beastie that tried to have Hok Soup for dinner. I've never seen one of those before in my life, and I've been in the Outer Rim for a while now. I can see why I had the beach all to myself tonight. Must not be a lot of tourism here on Ando with those things, eh? Come to Ando, for the sea-food, except you are the food for the sea."

Xyra burst out laughing. Hok both smiled, and then grimaced from the noise, grabbing at his ear again.

"Oh, you poor dear. We have to do something about that ear," Xyra turned around, and bellowed, "Jade! Hurry up!" She failed to see how her bellowing caused Hok to grimace again.

"I'm looking! I'm looking!" came Jade's muffled voice back from above deck, "you know how many extracts we collected this trip? We've been busy, busy girls. Hold your hormones. I'll find it!"

"Hold my-" Xyra looked embarrassed, and then flustered. She turned her attention back to Hok. She began gently massaging his ear, again. Hok relaxed under her touch, and even moaned gently.

"Is that helping, love?" Xyra asked.

Hok nodded, "Yes, thank you," he said, giving what sounded like a most satisfied sigh.

Xyra looked at him fondly, and then realized, with a start, "I don't even know your name!"

"Oh," Hok blinked in surprise, straightening a bit, "I'm sorry, ma'am," he extended a hand, then grimaced from the movement, "Trooper CT-4356. But, my friends call me 'Hok.' I lead a squad of scouts, advanced scouts for an AT-TE division in the –" Hok stopped, abruptly. One of the other women had returned with a jar of ointment, and they were both looking at him questioningly. "I'm sorry," Hok said, taking a deep breath, "Let me start again. My name is Hok. I work as a scout."

"You lead a team?" Xyra asked, "because there were others on the beach."

Hok said, startled, trying to sit up, "My team!" He grimaced as his stitches pulled.

"Easy!" Xyra said, pushing him back down, "it took us a while just to sew you back together. You're not going anywhere for quite a while. Oppees have very sharp incisors. You've got a lot of stitches. You need to just lie here and not move, OK?"

Hok shook his head, still distressed, "The others!" Hok said, breathlessly, one hand going to his stitched up side, "could you see them? Were they OK?"

"Last we saw, they were fine. Other than being completely distraught about the fact you were being dragged away."

"Were there any more of these … Oppees about?" Hok's face went completely pale, "Are my men in danger?"

Xyra shook her head, and held up one finger, "They're territorial. You only see one at a time."

Hok breathed a sigh of relief, and he finally relaxed against the bed, "OK."

"We tried to signal them once we got you onboard but the fog had rolled in. So, we don't know if the message got through."

Hok looked concerned again, "Wait! My men don't know I'm here?"

Xyra shook her head, "Sorry."

Hok winced, and shook his head, "I should have called them right away!" He looked around. "My armor? Where is it?" Hok asked, looking around.

"It's pretty chewed up," Xyra said, "we stacked up in a crate in the galley. We were going to try to clean it up a bit. Once you warmed up a bit, you started bleeding-"

"Never mind the blood. Please, ma'am, I need my armor." Hok's brown eyes looked right into Xyra's eyes, and she knew she couldn't say no to him. Xyra nodded, and arose, and returned a moment later with a crate labeled: SEAMED RESEARCH. Xyra held the box up so Hok could look through it.

"Just go easy, OK, Mr. Hok? I'm sure you troopers are made of very tough stuff, but, well, you set a new record today for the most stitches my sister and I have ever done."

Hok nodded, and with Xyra's help, and picked through the armor, locating his helmet and gauntlets. He slid on his right gauntlet, but the wrist comlink was smashed and non-functional. Not surprising, since he remembered at one point, trying to pummel the sea creature with his hands. He had higher hopes for his helmet. Hok tried to lift the helmet up, but didn't get very far as his side pulled.

"Whoa! You trying to put that thing on?" Xyra questioned.

Hok nodded.

"OK, allow me. Now, I'm just going to sit right here, so signal me or something when you want me to take it off again, OK?"

"Yes, thank you, ma'am. You've been most kind."

Xyra carefully placed the helmet over Hok's head, and then sat back and studied how different he looked. Suddenly, he was no longer the polite, humorous, charming man whom she already felt a strange pull toward. He now looked just like the intimidating images she'd seen on the holonet. OK, except he wasn't wearing a shirt. Granted, Xyra wasn't complaining about the not wearing a shirt part. Even injured, there was no denying he had a very nicely sculpted body. It was no wonder her sister and cousins were fawning over him. But, with the T-visor on, he was much more intimidating. Hok was so silent and unmoving underneath the mask that Xyra wondered what he was doing. But, then he inclined his head just ever so slightly, and Xyra realized he was talking to somebody. Then, he inclined his head even more, and Xyra realized he was laughing- the helmet was soundproofed.

A few minutes later, his filtered voice broadcast out the helmet, startling her: "Xyra, ma'am? I made contact with my team, and let them know where I am. Thank you. I'm done."

She lifted the helmet off, and wasn't sure what to do with it. She held it, uncertainly. It seemed like this sort of barrier between the two of them.

"Could we just keep it here close-by in case my men contact me?" Hok asked, politely.

"Of course," Xyra nodded, trying to get used to the sound of the word 'men' again. She held the helmet another moment, lost in thought, and realized Hok was looking at her, puzzled.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?"

Xyra snapped out of it, and began looking for a place within the tight confines of the room where she could place the helmet for Hok. She finally decided to just place it next to him, on the bed where he was lying.

"Thank you," Hok said, again, "my men wanted to thank you for uh, well, saving me. And, they said, uh," Hok turned red, and looked embarrassed.

"What else did they say?" Xyra prompted.

Hok sighed, "Well, uh, I projected an image of you, just a forward image as you were sitting there in front of me, waiting for me to finish my call. And, they all said they thought you were uh, a, uh, …. That you, uh… seemed… uh, …. nice."

"Nice?" Xyra questioned.

"Well, they said things about you that had the word 'nice' in it…" Hok hedged.

Xyra laughed, "Well, I look forward to meeting them. Are they all like you?" she asked, casually.

"You could say that," Hok said, "they're looking forward to meeting you, too, we don't, uh, meet many women."

Xyra raised her eyebrows, "Funny. Well, welcome to Ando. Where we've got Estrogen."

# # #

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	41. Chapter 41 Rex's story

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 41**

"Hey, how's our studly patient doing?" Ashla, Captain of the _Manifest Destiny_, greeted her cousin, Xyra, chief scientist.

"He was just drifting off when I left. Putting that ointment on his ear seemed to help. Thanks for the suggestion."

Ashla smirked, "Thanks for not dislocating my hip in your eagerness to steal my idea." She rolled her eyes, "First guy we see in like five years, and yet, automatically he's yours just because you jumped into the freezing ocean and battled a carnivorous 20-foot reptile to save him from impending death?"

"When you put it that way, it does sound selfish on my part," Xyra sighed, looking out the window, "I'm still sorry we had to shoot the ooppee. They're really quite magnificent," she cocked her head, and reconsidered her statement, "well, when they're not eating people."

Ashla shot her a look, "Yeah, if you say so. Love those ooppees. I'm even thinking of getting a 'Save the Oopees sticker for the back bumper of my speeder."

"Like anyone could read anything on your back bumper with how fast you drive."

"It's why they call it a speeder. Anyway, back to the studman. I'm just saying. This hot guy appears out of nowhere with rippling muscles, dark skin, great hair, and a sexy accent. I mean, what are the odds of ever finding another guy just like him?"

"True. Sorry about that. Wish there were more like him. But," she shrugged, not looking truly repentant about the whole thing, "hey, did you radio Karyn and let her know we were coming in early?"

Ashla nodded, "Yup. She's intrigued, of course, about us fishing a man out of the ocean. She said: 'Nice catch,' by the way. And, 'catch her one while you're out there.'"

Xyra rolled her eyes, and murmured, "Hah! This is already getting out of hand. There's only one of him, so back off, ladies."

Ashla shook her head, "Possessive, aren't we? Anyway, she said probably won't be there when we return because she's headed out to investigate that crash site. I did tell her he seemed stable. We did such a nice job sewing him up and all."

Xyra nodded, "Yeah, fine, OK. No sense hurrying back, then, if our only doctor won't be in. Let's finish up here, then, and come in with a full boat. As long as he doesn't run a fever, he should heal up just fine. He seems plenty strong."

Ashla crossed her arms, and studied Hok, "He sure is a fine looking man."

Xyra scowled at Ashla, "After a five year dry streak, anything would look good to you."

"Hey, I have my standards!"

Xyra snorted.

Ashla huffed and then said, "I feel obliged to warn you that you're likely in for a run of full scale sibling rivalry out of Jade."

Xyra rolled her eyes, "What now?"

"Your sister seems to be trying to win the heart of our handsome guest by cooking all of our ship's stores in a single meal. "

Xyra's eyes grew wide: "My sister is cooking? Oh, that's never good."

She headed toward the galley to curtail her sister's cooking efforts before their expensive fishing boat when up in flames.

# # #

Ashla, Xyra and Jade entered the sleeping cabin with several plates of food, and set them down on the small table next to where Hok was sleeping.

"Oh, Jade. I hate to wake him up. He needs rest," Xyra said, her face softening as she looked at Hok's peacefully sleeping face.

"He'll heal better with some of my delicious cooking in his stomach," Jade insisted.

Ashla and Xyra looked at each other with raised, skeptical eyebrows at the words 'delicious cooking.'

"Well, anyway, we have _important _questions," Ashla implored.

Xyra rolled her eyes, "I hardly think 'are there more men good looking men on that ship of yours?' counts as important!"

Ashla crossed her across her chest, unmoving: "All a matter of perspective. Now, go on, wakey wakey," she made a hand gesture indicating Xyra should wake Hok up.

Xyra took a deep breath, scowling, trying to figure out the best way to wake Hok up. She studied him, and then looked back at Jade and Ashla.

"Come on guys, seriously, we should let him rest-"

Ashla made an impatient gesture again.

Xyra rolled her eyes, "I am not waking him up because of your stupid questions, but only because I think it's a good idea that he take in some food and some more water. He's probably dehydrated after all that time in the water."

Ashla and Jade smiled triumphantly, "OK, and then can we ask him questions about the _other _men? The ones that you haven't claimed all to _yourself_?"

Xyra flared her eyes with annoyance, "I'm about to throw the two of you overboard. Now quit it!" She turned back toward Hok, then tossed back over her shoulder at the other two, "I am doing this my way! Don't interfere!" She leaned in toward Hok, feeling nervous and unsure of herself. It had been so long since she'd done this….

Hok woke up to feel something soft brushing against his lips. He had just been dreaming of kissing a woman. Not just any woman. Xyra.

And, now. The dream. It felt so real. It felt as if he was actually kissing her. Hok sighed happily and continued to press his lips against hers.

"Xyra," he muttered, happily.

"Hok," she sighed in return.

"OK, Xyra, that's quite enough, you can suckie face with him later."

"Quit it!" Xyra hissed at the others, annoyed at the intrusion on her kiss.

Hok opened his eyes. The sister and the cousin weren't in his original dream. What were they doing here? He blinked in confusion. All three women were there. Xyra was there, just a hairs breadth from his lips, hissing at her sisters, but smiling at him. Shab! What was going on? It was sort of like his dream, but there were too many people in it.

"Xyra?" Hok asked groggily, "what's going on?"

Xyra stroked Hok's cheek gently, "I'm so sorry to wake you up, hon. But, we have some food and water for you. And," Xyra sighed with exasperation," these two want to talk to you." Xyra jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the other two women.

"Xyra thought the best way to wake you up was to _kiss_ you awake," Ashla said chirpily.

Hok blinked in confusion and stared open-mouthed at Xyra, "You kissed me?"

Xyra smiled, sheepishly, "Yes." Then, she clarified, "to wake you up."

"I thought I was dreaming," Hok muttered.

"You were dreaming about me?" Xyra asked, obviously very pleased at the prospect.

Hok blushed, and looked down, "Yes."

Xyra sighed. He was positively adorable when he blushed.

Ashla rolled her eyes, "Can we get back to the topic at hand?"

Hok looked over to her, then back at Ashla, "What does she want?"

Xyra sighed, impatiently, "She wants to know about the others that are here on the planet with you."

Hok looked confused, and a bit wary, "Why?"

Xyra shook her head, "You're not asking him any questions until he's eaten. Bring the food." She carefully scooted in on the bed behind Hok, and pulled him on her lap so she could support his head and shoulders. He still groaned when he was moved. "Sorry," she said, apologetically, "are you in pain?"

Hok's side and leg were beginning to throb again. He nodded, "A bit."

Xyra gave him a skeptical look, "I stitched you up. I'm betting it's more than a bit. Well, let's get some food into you and then we'll see about numbing everything up again." She nodded to the others to bring the food forward.

"So, I've got soup," Jade said, holding up a steaming bowl, "seafood, vegetables, the works. Delicious."

"Yes, but I've got a plate of pasta here," Ashla held up her dish to show it to Hok, "and, it's got, um, seafood."

Hok grimaced, "Great. Seafood. You know, I think I've seen enough of the sea for one day. It tried to make a meal out of _me_."

Ashla and Jade just stared at him, still holding their dishes of food, unsure what to do.

"Ah, OK, then, I'll go for the soup," Hok said, not wanting to be rude, "mmmm…. Looks delicious. Thank you."

"I could take the seafood pieces out?" Jade offered, sitting down in the chair.

"No, that's OK," Hok said, peering at the soup, "it's not oooppdee soup, is it?"

The three women all laughed.

Xyra looked down at him, "It's Ooppee, and no, they're too tough and spiny to make for good eating."

"Yes, I scored a number of direct hits on it with my blaster and I still couldn't take it down," Hok looked up at Xyra, "speaking of which, how were you able to rescue me? I remember you pulling me out of the water, but not how I got away from the, uh, beastie."

The women all chuckled again at his nickname for the creature. "Depth charges," Xyra explained, "it took three of them to finally stun the Oopee enough to let you go, and then Jade and Ashla took it down by firing upon it from the surface of the ship."

Hok looked around at the three of them, "I owe all of you my lives. Thank you. I hope I can one day repay the debt."

The three women all nodded in acknowledgement.

"OK, now will you eat my soup?" Jade held up a spoonful hopefully.

Hok nodded, and Ashla put down her plate of pasta, and stood by with a napkin, looking at least to have some job to do. Hok never remembered being so fussed over in his life. He had one woman holding him up, another ladling him bitefuls of soup, and another dabbing at his face with a napkin. It was all a little overwhelming.

"Ah, thank you, I think I'm quite full now. But, it was good. Thank you," Hok said, after he'd had about all the pampering and fish soup he could take.

Jade and Ashla both looked disappointed.

"Are you sure you don't want some seafood pasta?" Ashla offered, "it's delicious-"

"Yes, I'm sure it is. Maybe later," Hok said, declined politely.

Jade set the bowl of soup aside, and then leaned in toward Hok again, "So, you said before that there were others like you. What did you mean by that?"

Hok still looked puzzled. His injuries were really starting to hurt, and he was getting a headache as his hearing still cut in and out of his one good ear, "Do you mean my brothers?"

He looked at the three of them to see if recognition was dawning, and how much they knew about the clone Army. They looked confused when he mentioned the term 'brothers.'

"So, you have brothers here with you? How many brothers do you have?" Jade seized upon this nugget of information, and looked at Xyra, her face flushed with excitement, "What are the odds of that, huh? I have a sister, and he has a brother! Or, more than one brother! You did say brothers, right? You have more than one brother?"

Hok considered the three women carefully, nodding his head, as he thought it all through. Well, it was certainly no secret that the Republic Army was compromised of clones so he wouldn't be telling them anything that wasn't already common knowledge. And, in reality, he wasn't in the Republic Army anymore, although, that last part still stung whenever he thought about it. The three women were all still staring at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"So, you come from a big family, then?" Xyra prompted, "lots of brothers?"

"A big family?" Hok considered that term thoughtfully, "well, I suppose you could call it that, yes. Perhaps. Lots of brothers. Yes, yes, I do."

Ashla and Jade were just bursting with impatience, "Just how many brothers do you have, then?"

Hok looked up at Xyra, she was calmly listening to all of this, with none of the impatience of the other two. She smiled down at him and just waited for him to continue.

Hok pursued his lips, "Well, at one time, I had three million brothers, but," he shook his head, "with the war and all, there are not nearly that many anymore. Two million tops. Probably left."

"Three million!" Ashla and Jade gasped.

"Yes, but that was over a year ago," Hok corrected, "as I said, now, there are probably less than two." He scowled, and muttered, "Do the math, and there will be _no _brothers in another two years." Ashla and Jade didn't hear him since they were still exclaiming amongst themselves over the number three million, but Xyra did. She gazed down at him with a puzzled, concerned look.

Xyra stroked his temples quietly, and then said: "Care to explain?"

Hok sighed, "You are aware that entire Republic Army is compromised of clones?"

Xyra shook her head, "No, I didn't know that." She pursed her lips and then smiled, "but, now the whole millions of brothers thing makes sense."

Hok looked up at her carefully, "It doesn't bother you at all that I'm a clone?"

Xyra shrugged, "No, why? Should it?"

Hok looked at her, puzzled, "Well, for one, clones are not citizens of the Republic."

Xyra scoffed, "Neither am I. As far out as we are in the Outer Rim, neither the Republic nor the Separatists have laid claim to us. Ando is not part of the Republic. So, what difference does that make?"

"Clones have no rights. No pay." Hok said evenly, still looking straight at Xyra for a reaction.

"Deplorable from the Republic's standpoint," Xyra said, "but, again, since we're not part of the Republic, I don't see why that matters on Ando," she stroked Hok's temples again, "or, why that should matter to me."

"Some of my brothers look just like me," Hok said, looking right into Xyra's eyes.

Xyra snorted, "Growing up, Jade and I looked so much alike that people always asked if we were twins. One week we loved it, and the next, we hated it. Go figure," she shrugged, "but, the fact that we looked identical on the outside could never hide the fact that on the inside Jade and I have always been about as different as two sisters can be." Xyra poked Hok gently on the chest in a place where he didn't have stitches, "I'm sure that universal truth works just as well for brothers, as it does for sisters."

Hok stared up at her, amazed.

"Come on Jade," Ashla said, quietly, "let's leave these two alone."

Ashla grabbed the uneaten plate of pasta and made for the door. Jade grabbed the half-eaten bowl of soup, and hissed to her cousin, "Did you hear what he said? Clones! That means they all look like him! I think this is the happiest day of my life!"

After they left, Xyra just shook her head and looked down at Hok again. "Sorry about that. They can get carried away at times."

Hok smiled, "It's OK. I've got some brothers like that."

"How's your ear?" Xyra asked, touching it gently.

"Sore," Hok admitted, "like the rest of me."

Xyra grabbed a tincture off a side table and tilted Hok's head to the side. She carefully applied a drop inside of his ear using a medicine dropper, then began rubbing some of the tincture around the outside of his ear. Hok sighed with pleasure.

"Better?" Xyra said, as her fingers worked the tincture through.

"Much," Hok said, thinking it was probably as much the power of her touch as the tingling effects of the tincture that were helping him feel better. He didn't think he'd ever had this much personal contact in his life before, and he decided he could grow to like the sensation.

"How about we apply some of this to your chest? Are your stitches bothering you?" Xyra asked.

"Uh, OK," Hok said. He didn't care if his stitches were bothering him or not- it just sounded like a great idea.

"And, then do you need some of this on your leg?"

"My leg?" Hok repeated, "uh, yes, OK."

Hok decided that perhaps Oppees weren't all bad.

# # #

As Rex gazed thoughtfully into the campfire, night settled around them. He finished off his bland ration bar, and washed it down with a swig of water. He handed the bottle back to Travis so he could have his half of the bottle.

"You didn't backwash into it, did you?" Travis asked, only half-joking.

"Tried to."

"Nice."

Rex leaned back onto his hands, settling into a more comfortable position. Rex was pleased that so far, the nighttime temperatures in this region of Ando were not freezing cold. With the thermal controls on his bodysuit cranked up, he was still comfortably warm, even without the speciality snow armor he'd worn on Ordo Plutonia. _What a miserable mission that was_, Rex thought, thinking of the detestable senator he'd had to protect, and the brothers he'd lost because to yet another insipid politician. Rex forcibly turned his thoughts away from the past. He glanced over at the crashed transport ship. _It seems I've been given a second chance. I need to focus on that._

"So, can you hear anything at all?" Rex asked Travis, turning his head toward him so Travis could easily read his lips.

Travis shook his head, "Nope. Complete hearing loss. Too much damage. There's a whole bunch of us with hearing loss on this ship. Extremely common with concussive force explosions. Completely blows out the eardrums when you're in an enclosed space, like any type of vehicle. And, it's generally not fixable. So, good bye. On to the next clone. And, as to you? Well, out with the trash," Travis waved a hand dismissively.

"I wouldn't call you trash."

"You wouldn't?" Travis snorted.

"Well, not to your face, anyway," Rex said, very gingerly touching the dark bruise on his chin.

Travis laughed, but still eyed the bruise with a look that Rex could swear looked almost regretful.

He looked at Rex's leg. "How about you? Why couldn't they fix you?"

Rex stared at the fire for a long moment before answering. Then, turned back toward Travis, "Maybe they could have. I'm still trying to figure out if I did the right thing."

Travis looked genuinely surprised at Rex's introspective tone, "Well, this sounds like a good story." He looked around at all the miles and miles of unbroken snow around them, and then back at their demolished ship. He made a show of checking his chrono, "Hey! As it turns out, my schedule is clear! So, go on, Rex, do tell! Story time!"

Rex noticed a couple of other clones nearby take interest at the words "Story time!" and inch a little closer to hear a story told by Captain Rex. He nodded to them, letting them know it was OK to come closer and hear the story along with Travis.

"Well," Rex settled in getting a bit more comfortable, "so, I, uh, got shot in the leg. Close-range shot. Direct hit. You know what kind of round," Travis nodded, "And, it shattered my entire knee cap, breaking two of my leg bones."

Travis winces in sympathy, as do the clones around them.

"Knowing you, though, I'll bet you took that shot and kept right on fighting," Travis said, somewhat sarcastic, although there was a hint of pride in his tone.

"Actually, I fell down in the dirt and passed out," Rex said, matter of fact.

"Oh," Travis said.

"But," Rex continued, "when I came to, I had to immediately start fighting because I was about to get overrun by commando droids."

Travis had a look on his face that said: 'I knew it!'

"So, you took them out, right, Captain?" questioned one of the clones, eager for details.

Rex turned and scrutinized the clone, trying to remember his name. "Ah, yes, I did. Just barely. Right before I threw up all over them."

Travis and the clones all chuckled.

"That, I would have like to have seen," said Travis.

Rex scowled, "It was not one of my finer moments, Travis." But, then did he give Travis a rare smirk. "Next time, though, just for you, I'll try to capture a holo." The clones gathered around all broke out in laughter. More troopers looked their way, and sensing a good story being told, several got up and found themselves a space closer to Rex and Travis. Troopers shuffled around, making space for the newcomers.

"_Anyway_," Rex continued, as everyone got themselves settled, "because we were in a remote location-"

"Just who is this we?" Travis interrupted.

"Just some Jedi," Rex shot back, quickly.

"Skywalker?" Travis quickly asked. Some of the troopers watching repeated 'Skywalker', with quick whispered comments to each other about the famous Jedi.

Rex shook his head, "No, Travis. Skywalker was there, but he was off doing another part of the job. Flying is Skywalker's big thing. He was leading a diversionary space battle, so we could complete the mission on planet."

Travis eyed Rex, not letting him off the hook, "Not Skywalker. So, another stickswinger, then. Windu? Plo Koon? Secura? Kenobi?" Travis questioned.

Rex shook his head, "What does it matter? A Jedi is a Jedi, Travis. Not much difference between them."

"Says a clone," quipped Travis.

Most of the assembled troopers chuckled behind their hands, out of respect for their new captain.

Rex still scowled at Travis, shaking his head and growling under his breath, "It was just a shabla, Jedi, Travis," and wouldn't say anything more.

Travis frowned, and narrowed his eyes at Rex. Rex shook his head, ignored him, and continued on with his story. "Anyway, it took several days before we could return to the ship-"

"Why?" Travis interrupted.

Rex shook his head, with annoyance, "Travis, you're worse than a cadet!"

The troopers around them laughed.

"But, why couldn't you be med-evaced?" Travis pointed to Rex's leg, "That severe of an injury. Shattered leg, like that, Rex. It's a code Red. And, you're a command line officer, Rex. They should have you out of there immediately."

Rex shook his head again, "There were other circumstances, Travis."

"Such as?" Travis pushed.

It was completely quiet now, around the firepit. Everyone was intrigued by Rex's story, wondering what it was that could have possibly gotten the Captain of the 501st on that transport ship with them. Rex sighed patiently, looking around at the assembled group of men. He hadn't intended to delve into this level of detail, when he'd started this whole conversation. Every face around the campfire was still turned toward his, waiting patiently for him to answer.

"There were hostages," Rex started out quietly, then his voice picked up strength as he remembered the emotions from that time. "The Separatists were using their prisoners as human shields. Sending a team down to evac me could have jeopardized the whole mission. These prisoners, well, they were-

"Brothers," Travis finished grimly, guessing the rest.

"Yeah," Rex nodded, quiet for a moment, remembering back to when he'd made that fateful decision several long weeks ago.

Travis looked at Rex, "So, you sacrificed everything to save a bunch of troopers you didn't even know?"

Rex nodded, grimly.

Travis folded his arms across his chest, "Typical."

Rex thumped Travis hard in the chest plate, and Travis laughed. "Rex, I'm just messing with you. I actually think that's a great thing you did. How many guys did you save?"

Rex shook his head, "I didn't do anything, Travis. Cody and Kenobi did the work."

"They were there, too? You hang out with an impressive crowd, Rex."

Rex shrugged off the comment,

"So, how many?" Travis asked, again, going back to his earlier question.

"To be honest, I don't know exactly. Hundreds. The sky was completely filled with larties getting all of them out of there. I was pretty out of it, at that point. But, I could see they were from all different divisions. Rode back on a larty with a couple guys from the Galactic Marines. Stayed conscious long enough to ask him how it was he ended up as a human shield. But, he didn't get to finish the story before we were back at the ship. Still would have liked to have known that full story, especially considering what a mix of different divisions came out of there," Rex looked around at the assembled troopers, "Kind of like this."

The troopers around him began murmuring amongst themselves, and Rex heard the words 'human shields' bantied back and forth.

Travis looked down at his purple Galactic Marines armor, and folded his arms across his chest, "Saved a bunch of Marines, did you?"

Rex shrugged, "I didn't do anything, it was-"

Travis rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, fine, Kenobi and Skywalker. Right." He sighed, and stared at Rex's leg. "So, _that's_ how you ended up here? You're a real piece of work, Rex. You really are."

Rex stared at him, puzzled, not sure how to take that comment.

"Still wondering who your mystery Jedi was," Travis murmured, just loud enough for Rex to hear.

Rex just shot him a look, then grumbled, "Keep wondering, you shabla di'kut."

Travis gave Rex a grin that showed he was going to keep needling him about this, mainly because he'd discovered it bugged him. "Anyway," Travis said, cheerfully, "you'd been saying, something about a medical tinny being eager to cut your leg off?" Travis prompted, getting back to where the story had been before.

The rest of the conversations died out, and everyone turned their attention back to the two of them. Rex still had to sit partially turned toward Travis, so that Travis could read his lips.

"Yeah, that," Rex said, taking a deep breath, looking around at the assembled troopers. As he looked at all the faces looking back up at his, reflected in the firelight, he realized that each of them had a story to tell. And, he intended to make sure that all of them lived long enough to tell their stories. Rex stretched a bit, cracking his neck and shoulders within his armor, making himself comfortable as he addressed everyone. "Well, my leg had been shattered, and it had been a few days by the time I got back to the _Resolute_. That tinny looks at my leg and just wants to-" Rex makes a chopping motion with his hand on his injured leg, "take it clear off."

There were some grimaces, and nods, from the troopers assembled, particularly those who were amputees.

Travis whistled, shaking his head, "Can't imagine that went over well with you. One tinny shoots you in the leg, and another one wants to finish the job."

Rex scowled, remembering that night on _the Resolute_, "Oh, there's more to it than that—this droid has an entire _storeroom_ full of limbs. He was so proud of them, too- stock replacement parts for clones, he called them. There were arms, legs, hands, fingers, and, well," Rex threw his arms up in the air, "I don't know what else he had. From the way that tinny was going on about it, made it sound like they were ready to just drop in a replacement for just about _any _man part."

Several clones cringed, and instinctively put a protective hand over their man parts.

Travis shook his head, thinking over what Rex had said, "Replacement parts? That just furthers the notion that we're nothing more than a bunch of 'wet droids,'" he looked thoughtful for a moment, "you know, if there were still more brother medics, rather than droids patching us up, I don't think we'd be getting this kind of treatment all the time."

The troopers around them nodded and muttered in agreement, many still talking quietly amongst themselves about 'replacement parts.'

Rex shrugged, "No argument from me. Rather be dealing with a brother anyday. See enough tinnies on the battlefield."

The assembled troopers continued to mutter in agreement.

Travis laughed, and gently elbowed Rex.

"Ow!" Rex protested, grabbing at his ribs.

"Sorry," Travis apologized, but still laughing good-naturedly. He said in a voice just low enough for Rex to hear, "it's too bad we're off on our own here, Rex. Seems you could incite a riot here with the troopers. You should go into politics."

Rex's jaw dropped, "Me?"

Travis laughed, and pointed to where the assembled troopers were talking amongst themselves now about the injustices of having to deal with tinnies both on the battlefield and in the medical bay. "Sure. The whole lot of them will probably refuse any sort of medical treatment from the 2-1Bs from now on." Travis continued to chuckle with amusement at the whole scene. Rex was still massaging his ribs, but he had to admit Travis was right. The topic had seemed to hit have a sore point with the assembled troopers.

"Fine, I'm inciting trouble then," Rex said, with a shrug, "can't say I'm too sorry about it, either."

"Didn't think you would be, actually."

"I _hated_ that droid," Rex admitted, his hand idly tapping against his blaster.

Travis stretched out, looking at Rex, considering, "You know, this is a whole new side of you, Rex."

"You know, Travis, you make me out to be such a stiff."

"You were such a stiff, Rex. Seriously, you never let up. You were as dull as a Kaminoan summer," Rex was raising one hand to object, but Travis wouldn't let him. "No, let me finish here. I just wanted to say that somewhere along the way, Rex, something, or _someone,_" Travis gave Rex a significant look, "has changed you. You've got a new spark in you that wasn't there before. It's a big improvement."

Rex stared at Travis for a moment, considering what he said. Finally, he answered dryly, "Thanks. I think." But, he knew Travis said was right. He had changed, and he knew exactly _who_ it was that had changed him. It was just that person he was missing the most right now. He had been doing his best to avoid thinking about her. It just hurt too much. And, now, he had all these new men he'd just taken on as his responsibility-

"So, who is she?" Travis elbowed Rex again.

"Ow!" Rex objected, smacking Travis hard in the chest plates with the back of his armored hand. "Will you stop doing that?" He rubbed at his sore ribs again. "Who is who?"

Travis was slightly winded with how hard Rex had managed to hit him, "The girl who's got that look on your face?"

Travis was much too astute. He was fiercely smart, which is why Rex liked him as an officer. He'd forgotten how annoying it had made to have him as a…- what? Associate? Colleague? Rex refused to call him friend. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms once Rex had been promoted over Travis.

"So, back to my story," Rex said loudly, completely changing the topic, and drawing the attention of the gathered troopers back to him, away from all the assorted side conversations, and more importantly, away from the conversation he and Travis were having. "So, I wouldn't even consider this treatment that shabla medical droid was proposing, even though there was probably no chance my knee could recover on it's own."

"So, what'd you do?" Travis asked. He initially scowled when Rex changed the topic, but then he actually gave a small smile. He truly enjoyed this tete-a-tete with Rex. There was no other brother he could bait the way he could Rex. He settled in to here the rest of Rex's story.

"I told Cody to grab my blaster," Rex paused, and then with a twinkle of amusement said, "and by grab my blaster, I do mean, go retrieve my weaponry, and not grab my-"

"OK, I get it!" Travis said.

The entire group burst into laughter, and Travis looked at Rex in surprise. Rex shrugged, grinning at Travis. "And, you thought I didn't have a sense of humor, eh?" he elbowed Travis very hard in the ribs. Travis grunted from the blow, but burst out laughing. The rest of the group joined in.

After the laughter died down, Travis said quietly, "So, you refused to let them take off your leg, and they stuck you on that ship here?" Travis jerked a thumb back toward their downed ship.

Rex nodded slowly, and stroked his chin, "Yeah, that's it. I was dipped in bacta at ArmyMed. But, it didn't do much other than pretty up the scar." He used his hands to lift up his injured leg, and then drop it again, like a dead weight. "I was decommissioned about a week ago now." Rex stared into the fire, remembering the emotional pain of being told he was no longer wanted or needed as part of the Grand Army of the Republic. The other troopers around the fire shook their heads, closed their eyes, or looked down, solemnly remembering the moment they'd been told they'd been booted out.

It was completely silent for several long moments, with just the crackling of the fire.

Some of the other troopers began to move away, back to where they'd been before Rex had started his story. After staring into the fire for a while, Travis said, "So, you ended up here because you refused to have an amputation…"Travis rubbed his face, thoughtfully, "I'm not surprised those hair-brained idiots are just slapping parts on now like droids, without any thought to the psychological aspect. Then again, when have they bothered worrying about our psyche? I must say I am surprised they do not force you to have the operation. You know, just knock you out through your IV drip. The next thing you know, you are waking up, and you're missing a leg. You freak out a little, so they knock you out again, and next time you wake up, your lovely Republic issue clone-replacement limb is on there. But, then the doctors decide that your new leg is vastly superior to the other one. Faster, stronger and better in every possible way. So, they knock you out again. Next time you wake up, your OTHER leg is missing, and then they knock you out again, and-"

Rex interrupted Travis with a frosty glare, "Thank you for such a heart-warming bedtime tale, Commander Travis." Rex's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Travis held up his arms in a gesture of submission. "Hey, I'm on your side here. I would have done all the same things in your place."

Rex stared into the fire again, looking thoughtful, "At the time, it seemed so easy to say no. But," Rex stared in the fire, and his voice dropped really low, he looked directly at Travis so Travis could read his lips, "I wonder if I did the right thing. If I'd let them carve me up, I'd still be with the 501st."

Travis nodded, taking that in. The two men sat in silence, side-by-side, staring into the fire together. Finally, Travis took a deep breath, and looked out over the encampment, "Rex, do you think that you getting your leg shot out, and me going deaf, is because we were MEANT to end up here?"

Rex didn't say anything, he just looked out on the camp for a long time. They both watched the easy camaraderie amongst all the different brothers, from all the different divisions, assembled together around the campfire. Rex stared at Travis for a long time without saying anything. His brown expressive eyes were full of thought. He nodded at Travis, put one hand onto his shoulder, and held it there for a long moment.

"Thanks," Rex said. He stood up and then found that his muscles were stiff, both from fatigue, and from the injuries he'd sustained earlier in the day. He swayed a bit on his feet, before finally finding his balance. Travis immediately reached out and steadied him.

"So, Rex, where you headed?" he asked, casually, making no mention of the fact that Rex wasn't quite steady on his feet.

"I'm going to turn in…." Rex gazed out over the neatly laid out rows of tents, "Uh… you wouldn't happen to know which of these might, uh, have been assigned to me? I forgot to ask."

Travis smirked, "Yes, I know. Just one of the many things you put me in charge of, remember? And… hey, lucky you, we're tentmates. Come on, follow me."

Every trooper they passed nodded respectfully, or greeted them by title. The whole good night ritual felt painfully familiar. Rex felt a pang again because despite the multitudes of different colored armor, the honor and genuine goodness he sensed in these men reminded him so much of the 501st. At any moment, he expected to round a corner and see a familiar set of montrals-

"Careful, there's some ice here," Travis said, as he led the way to their shared tent. He stayed close to Rex, ready to grab him with a protective arm. Rex pretended he didn't notice that Travis was actually being nice to him. Acknowledging such a thing would just be awkward for both of them.

Rex glanced up at the stars, wondering where in the galaxy Ashoka was tonight. He sighed heavily, glad for the moment that Travis was deaf, and didn't hear him. It took very little time to arrive at their small emergency tent. The drab colored tent with the Republic logo had nothing in it except two equally dull colored two sleeping bags. At the moment, though, it still looked rather appealing to Rex. A tent and a sleeping bag were luxurious compared to some of the conditions he'd slept in over the years. He lowered himself down, and slid backwards into the tent. He decided to sleep in his armor, due to the still viable threat presented by the pirates. Rex looked over and noticed Travis had decided to sleep with all his plates on as well. Rex shifted around in his sleeping bag, trying to get comfortable. Armor wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in, especially when you had a number of fresh, tender bruises pressing into the plates. But, he was so used to being in his armor, and tired enough, that sleep still came easily.

At some point during the night, goose bumps broke out on his flesh, as he dreamt of a sponge bath he'd received in a cave on TriLuna. In his dream, he wasn't wounded at all. He was strong and healthy, and the sponge bath had led to other things. Rex awoke before dawn with certain parts of his armor not fitting comfortably at all. He glanced over, glad that Travis was still sound asleep. Not that he'd be the first brother to woke up with morning wood, but on the off-chance Travis noticed, well, he didn't want to get into another long "who's the girl" discussion with Travis. Rex closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, trying to think of something other than Ashoka…

"Rex, wake up!"

"Huh?"

Rex peered up into the concerned face of Travis. He blinked several times, lifted his head, and looked around the tent. It was past dawn now, and early morning light was poking through the tent flap. He could hear sound of camp activity outside. "Whuh?" Rex said to Travis.

"You were having a nightmare," Travis said, still peering at Rex intently, "pretty vivid one, too. You were mumbling about your guys, and also the Jedi, I think. You were upset. Really upset. It was going on for a while. You were thrashing around so much, I finally woke you up."

Rex raised an eyebrow up, thinking of busting Travis' chops about acting like he cared. But, then the memory of the nightmare hit him. It hit him so strongly that he collapsed back against his sleeping bag, and covered his eyes for a moment.

"Whoa," Rex said, trying to hold the images back. But, they just kept hitting him. It started feeling much more like a vision than a nightmare. The 501st – they were in serious trouble, and Ahsoka was right in the middle of it.


	42. Chapter 42 Nightmares & Visions

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 42**

Rex was trapped in a nightmare. It felt less surreal, and more like he was an invisible observer on a battlefield to which he was not familiar. As Rex watched in horror, he saw the 501st sustain heavy losses, again and again. Appo, Ahsoka and Skywalker were doing their best to direct and defend the troops, but they were vastly outnumbered. Rex didn't recognize the planet. He didn't even recognize the species they were fighting. They were using Separatists' weapons and insignia, but these were not run-of-the-mill battle droids they were up against. Rex remembered Ahsoka and the 501st had been leaving for a new and distant mission right before he was dropped off at ArmyMed. Could this possibly be what he was seeing? If so, weren't Kenobi, Cody and the 212th supposed to be there? He wanted to shout out 'Ahsoka!' but his lips couldn't quite seem to form the words. These creatures were large, fast and very skilled fighters, shooting blasters with excellent aim and accuracy. Rex saw one of these deadly enemies circle around and take direct aim at Ahsoka's back.

Anakin sensed the danger, and turned to successfully block the shot. But, that one moment of distraction was all it took in this melee of overwhelming odds. A blaster bolt found its' way through and burned its' way under the armor of one of his shoulder pads, the wound scorching and burning through his clothing. Ahsoka twisted around as she heard her Master cry out, sensing her Master's distress, but in the process of doing so, once again, exposed herself herself exposed herself to another a hail of blast of deadly fire - another shot was headed straight toward Ahsoka. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion, and Rex could only witness it all. He moaned restlessly in his sleep, protesting. 'No! No! No!'

But, as he watched the events unfold, the shot never found its' mark. Just as a blast was about to tear right into Ahsoka's head, Appo dove down on top of her. He took the blast that was meant for her. He went down in a smoking heap, the blast catching him heavily in the side. Hails of blasterfire kept coming at them. Appo's body jerked heavily, his armor taking most of the abuse.

Rex saw Ahsoka trying to squirm her way free. Appo reached an arm up to pull her back down again. 'Good man, Appo!' Rex thought. It was exactly what he would have done. But, just as Appo was tugging Ahsoka back down again, a blaster bolt caught him right between the plates in the shoulder. He cried out and his arm went completely slack. Ahsoka succeeded in wriggling her way free, and popped up. She began defending Appo's prone and unmoving form. Rex was greatly distressed at the sheer barrage of blaster fire coming at her. There was no way she could hold up against that amount of fire for long, Jedi or not. Finally, the calvalry arrived. Well, not quite. Kenobi came charging in, with a small force of the 212th. No sign of Cody. Where was Cody? And, where was the rest of the 212th? But, given how badly things were going, he didn't necessarily know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that his best friend wasn't in the thick of it.

For a short time, Kenobi, and the 212th, were able to help hold back the overwhelming barrages of fire coming at them. It was a marvel to see Ashoka and Kenobi working together, without Skywalker. Ahsoka truly was amazing, and she matched the Jedi Master, move for move, with blinding speed and graceful soaring acrobatics. Rex's heart soared with pride in the fierceness of Ahsoka's fighting skills. But, then suddenly, Master Kenobi went down. Rex couldn't quite believe it at first, but he had taken a fierce burn to the ribs, followed in quick succession by a disabling shot in the leg. Suddenly, he was down on the ground. Seconds later, Ahsoka took a shot in the arm, and she was down.

"No!" Rex cried out, thrashing restlessly in his sleep. Ahsoka immediately popped back up, and switched stance, grabbing up her blade with the other arm. Rex groaned in his sleep, trying to cry out, 'Ahsoka, stay down!' But, no, of course, she wouldn't stay down. She was everywhere at once, trying to defend the fallen Jedi, and maintain a perimeter around the ever-dwindling circle of fighters from the 212th. Cody's men were putting up a heck of a fight, but they were just so badly outnumbered. A second shot found it's mark, and hit Ahsoka's other shoulder. She went down again into the dirt, and struggled once again to get back up. But, Rex saw Appo reach out a bloody hand and firmly grab her. Appo shook his head at her. Rex was surprised Appo was still even conscious, and coherent. Ahsoka relented and disengaged her lightsaber. Appo moved slightly, covering Ahsoka with his armored body, creating an effective human shield. Rex felt a strange stirring at Appo's actions, extreme gratitude for what his brother was doing to protect Ahsoka, but at the same time, his gut twisted because protecting Ahsoka had always been Rex's job.

Finally, the ruthless aliens moved in, and Rex's whole form began to tremble, thinking they were about to be finished off at close range. They began separating out the Jedi from the clones. There is some shouting, gesturing and waiting, and finally some odd, electronic collars are brought form and fitted onto the Jedi. Ahsoka is found last, pulled out from underneath Appo's badly battered form. She begins to move about as she is roughly hauled out, and several blasters are immediately aimed at her. "NO!" Rex cries out. Someone pistol-whips her from behind, and she slumps unconscious.

"NO!" Rex cries out again, trying to reach for Ahsoka, and prevent her from being abused further.

"Rex, wake up!"

"Huh?"

Rex squinted up into the concerned face of Travis. He blinked several times, and then lifted his head, looking around the tent. Early morning light was poking through the tent flap, and he could hear sounds of camp activity outside the tent flap.

"Travis?" Rex asked questioningly, his voice coming out as a raspy croak. He could feel he had broken out into a cold sweat inside his armor. His body suit was clinging to his skin uncomfortably.

"You were having a nightmare," Travis said, still peering at Rex intently, "pretty vivid one, too. You were mumbling about your guys, like, Appo. Didn't know you were tight with him. You mentioned some of the Jedi, too, I think. You were upset. _Very_ upset. Normally, it's not a good idea to awaken a combat-trained clone in the middle of a nightmare. But, osik, Rex, you were thrashing around so much, I thought you were going to take the tent down, or bust what few ribs you have left."

Rex raised an eyebrow up, as he listened to Travis' long commentary. He almost considered giving Travis a hard time about acting like he cared. But, then details of the nightmare assailed him full force.

"Kriff," Rex covered his eyes back up with one arm, sinking back against his pillow. He tried to hold the images back, but they just kept hitting him. It started feeling much more like a vision than a nightmare. Ahsoka, and the 501st, they were in trouble—he was sure of it. He could feel adrenaline flooding through his veins like it did before a major battle.

"You… uh… want to… uh… talk about it?" Travis asked, tentatively.

"No," Rex answered, immediately, eyes still covered.

"OK," Travis replied, sounding relieved.

Rex rubbed his eyes fiercely, feeling a headache coming on.

"Uh… you want water?" Travis asked, hesitantly.

Rex turned his head sharply, his first instinct to bite Travis' head off for hovering. But, then he took a deep breath, blew it out, and said: "Yeah, water would be good."

Travis turned to leave the tent.

"Thanks," Rex called after him, but Travis couldn't hear him, because his head was turned away. So, Rex reached a hand backwards and smacked Travis' boot. Travis turned his head back, actually looking concerned,

"Try not to backwash into it," Rex growled.

Travis shook his head, and grinned, disappearing out into the morning.

Rex pulled his sleeping bag completely over his head, and closed his eyes again. With Travis gone, he could let his guard down and try to absorb what had just happened to him. Ahsoka. Appo. The Jedi. The images from the battle replayed in Rex's head. Who had just taken them, and why?

# # #


	43. Chapter 43 Trouble on the Horizon

A/N: Updated February 9th, 2013. Just been poking through the back chapters and finding things that needed fixing. 

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 43**

# # #

Rex spent the early part of the morning visiting all the wounded, and the men in the bio-beds. He'd regained his faithful assistant, Mako, whom he'd ordered to get some rest the night before. Turns out Mako had taken only a short rest and then made himself useful assisting the medic, Lance. The medic was very pleased with Mako's help, "Mako has natural skills as a medic, sir. When you're done with him, I wouldn't mind his assistance."

Rex looked at Mako, who looked torn. Rex folded his arms across his chest, giving Mako a considering look. "Well, Mako, Ando seems to agree with me. I doubt I'm going to keel over anytime soon. Plus, I have Travis to boss around now. So, the choice is yours."

"Sir?" the younger clone's voice expressed his confusion.

Behind Mako, Lance smiled. Getting choices was not something that happened often for a clone. Rex stood by patiently and gave a serene nod.

The one-armed trooper considered his options carefully, "Well, ah, it is satisfying working with Lance here and helping out with the wounded. I like it much better than defusing bombs," Mako said, reasoning it out carefully. Rex smiled, enjoying the way all of the men who were mobile in anyway no longer regarded themselves as 'wounded.'

"So, I'll take that for a yes, then?"

Mako nodded, a look of excitement, shining in his eyes.

"Alright, consider it done, then. I believe an appropriate designation to start out would be Medic, Second-Class?" Rex looked to the other medic for confirmation.

"Yes," Lance said, nodding with approval, "I'll teach him everything he needs to know. Congratulations, Mako, Medic, Second Class."

Both Rex and Lance, shook hands with Mako, congratulating him on his new promotion and job title. Mako was grinning so hard, it looked like he was going to split a cheekbone. "Thank you, sirs! I won't disappoint you!"

"I have ever confidence in you," Rex said, as he moved on. He continued his visits with the other wounded men. He wanted to check on Catcher, the ARC from the 327th Star Corps. Rex had been intrigued by the paralyzed man, especially since they had a friend in common, Commander Bly.

Catcher was awake, and smiled when the Captain came over. "You coming to see me, Captain?"

Rex nodded. "Yes, Catcher, I am. You want some caf?"

Catcher nodded, "I'd kill for some. Haven't had any in days. Longer, maybe. Come to think of it."

Rex leaned up against his biobed, and set his crutches against them. He glanced toward the galley, sniffing the air, trying to figure out if anybody had made some caf yet.

"So, how are you going to carry two cups of caf with those things?" Catcher said, indicating Rex's crutches with a nod of his head.

"I wasn't going to get it," Rex said, insolently.

"Oh," Catcher said, feeling a bit deflated, thinking Rex was just going to order someone to bring it to them.

"I was going to make you go get it," Rex said playfully, punching Catcher lightly in the shoulder.

"Ow," Catcher said, reaching up to rub his shoulder, "I can feel that you know. Not a quadriplegic. Only a para." He gestured toward his legs." He then lowered his voice, and looked toward the other biobeds, "I think I'm the only para here."

Rex looked at him with interest. He gestured toward his legs, "Do you have nerve damage, then?"

"Yeah, afraid so. Shot in the back. Took out the vertebrae, the nerves, everything you need to walk, apparently," he nodded toward Rex's injured knee, "you?"

Rex tapped his leg brace, with his hand, then grimaced a bit from the contact, "Same deal. Seems to be the ticket onto this barge. Nerve damage. Total wash. Ruined my leg." He shrugged, tapping the knee brace again, then grimaced again.

"Why do you do that if it hurts?" Catcher asked.

"Huh?" Rex asked, trying to figure out what Catcher meant. He looked back at his leg. His hand was still on his leg brace. Then, his eyes widened hugely. He looked at Catcher, as the significance of what Catcher said just hit him.

Rex smacked his leg again, "Fierfek! That hurts!"

Catcher looked at him with concern, "Uh, Captain? You sure you're OK?"

Rex put a hand on Catcher's arm, "Sorry. No, those shab'buirs at the Army-Med told me my leg was dead. I'd never feel anything again. They wanted to cut it off. They said the nerves would never regenerate." Rex lifted up his leg with his hands, so that Catcher could reach it from his bed. "Hit me!"

Catcher looked at him, uncertainly. Then, he grinned, and smacked Rex's lower leg. Rex frowned. "No, can't feel that. Try it higher." Catcher smacked Rex's leg right where Rex had smacked it. Rex actually yelped. "Shab! That felt awful. Pins and needles."

"Hey, you told me to hit you," Catcher objected, but then he caught sight of the grin on Rex's face. "So, they were wrong, Captain? The nerves started regenerating, after all?"

Rex still had his leg lifted up and he was just staring at it, completely puzzled. He was suddenly aware of other eyes on him. Rex looked around. The guys in the other biobeds were all watching this whole thing with great interest.

Rex wasn't quite sure what to say. But, Catcher took over. "Those hut'tuns at ArmyMed were wrong!" He smacked Rex's leg again, but not nearly as hard. Rex still yelped. The pins and needles sensation felt awful.

"OK, Catcher, enough," Rex lifted his leg back down onto the ground, rubbing it gingerly, trying to relieve the pins and needles sensation.

"What's it feel like, Captain?" asked one of the men, in one of the other bio-beds.

"Uh," Rex kept rubbing at his leg, "it's uh, like my leg keeps falling asleep and waking up." He gritted his teeth. But, he could see the look of hope in all of the mens' faces. "Uh, but, yeah, it feels like you know, the nerves, are uh…"

"Waking up?" Offered one of the paralyzed men, his voice filled with hope.

"Yeah, that's it," Rex said, wishing they would go ahead and wake up, because this half-asleep, half-awake sensation was actually worse than the no-sensation at all.

The men broke into spontaneous cheering for him. Catcher pushed himself up, so he was sitting up in bed. "I'll go get that caf, now."

Rex laughed with him, and then looked at him seriously, "I'm going to hold you to that, Catcher. You owe me a cup of caf, got it?"

# # #

Rex sank down on a crate, grateful to take a breather. It was mid-morning and he'd spent the later part of the morning running through air attack drills with Travis. Travis had gathered together any and all troopers who could fight in some shape or fashion. He rubbed at his leg. The tingling sensation hadn't improved at all. He was tempted to track down Mako and Lance and concede defeat. Maybe there was something they could give him that would ease this maddening tingling.

He was trying to get through it by just keeping as busy as possible, and focus his mind on other things.

He was impressed with Travis' strategies. Travis had cleverly worked out ways to make the most of the men and equipment they had. He divided the men into groups based upon their abilities. He didn't regard any of the injured men as being disabled, or less capable, than anyone else. He simply made the most of their unique abilities.

When Rex had complimented him on this, Travis had said: "Yeah, well, going completely deaf was a humbling experience, Rex. Gave me a new perspective on things." Rex had looked over what Travis' plan, made a few slight modifications. There was no denying it- Travis was brilliant tactically.

Rex was currently grouped with several other troopers who couldn't kneel when firing. This suited Rex just fine because he preferred to stand when shooting anyway. At the moment, they were braced back up against the ship, standing and firing. Rex found he could balance quite comfortably this way, easily sighting with either of his blasters, or his rifle. It had been immensely satisfying for Rex to pull his DC-15 out of his gear bag and assemble it once again. Although, he still half-expected to turn around, and see a pint-sized Jedi bound toward him, saying: "Hey, Rexster, Skyguy wants…"

Rex closed his eyes. Focus on the task at hand… Too late. He was assaulted with an intensely painful vision. He gripped his head in his hands as he saw Ahsoka get handled very roughly by those same large, fiercesome creatures that had taken them down on Kaz'haria. It was dark, and it looked like she getting dragged down the hallway of a ship. She was resisting, and her captors began beating her, Skywalker jumped in to defend her. But, he was already bloodied and beaten, and his hands were tied behind his back. Why didn't he just use his Force abilities? There was an unusual collar around his neck. As Rex 'watched,' Skywalker was bludgeoned into unconsciousness. Ahsoka was wearing a similar collar, and she was beaten until she slumped unconsciousness

Rex quickly moved away from the others and into the shadows behind the ship. He grabbed at his head, feeling like he was going mad. He threw off his helmet, and felt himself getting sick. He doubled over and began throwing up into the snow. When his stomach felt like it had emptied itself, he just stared down into the snow.

Kriff! What was going on? Why did he keep getting these images? What did they mean?

He grabbed at his head.

"Captain?"

He spun around, almost losing his balance. Shab. It was Lance, the medic.

"I'm fine," Rex said, immediately.

Lance looked at the snow in front of Rex with a raised eyebrow. "Captain, could I check you over, please? I'll be quick. With your injuries yesterday, ideally, you should have stayed flat on your back for several days."

Rex was going to protest, but he knew the longer he did, the longer this was going to take. "Fine," he said, blowing out a deep breath. "Could we do it here?"

Lance nodded, reaching up to feel Rex's forehead. "You experiencing any dizziness, Captain?"

"No," Rex said, immediately.

Lance gave him a wary look, "OK, then, Captain… can I check your ribs?"

"Fine." The 501st Captain nodded, and Lance quickly and efficiently undid one of Rex's chest plates with the ease of someone who was used to examining clones all day. As he probed the injured area, Rex winced.

"Experiencing any breathing difficulties, Captain?"

"None," Rex said, immediately. "I'm fine, really."

Lance stood back, and crossed his arms. "Alright, Captain." He look down at the mess in the snow, "Since we haven't run into any local wildlife yet, that might be following you around leaving puddles of vomit, how about you tell me what's going on?" He gave Rex a patient, if exasperated look. "One of the men said you left suddenly. He followed you. Reported that you were doubled-over, vomiting, and grabbing your skull. Considering your injuries yesterday, this is cause for concern."

"Right, yes, about that…" Rex stalled for time, running a hand through his blonde hair. He noticed it was starting to grow out. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd cut it...

_Focus, Rex, focus,_ he told himself.

The medic was looking at him, waiting patiently for an answer. He wore that same look that Coric and Kix did when they were particularly exasperated with him. Did they teach them that in medic school or something?

Rex blew out a sigh. He definitely didn't want to talk about Ahsoka, and the weird things he could do since being mentally assaulted by Ventress. But, since he'd been thinking of seeking out the medic anyway, there was no harm in stretching the truth just a bit.

"You're right," Rex started, "I do have something kind of weird going on…"

"What are your symptoms?" Lance jumped on the opening, finally getting some cooperation from the recalcitrant Captain.

"It's my leg, actually," Rex said, pleased how well this was working in drawing attention away from the doubling over, vomiting and skull grabbing.

The Lance looked at Rex's leg with great interest. "Your knee injury? What is going on?"

Rex turned back toward the camp, and Lance followed, leading away from the tell-tale pile on the ground, "I have this strange tingling. Like a pins and needles sensation..."

# # #


	44. Chapter 44 From Cody's Perspective

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 44**

Cody never remembered hearing the explosion that took out him, and what seemed like at least half of the 212th. One moment he was just standing there relaying an order from General Kenobi, and the next moment he was staring up at the sky trying to figure out what happened.

He couldn't hear or feel anything at all. It was strangely peaceful, actually. He couldn't quite remember where he was, or how he'd come to be lying there. Then, he started noticing smoke and flashes of light above him. He'd been deafened before from shells that had exploded too closely, and thankfully, his hearing had always returned after a time.

He started trying to move, and was immediately hit with a burst of pain all along his right side. Well, at least he wasn't paralyzed.

Cody attempted to roll onto his side, to see if he could at least got onto his knees. Rolling over onto his side proved to be a very bad idea. Cody cried out in pain and grabbed at his side. He wasn't quite sure what was wrong, but his side hurt a great deal. However, there was more good news. He was able to hear himself when he shouted out in pain. Yes, his hearing was definitely coming back. He could hear a lot more sounds now.

Cody heard the telltale hum of descending gunships, and was relieved to see they were Republic gunships. Cody began to notice lots of shouting—cries for help, and the anguished sound of men in terrible pain. Cody tried to turn his head, and found it nearly impossible to get his neck to cooperate. It felt like someone had jammed ground-up glass into the base of his skull. With a grunt of pain, Cody rolled his body slightly so he could see sideways. Shab! The 212th was in shambles. There were wounded everywhere, and other troopers that would never fight again. Cody felt that gut-wrenching sick feeling he always got when he lost men in battle. But, he could feel that this was worse, much worse, than ever before. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall what happened. But, he still had no memory of the events that had landed him on his back staring up at the sky. Judging from the wounded, and the dead, some kind of massive explosive mortar shell had hit them. But, why hadn't he heard it coming in?

Cody began to hear and see a lot of activity as medics began to mobilize and sort the wounded. These were _his_ men that were wounded. Cody felt that he should be doing something, and not just lying here. Cody tried rolling to his other side, and found it didn't hurt quite as badly. With a great grunt of pain, he was finally able to make it to his knees. He knelt there a moment, panting heavily. He was just starting up to his feet, when he felt somebody grab him from behind.

"Whoa, easy there, Commander. How about you lie down for us for a moment and let us check you over?" There were two medics right behind him, one supporting him, and the other guiding him to a stretcher.

Cody started to protest, but the medic came around and got right in Cody's face, "Sir, if I don't med-evac you out now, you're going to bleed out." Cody could see the look in the medic's eyes. He was telling him that he had life-threatening internal injuries, and if he didn't leave the battle now, he was a dead man. Cody tried to nod, but his head wouldn't cooperate.

"OK," he said, his voice sounded gravelly and unfamiliar to his own ears.

The two medics quickly and efficiently settled him into the stretcher, and began administering injections. Just as he was drifting off, he heard General Kenobi comming him: "Commander Cody, are you there?" One of the medics lifted up Cody's gauntlet, and spoke into it, "General, I'm sorry, the Commander has been badly injured. We're med-evacing him out now."

As Cody faded off into darkness, all he could think was he had disappointed the General. He should have been there to finish the battle by General Kenobi's side. He wanted to say something to the General, but his voice wouldn't cooperate without his brain. He sank off into the darkness as the sounds of the battle faded away.

# # #

Cody just dimly remembered flashes after that. He briefly woke up in the larty, and remembered the gunship being packed with wounded. He heard shouting, chaos, and confusion, and remembered the gunship shaking. They were definitely taking heavy fire. At one point, a second medic squeezed in next to him and examined his neck. He bandaged the back of his neck, then carefully eased his neck into a stiff brace. Cody looked up at him questioningly.

"Just try not to move at all, sir, OK?" the medic said to him, imploring him with his eyes. At that moment, the larty shook violently. The medic grabbed onto Cody, trying to stabilize him. Cody felt a stabbing pain in his neck, and tried to reach a hand up, curious what it was. The medic pinned his hands down, shaking his head. "Sir!" he shouted, trying to be heard over ever-increasing noise and explosions outside, "Don't move, sir! That's very important!"

Cody wished he could ask why, but he couldn't seem to get his lips to form the words. Just then, another violent explosion rocked the larty, and everything went black. Cody wasn't sure at first if it was his vision, or the lights in the gunship itself. But, he could hear a lot of cursing going on around him, so he realized it wasn't him. Were they going down? He felt strangely detached from the whole situation. Mainly he just felt sad and disappointed that he hadn't finished the battle by General Kenobi's side. He didn't mind dying. He just had always envisioned dying right by General Kenobi's side. This seemed like a rather ignoble end, considering he was flat on his back. He had a strange urge to try and get up.

At that moment, the lights blinked, and came back on again. LAATs were meant to take a great deal of abuse. Cody felt a weight on his arms. The medic was now physically holding him down. Had he actually tried to get up? Or, was he just trying to keep him from getting thrown around with all the explosions buffeting the ship? Cody saw another medic come other. The two began talking in hushed tones. He heard them quickly arguing back and forth about giving him something else to knock him out again. Apparently, they couldn't give him anymore because they'd already give him the maximum. One of the medics checked the wound in Cody's side. It didn't hurt anymore. His whole body just felt numb. He felt himself drifting off. Then, all of a sudden they were back onboard the Jedi Star Destroyer. The ship was also being buffeted constantly with explosions. The deck was unsteady as Cody was transferred with the other wounded. Cody could feel a heightened sense of panic on the main deck. Cody wanted to look around, but found he couldn't move his head at all. Was it just because of the neck brace? He heard the medics quickly briefing the onboard medical technicians. Portable handrails were popped up on the side of the stretcher, and Cody's hands were strapped to the sides.

"Hey!" Cody objected, his voice again sounding raspy and unfamiliar. The objectionable neck brace came off, but was immediately replaced with a stiffer, even more uncomfortable brace. Cody was now completely immobilized. At that point, even his somewhat explosion-addled, drugged-up brain 'got it.' Completely somber, Cody lay still as he was taken to the medical bay.

They hadn't even reached the medical bay before the ship abruptly jumped to hyperspace. At that point, Cody couldn't resist asking: "Wait! What just happened?"

The medical technicians escorting him both looked startled. They all knew how many men were still left behind on the planet below, as well as the number of LAATs still inbound with more wounded. The numbers of unaccounted for personnel had to be staggering. Why had they jumped to hyperspace?

"We don't know, sir," one of the technicians said, respectfully, looking shaken up.

The other technician looked at him, then looked down at Cody, "Sir, I don't really know anymore than he does. But, we have been sustaining huge numbers of wounded. Some of the incoming wounded, sir, they were saying…" he hesitated, not sure if he should continue. He looked down at Cody's rank on his uniform.

"What?" Cody asked, desperate for any information. "Tell me!"

The technician sighed, and looked at Cody with wide, worried eyes, "They were saying, sir, the whole battle, Kaz'haria, it was a trap."

# # #

The medical bay was completely full. Cody begin drifting in and out of consciousness, while he waited out in the hallway with the rest of the newly wounded men from the 212th. Cody could hear his medical technicians arguing with somebody, trying to get him moved up in the priority list. He could hear the other person arguing back, about the vast numbers of critically wounded men at the moment. Several times he flurries of activities in various places around the hallway followed by "Code Red!" or cries of "he's flatlining!" Cody desperately wanted to turn his head, and see what was going on, because he knew these were his men that were in the hallway around him. But, he could do none of these things. He could only wait, and listen. Gradually, the sounds began to fade, and then he heard one of his medical technicians cry out: "Code Red!"

# # #


	45. Chapter 45 It's 'Coffee'

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 45**

The next thing Cody was aware of was a steady beeping. He struggled to open his eyes, and was able to crack them open just the barest crack. He squinted around, and recognized the bright lights and sterile walls of an operating room. He could hear voices arguing.

"He won't survive bacta. This is his only option!"

"But, this surgery will paralyze him for sure! You know where they will send him then!"

Cody then heard somebody grumble under their breath, "Better to just let him die peacefully in the bacta."

The other voice grumbled back, "There _are_ no bacta tanks left! Have you seen what it is like out there?"

"We can't do this surgery on his neck. Look at his neck!"

"What, then?"

"Let's just remove the shrapnel, and repair his shattered ribs."

"What then of the damage to his neck? He can't go back into service this way. I don't see what you're sparing him. Either way, they'll just eventually ship him on to Kam-"

"Just listen! I have an idea! I think we can call in a Jedi healer on this one."

"A Jedi!"

"Well, yes, he's not a candidate for bacta, plus, consider his high rank. He's a Commander. Let's at least put in the request. They can always say no. But, we can at least try! The men have always had the highest respect for the commander!"

"A Jedi healer, huh? I wouldn't even have thought of that. Yeah, OK. Alright, let's get the rest of his surgery done. We barely brought him back, and I'm hearing a lot of other Code Red's out there. They're all a mess."

"Hey! I think he might be awake! Commander Cody, can you hear me?"

But, Cody felt like his brain and his lips were disconnected. Much as he wanted to ask questions about everything he'd just overheard, he couldn't bring his lips to form a single syllable. All he could do was stare. He felt something cold press up against his neck, and he blacked out again.

# # #

Cody was only dimly aware of the next couple of days after the surgery. He was kept heavily sedated, and completely immobilized. A few of his men, other wounded from the 212th, came to see him. But, Cody could barely keep his eyes open. He desperately wanted to get a status update on the rest of the 212th Legion. What had happened to the men on the ground when they'd suddenly jumped to hyperspace? But, Cody couldn't get his lips to cooperate with his brain at all, and he would quickly black out again. By the time he regained consciousness, his visitor would be gone. Cody grew more and more frustrated.

Cody wasn't sure how many days had passed, but he was eventually loaded onto a large shuttle with some other wounded and transferred to Ord Cestus Medical Station. Cody was nauseous for the entire trip. He kept his eyes closed, just wishing the journey would be over. His condition hadn't seemed to be have improved at all. He still couldn't move at all. Worse still, nobody had come to speak to him about his condition since he'd been wounded. The last he'd heard was the conversation between the doctors in the operating room. He knew the doctors must be overwhelmed with wounded after the recent battle, but he was more than just a medical case. Had they forgotten he was a human being, too? He wasn't conscious for very long periods of time. But, during those brief periods, all he felt was increasing frustration. As Cody was transferred from the shuttle to his room, he felt like a piece of cargo. 'Here's your delivery of Cody. Where would you like it?' 'Oh, just stack it up there against the wall. It's not important. We'll get to it later.' Cody wondered if anybody would speak to him now that he was at the medical station. He'd been dropped off into a private room by a medical technician. The technician had informed Cody he'd be "seen him a doctor," and then promptly left the room. Cody hadn't seen anyone since, and that was hours ago. Cody was still completely immobilized— his neck was in the stiff brace, and his hands and ankles were bound to the bedrails, preventing any movement. A doctor did eventually come in, but when Cody tried to ask a question it just came out as: "W- w- w –"

The doctor smiled sympathetically, before injecting something into Cody's IV. _No!_ Cody thought, _don't knock me out again!_ _Talk to me! Tell me what's going on! What is happening with my men? What was the outcome of the battle? Where is the 212th now-_

He quickly lost consciousness.

# # #

Cody stared up at the ceiling of his private room, feeling lonelier than he'd ever felt in his life. He had no idea how long he'd been in this room. He had no idea why he was in a private room, and not in a general ward. It seemed each time he awoke, someone else came in and injected something else into his IV. He'd give anything to see a familiar face. He was feeling completely abandoned. He couldn't help but think about General Kenobi. The last time he was seriously wounded, he'd been sent to Kalinda Shoals. General Kenobi was back at the Jedi Temple, but he had still called Cody every day. Why had there been no contact with Kenobi? Rex always seemed to find out through the grapevine when Cody was wounded. Cody could always expect regular comms from Rex checking up on him until he was well. Cody felt a deep pang. There were so many things he missed about Rex's steady friendship. Cody had three million brothers, but he'd only ever had one best friend. Cody actually felt a tear slip down his cheek, and he couldn't wipe it away. He felt ashamed for crying, and hoped the tear dried up before anybody noticed it.

"Commander Cody?"

_Kriff. Of course somebody comes in now just when I'm getting all emotional._

"Commander? Are you alright?"

Cody gasped. He recognized that voice! He actually tried to turn his head toward the voice, but it was just like when he tried to speak. He sent the command to his neck to turn, but nothing happened. He grunted in frustration, and closed his eyes.

"Commander?"

Suddenly, he felt a pair of warm hands grab the side of his face, and he was looking up into a familiar pair of green eyes. Cody tried to say the words "Commander Offee," but he was still so sedated and drugged up, that the words came out as "co-ffee."

# # #

"Yes, Commander, it's me. You remember me."

Cody rolled his eyes at Commander Offee. Of course, he remembered her! They had worked together several times, quite successfully, in fact, and she was the best friend of Ahsoka, Rex's closest friend. Plus, well, he always seemed to get nervous when he was near her, but he could never figure out why. Yes, he definitely knew Jedi Barriss Offee. The big question was – what was she doing here in his room?

"Wh- wh- u?" Cody finally managed to force out, and even that was more than he'd managed to say to anyone else since he'd been injured.

Barriss frowned. Cody felt that slight pressure against his mind that the Jedi exerted when they were reading thoughts. He relaxed, and allowed Barriss access to his thoughts. It was not something he would normally allow, but well, it was not like he had any other options. While he was at it, he was going to let her know he needed off of these drugs. Oh, and shab, he was frustrated. He was also hungry. Or, maybe queasy. Or, thirsty? Something. And, just what was going on? Where was he? Why did he have to be restrained all the time? He felt like he was being interrogated, or something. If he couldn't move anyway, why did he have to be tied down? And, where was the rest of the 212th? When could he get out of here and go back to the 212th? Where was General Kenobi? Why hadn't he come to see him? And, when-

"OK, OK, Commander! I get it! You have a lot of questions!" Barriss began laughing, and put her hands up like holding back an onslaught. She settled into a chair next to his bedside, draping her robes comfortably around her. Cody got the impression she'd already spent some amount of time in that chair. "I'm going to be here for a while, so I'll try to answer your questions the best I can. Let's tackle them one-by-one. Alright, let's talk…"

Cody actually smiled, for the first time in what felt like weeks. Having a visitor was very welcome.

# # #

"You're here because you were wounded on Kaz'haria," Barriss voice dropped a bit at the mention of the battle. She sighed deeply, then continued, "We sustained very, very grave losses that day. You were one of the few who came back alive, Commander Cody." Cody's eyes widened as he thought of the great number of troops that had been deployed in what they thought would be a decisive victory against the Separatists.

"T- t-?" Cody needed to confirm with Barriss what he'd heard aboard the ship that day, but couldn't get the word out. He looked at Barriss pleadingly. He felt her brush up against his mind again. He sent the one thought to her clearly.

_Trap?_

Barriss looked at Cody and nodded solemnly, "Yes, Commander Cody, the whole thing was a trap."

"K-k-"

He felt Barriss brush up against his mind.

_General Kenobi?_

Barriss shook her head sadly.

A spike of alarm shot through Cody.

"No, no! You misunderstand," Barriss said, gripping Cody's arm. Cody looked down at his arm, sadly, and felt alarmed. He couldn't feel his arm at all. Barriss somehow instantly understood. She put her hands on his face, and lightly brushed her hands against his face. The touch, although very light, was incredibly soothing, "the General is not dead," Barriss' green eyes looked into Cody's. "He and the others, they were all captured."

Cody stared at her, begging for more details.

"When I said it was a trap, we think the whole thing — it was all a setup all along in order to capture clones and Jedi. We don't know for what reason. They've sent out teams of Jedi, and special Commando teams, to look for them. But, so far, they have no leads at all. It's as if they've vanished without a trace." Barriss looked completely glum. "My Master, Luminara, is one of the ones out looking for them, assigned to a Clone Commando Team."

Cody looked at her quizzically.

"Why aren't I with her?... Well, that's an easy one to answer. Because I've been assigned to you! And, I can't be in both places at once!"

Cody's eyes widened in surprise.

"M-m-m-" and Barriss could tell he was trying to say-"Me?"

Barriss nodded, "Yes. Ever since what happened with Captain Rex," Barriss voice grew somber at the mention of their lost friend, and they both looked down for a moment in memory of Rex, "the council has gotten much more involved in the handling of wounded clones."

Cody's eyes widened in surprise. He thought about what Barriss had said for a long moment, and then realized that even in death, Rex was still watching his back, and saving him.

Cody turned his eyes away from Barriss, as he felt himself getting slightly overwhelmed again, thinking about Rex.

"Commander, what's wrong?"

Cody turned his eyes away from her, and wouldn't meet her gaze. He felt her thoughts brush up against his, but he intentionally left his mind blank. General Kenobi had once told him he actually was quite good at shielding his thoughts from him. Then, again, the General always asked Cody before reading his mind, unless it was an absolute emergency.

Barriss frowned, and continued to gaze at him. She chewed her bottom lip. Cody slowly turned his eyes back toward her as the silence stretched on. He was worried she would leave. He stared at her lip as she chewed on it. He felt her mind brush up against his, and the intrusion caught him unprepared. He stared up at her, startled.

"H-h-"

_Hey!_

"I'm sorry, Commander Cody. But, I needed to know what was wrong."

_Well, you could've asked. It's rude to just go thumping about in somebody's brain, you know._

"I did ask."

_Oh. Well, maybe I didn't want to talk about it._

"Tell me what's wrong. You looked…very upset when I first came in."

_Kriff! I'm not going to apologize for my language- you're inside my head. As far as I'm concerned, I'm free to curse here. (Cody could feel she was amused by that.) I was… frustrated… by a whole lot of stuff. And, nobody has talked to me since I was injured. Not even to tell me what was going on. The only thing I heard was what I overheard the doctors in the operating room saying-_

"You were awake for your surgery?"

_Well, just in the beginning, before they cut anything. I don't seem to go under very easily with medication. I never seem to be out when I'm supposed to be out._

"Go on. What did you hear them say, Commander?"

_One of them was saying how they were going to send to Kamino, so they should just let me die in the bacta instead. The other one said that I was going to be paralyzed permanently if they did surgery, and then I'd be sent to Kamino and exterminated. So, they said either way I was going to killed. So, bacta would be a better option than being sent to Kamino because it would be a more humane death. But, then the other doctor said that wasn't even an option, because they were completely out of bacta tanks-_

"OK, OK, I don't need to hear any more," Barriss sounded very emotional. Cody looked over at her and she had tears in her eyes. Cody had meant to tell the whole story, including the part about the Jedi healer, since it involved her. "I had no idea you'd heard them discussing you in the operating room. And, no doctor came to discuss your case with you afterwards? Has anyone come to see you since you've been here?"

_No. Just you. They just kept coming in and adding stuff into the IV line so that I couldn't stay awake. You're the first medical person to speak to me since the medtechs who picked me up off the battlefield. They just kept saying I was badly injured, and I needed to hold still._

"Oh, Commander Cody! No wonder you've been so frustrated!" Barriss began stroked his cheeks, in long soothing lines.

Cody closed his eyes, and sighed with the simple pleasure of it. Her fingers felt incredibly nice, relieving the stress lines all around his face. He could feel himself relaxing into her touch. He really wanted to stay awake and talk to her some more. It felt like so long since he'd had a conversation with anyone, even if they weren't actually speaking.

"Commander, don't fight it. If you're tired, go to sleep. Get some rest."

Cody didn't want to rest. He wanted to talk to her some more. He felt Barriss brush up against his mind.

'Sleep,' she whispered gently.

He quickly dropped off to sleep.

# # #


	46. Chapter 46 Old Scars News Scars

_A/N: Revised February 9, 2013. Still trying to fix some POV stuff._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 46**

When Cody next awoke, he was worried it had all just been a dream. Before he'd opened his eyes, he had a spike of anxiety, worried that he was still completely alone.

Then, he felt a hand brush lightly against his cheek, "Cody, what's wrong?"

He opened his eyes, and saw Barriss Offee peering into his face.

"You're here," Cody sighed heavily with relief. He noticed he could speak again, although his voice was raspy. His throat felt terribly dry, and his mouth had an unpleasant-cottony sensation to it. His head felt much clearer, and it was the least drugged up he'd felt since getting wounded.

Barriss smiled at him, placing a hand to the side of his face, "Of course, I'm here. I was assigned to you, remember?"

Cody had this strange urge to lean in to her hand. He resisted the urge, since it would be completely improper.

"Why I am here?" Cody asked.

"You mean, what happened to you?"

Cody wanted to nod. He never realized how often he did that, until now that he couldn't do it anymore. He settled for saying, "Yes," which felt like a rather mechanical and wooden response.

"As you already know, the whole battle on Kaz'hariah was a Separatist trap. The 212th walked into a mine field. It detonated all at once," Barriss paused, "do you remember that?"

A minefield! It hadn't seemed like an aerial bombardment. An explosion that came up from below made much more sense!

Cody thought back to that day, trying to remember the whole sequence of events, "I was leading the 212th, in a standard point-formation, to the rear. We were providing back-up to the 501st, which was in the lead. The General- he was running. I could tell that, and it all sounded incredibly urgent. Something was happening with the 501st and he needed me to move up additional men immediately—I never heard what… Next thing I knew, I was staring up at the sky," Cody swallowed hard, "I couldn't hear or feel anything. I called out, but nobody answered me," Cody coughed. His throat was so very dry.

"You need water." Barriss said, "I'm sorry! I should have asked when you first woke up. I'm not used to you being awake."

Cody wondered at the statement. How long had she been in his room while he'd been asleep?

Barriss looked around his room. Cody had been getting all his fluids through an IV. She looked at his neck brace. He couldn't drink out of a glass.

"I'll be right back, and then we need to talk some more," Barriss said, disappearing out of the room.

Cody followed her with his eyes, feeling a strange sense of panic when she left. He was worried she wasn't going to come back. He stared at the door the whole time she was gone. She returned, hurrying in with a bottle of water and an eye dropper. She sat back down again in her chair next to the bed. Before she gave Cody the water, she said: "I could feel your anxiety."

Cody turned red, feeling embarrassed. He looked away. Barriss reached out, touching his face. Turning his face back toward her again, "Don't feel shame for normal emotions, Cody. I'd be much more worried about you if you weren't having these emotions. What I wanted to say was, I want you to have confidence that I'm going to stay here with you. I've made a commitment to finish your treatment and therapy until you're released back to duty."

Cody looked at her, puzzled, but also relieved. "Treatment? Therapy?" He coughed as he rasped the words out.

Barriss laughed, "So many questions! First things first. Water." Barriss opened up the bottle of water, and suctioned up water into the eye dropper. She lifted it up to Cody's lips, and coaxed the clone to open his mouth, "Drink."

The water tasted amazingly good. He ended up sucking on the eye dropper greedily until he was out of breath. "More," he demanded, thinking he could never get enough.

Barriss laughed, and refilled it. "I'll give you some more, but we can't overdo it, OK?"

Cody didn't care about overdoing it. He swallowed the second batch of water, relieved to have the parching sensation in his throat finally eased, "More," he demanded in his sternest command tone.

Barriss shook her head, laughing. "Nice try, Commander, but no. We need to let that settle first."

Cody's disappointment must have shown on his face. He gazed right up at the Jedi giving her a pleading look. Barriss laughed again, this time with a sparkle in her eyes that Cody really liked, "Commander! You're not playing fair! When you look at me that way, it's…" she stopped, and then blushed, unsure how to continue.

Cody suddenly forgot his thirst. He was immensely pleased he made her blush. "Not Commander," he corrected, "Just Cody."

Barriss' eyes widened, and he could tell that little bit of informality made her uncomfortable. He didn't care, though. At the moment, she seemed to be his only link to his old life, and his only ticket out of here. Not that he minded being called by his title, but making her blush and catching her off-guard seemed to be his only amusements in this place.

Barriss cleared her throat, "OK, then, Cody," she seemed to be trying to maintain professional distance between them. She recapped the water, and placed it on a nearby table.

OK, as fun as that was, Cody needed to find out more about his condition, "Commander Offee, you were going to tell me about what happened to my neck?"

Cody noticed she hadn't asked him to call her 'Barriss.' Then, again, she wasn't the one who'd been left tied arm and leg like an arena animal for the weeks now. She probably wasn't totally starved for the slightest amusement like he was. Cody studied the bridge of tattoos on her nose as she spoke, realizing she truly was the only bright spot in this place.

"Right, uh, Cody…"

Cody couldn't help smiling again. She really seemed quite flustered. He wondered if all padawans were like this, or if this was unique to Barriss. She really was most entertaining. "The battle, Commander Offee? You were telling me about what happened during the battle of Kaz'haria as it related to the 212th?" Cody prompted.

"Yes, Comman-, er, uh, _Cody_," Barriss said, enunciating his name carefully, "so, uh, Kaz'haria… right… so, according to the briefing I received from the Jedi Council… the 212th approached the battlefield at a slightly different trajectory than the enemy had projected. You didn't hit the minefield full on. So, there were other survivors of the minefield explosion, most of whom were brought here to this same medical station. Your troops suffered primarily concussive, blast overpressure, and shrapnel injuries, with some tertiary injuries where troopers were thrown against AT-TEs, and other equipment. You, Commander Cody, ended up with shattered ribs, and internal bleeding on one side. They were able to repair most of the organ damage through surgery. Your ribs are knitting themselves back together. They'll heal, given enough time," Barriss reached down and placed a hand against Cody's side. He wished he could feel it. "The most serious damage came from the shrapnel that hit your neck, right below your helmet," Barriss brought a hand up to the brace that surrounded Cody's neck. "You have shrapnel here, Cody. Base of the neck. They couldn't remove it. The pieces were too small, too fragmented, and there were simply too many of them."

"Continue, please, Commander Offee," Cody said, when Barriss hesitated to continue the story.

Barriss took a deep breath and plunged on, "Cody, where the shrapnel is, it's probably… well…" she hesitated.

Cody's eyes bored into hers, demanding she continue, "… well, the positioning is... unfortunate," she very lightly tapped his neck brace, "if the pieces float up higher at all, they can get up into the brainstem area. That controls breathing, and vital functions. If it gets just a little bit lower to those vital first vertebrae, then you have…"

"…complete paralysis," Cody filled in, remembering the conversation of the doctors in the operating room. "I'm curious, though, exactly how and why would I have died in the bacta?"

Barriss looked at him, surprised. "Because the bacta would have forced your body to start healing around the shrapnel, likely forcing it up into the brainstem."

"Makes sense," Cody said, dispassionately, "so, the doctors created a third option, then. Well, that's lucky for me." But, there was absolutely no emotion at all in his voice.

Barriss nodded, giving Cody a concerned look.

"Clone doctors, obviously," Cody said, his voice growing colder.

Barriss nodded, "Yes, they were, actually."

"If only Rex had gotten that lucky," the clone commander muttered, his voice sounding twisted and bitter.

Barriss reached out and gripped Cody's hand, which was tied to the side of the bed. It was a bit awkward, due to the restraints. "I am sorry about Rex, Cody. I know you two were close." He gazed down at his hand, and wondered if he should tell her he couldn't feel that, at all. Surely she knew.

"Yeah, well, he deserved better than to get shipped off to Kamino like that. He ended up dying, wounded, on a defenseless troop transport at the mercy of pirates," Cody said, trying not to take his frustrations out on Barriss. But, at that moment, she was the closest available Jedi. "Did Ahsoka tell you she sensed him dying?" Barriss' eyes widened and she shook her head.

Cody shook his head in disgust, "Well, she did, and it messed her head up good, that's for sure. All she sensed was Rex being in pain, and him getting thrown around, and then him suffocating…"

Barriss put a hand up to her mouth in horror, and then shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Cody. I didn't know."

Cody shook his head, continuing on, "Captain Rex was the most loyal clone I ever served with, and put his life on the line for the Republic time and time again. He deserved better than to be abandoned and shipped off to the Kaminoans like that. What do you think was going through the Captain's mind during those last few days of his life? None of us will ever know, because we never even got a chance to say goodbye to him. You talk a nice game, Commander, but how do I know they're not going to exterminate me, too?" Cody's eyes drilled into Barriss', ice cold, and Barriss could see weeks of frustration in them. Behind that, she could see deep-buried pain at the loss of Cody's closest friend.

"That is not going to happen!" Barriss said emphatically.

"I'm already tied down here like a nerf ready for slaughter," Cody said, his lips twisting bitterly, as he gazed down at his restraints, "you may as well just call in the Kaminoans?" Cody began looking around wildly, "Hey, aihwa' bait! You gonna' come for me now, too?" Cody shouted. Cody looked toward the door. He looked at Barriss challengingly, "Surely, you must keep some of those fishheads in residence at every medical center. Got to keep us breeding stock nice and pure, right?"

Barriss looked over at the door with concern. Raising up one hand, she closed the door to the hallway, giving them some privacy.

"Cody, stop!" Barriss leaned in over Cody, and grabbed his face with both hands, "stop!" They stared at each other, Barriss' green eyes and Cody's brown eyes facing down into each other.

"Listen to me, Cody," Barriss said, not letting go of Cody's face, "I am not your enemy. You can lash out at me all you want, if it makes you feel better. But, you and I are on the same side. I was extremely upset by what happened to Captain Rex, as were all the Jedi at the Temple. The practice of sending clones back to Kamino was a backhand deal approved by someone, we don't know who. It was either done by somebody in the Senate, or maybe it goes even higher. But, it was definitely not authorized by the Jedi Council. The Council is trying to make amends now, by doing better for clones who are seriously wounded, including _you_. But, I can't help you if you start fighting me. Is that understood?"

Cody felt Barriss push up against his mind. He resisted at first, but he was too exhausted and angry to fight for long. He had nothing left in him. He just didn't care anymore. He felt the Jedi pushing through his barriers and suddenly she was in his head, catching him in a totally raw unguarded moment. She stared at him with wide eyes as she suddenly understood. The grief she'd seen on Cody's face when she'd first walked in the room. He'd been grieving, not for himself, or his injuries, but for the loss of his friend.

"I'm sorry, Cody," Barriss said, resting her forehead up against Cody's, "I really am. Rex was a great man." She rested her hands against Cody's face. "Oh, Cody," Barriss whispered, softly, and she just kept her forehead against his, softly soothing.

He felt totally drained, and his body just drifted out into a dreamless slumber with the Jedi still resting against him. It was the first time he managed to sleep without nightmares since the battle of Kaz'haria.

# # #


	47. Chapter 47 What happened at Kaz'hariah

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 47**

When Cody next awoke, his eyes immediately looked to the chair next to the bed. It was empty.

Cody's mind still felt clear, and he realized that he was still off the drugs. He wondered if he had Barriss to thank for that. He remembered sending her a whole deluge of thoughts. OK, not so much thoughts, more like a huge torrent of complaints. Being drugged up had been high up on his complaints. Cody closed his eyes and thought back to their last conversation. He felt a spike of panic as he remembered how angry he'd been. He'd almost outright accusing her of being responsible for what happened to Rex. Cody groaned. He was such an idiot! What had he done?

"Cody?"

Cody heard a sleepy voice from across the room. He looked beyond the chair pulled directly adjacent to his bed, and noticed something new. He no longer had a private room. There was now a cot a few feet from his bed. Barriss was sitting up on the cot, yawning, and looking over at him. She looked exhausted; as if it were the first sleep she'd had in a long while. He knew that look of absolute exhaustion. Was he the cause of her fatigue?

Barriss pushed herself up, her black hair spilling out of the severe hood she always wore. She worked her way back over to his bedside, tucking her hair back in until none was visible. Stifling a yawn, she checked his IV line, then the readings on several of his monitors. Then, she felt his forehead, then checked the bindings on his hands and ankles, before slipping into the chair next to the bed. All her movements were practiced and comfortable, as if she had done this many times before.

"What's wrong, Commander?" Barriss asked, quickly stifling one more yawn, before sitting up straight and proper in the chair. Cody noticed a difference in her demeanor from the day before. Now that she was wide-awake, she was calling him by his title again. But, her whole demeanor seemed even more stiff and formal than before.

Before, she would lean in slightly toward him when she spoke to him. Or, she would often touch his face, since he couldn't feel or move anyplace else. But, now, she was holding herself distant from him. He knew he deserved it. He just hadn't realized until now how much he would miss her little touches. Cody's wished he could move well enough to hang his head in shame, "I'm sorry."

Barriss remained silent, and just let him continue.

"I was wrong," Cody continued quietly, eyes averted away, blowing out a breath, "to say what I did. I was angry, about…" he didn't want to say Rex's name out loud because of all the emotions it would churn up, "a lot of things, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I wanted to apologize for my actions, Commander Offee. They were inexcusable."

Cody felt a hand on the side of his face, and he glanced up to see Barriss smiling at him. "I would be honored, Comm-, Cody, if you would call me, Barriss."

Cody looked at her, surprised. He hadn't expected her to forgive him.

"Barriss," Cody repeated back, liking the way her name rolled off his tongue.

Barriss felt a strange shiver when she heard Cody say her name. Perhaps getting on a first name basis wasn't such a good idea. Well, there was no going back now.

"Well, Cody, I think you had a lot of pent-up frustration you needed to get out. Maybe there's still more. But, at least now, maybe you'll feel a bit better, and we can start healing. Sometimes you have to open up a wound, before it can begin to heal."

Cody still felt badly that he'd yelled at Barriss because of Rex. But, she hadn't left him. He was glad. He didn't think he could survive this place without her.

Probably better to discuss something other than Rex. Losing a friend like that is not something a man gets over, and talking about things like that never helped.

"Barriss," Cody started out, still savoring the way her name sounded when he said it aloud. He noticed she reacted a bit strangely when he said her name. Interesting. "How are you going to help me heal, and get me back to the 212th?"

_Or, what's left of it,_ Cody thought grimly. _Now he knew how Rex felt after the battle of Teth. He wished he could see a troop roster so he knew exactly who made it, who was injured, what their status-_

"One thing at a time, Cody. Let's talk about your healing. I'll see if I can find out some more detailed information about your men. I'd want to know the same thing, in your position. It must be terrible to be responsible for so many men, and then to be placed in his position now, where you don't know what has happened to them."

Cody looked at her, grateful for her understanding. But, somewhat wary at her intrusion. "Are you reading my thoughts all the time?"

"I don't mean to, Cody. But, I've been doing a lot of healing on you ever since I arrived. Sometimes that forms a bond. Right now you are broadcasting your thoughts very loudly. Between the combination of the two, it's like shouting in my head."

"I was shouting in your head?" Cody's eyes were wide, trying to comprehend the strangeness of Barriss' abilities. The Jedi were just so weirdly different from the well-ordered clone life he'd known. Barriss shot him a hurt "I'm sorry! I was shouting again, wasn't I? I didn't mean to imply that you were, uh, that is, to call you, uh…."

"Weird?"

Cody grimaced, red-faced, "Yeah." He blew out a sigh, feeling like he blew it again.

"It's OK," she stroked the side of his face, "I've actually been called a lot worse, "if you want, I can teach you how to, uh, tune things down. It would make it easier on both of us," Barriss suggested gently, "I can guide you during one of our healing sessions. You were unconscious for all of the other ones. But, now that you are awake more, I can teach you some things."

Cody looked at Barriss, completely intrigued. No Jedi had ever offered to teach him such things, not even Kenobi. He'd once implied Cody was good at shielding his thoughts from him, but never offered any advice, tips or techniques on how to do a better job of it.

"Yes!" Cody said.

Barriss smiled at his enthusiasm, pleased to see him taking such interest.

"Tell me more, about what you've been doing to heal me?"

Barriss smiled again, sensing a lot of positive energy coming from Cody now. Barriss placed a gentle hand on his neck brace. "You were very fortunate, Cody, in that one of your clone doctors knew something about Jedi healers. In addition to mending bone, and torn tissue within the body, Jedi healers can also dissolve things in the body that shouldn't be there. It's much harder than other types of healing, but bit-by-bit we can dissolve obstructions, tumors, and even foreign objects, and then get the body to clear the pieces away through it's normal flushing systems."

"You're dissolving the shrapnel pieces, like you would a tumor!"

Barriss nodded, pleased at how quickly Cody was grasping the concepts, "It can be done, but it's much more difficult. It requires a healer with advanced training. It can be a lengthy process, especially with a case as complex as yours. It's why I was assigned to you, and you alone."

Cody looked at Barriss, and realized now why she looked so exhausted. "How long have you been healing me?" he asked, feeling guilty she was exhausting herself on his account.

"The doctors wanted to keep you sedated, until they knew it was working. I've been here about two weeks."

"Two weeks! How long has it been since I was wounded?"

"About three and a half weeks now."

Cody's mind seized upon something Barriss had mentioned earlier, "The trap!"

"Yes?"

"Kenobi, the others, they've been missing for three and a half weeks?"

Barriss could tell Cody was getting very upset again. She began sending him waves of soothing energy, calming him down. "Yes, Cody, but I told you, we have teams of Jedi Masters, each assigned to a Republic Commando Team, searching for them. We're doing everything we can to find them."

"And?" Cody demanded.

Barriss bit her lip, and looked saddened, "There's been no word yet."

Despite Barriss' efforts to soothe Cody, she could feel how anxious he was getting. Pent-up energy was building up inside of him. Despite being restrained, he looked like he wanted to burst up out of the bed.

"No leads at all?" Cody demanded.

Barriss shook her head.

"Who's out there? Which teams? Who is leading the search?"

"Cody," Barriss placed a restraining hand on his arm, "I know how hard it is to be in a position where you can't do anything to help. But, the Jedi Council has made finding them a top priority."

"They've kidnapped your precious Chosen One," Cody said, narrowing his eyes. He remembered Rex telling him how Skywalker was always being called 'the Chosen One,' but nobody could ever come up with an explanation of what it was he'd been chosen for- the title seemed rather meaningless to Cody.

Barriss folded her arms across her chest, and gave Cody a withering look, "Are you going to start taking an attitude with me again?"

Cody wanted to shake his head, but couldn't. He settled for muttering, "No."

Barriss continued on, "Skywalker is with Kenobi, of course. We have our best Jedi and Commando teams searching for our missing men," Barriss paused, glancing at Cody for a long searching moment, "And, we're not just missing men," Barriss' voice dropped, and Cody could hear her voice tremble for a moment, "Ahsoka is with them." Cody stared at Barriss, "Ahsoka!" Cody felt sickened. Of course! She would have been with Skywalker, and the 501st. He had just been so preoccupied with his own General, he hadn't thought about Ahsoka until now. He groaned, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Cody?" Barriss asked, concerned.

He'd promised Rex he'd watch out for Ahsoka. And, he hadn't even thought about her until now. A fine job he'd done watching out for her. He'd lost not only Kenobi, but Ahsoka as well! How long had Rex been gone? And, now, he'd lost Ahsoka!

"Cody! This isn't your fault!" Barriss was stroking the side of his face. Cody opened his eyes and looked at her. She'd been reading his thoughts again. He didn't care anymore.

"I promised, Rex," Cody moaned, softly, "I said I'd take care of Ahsoka."

"There's no way you could have prevented-"

"I was supposed to back them up!" Cody shouted, "the 212th was supposed to back them up! If I'd been in position to back up Skywalker, Ahsoka, Appo, and the rest of the 501st. If I had just gotten there in time—if I had just moved the 212th into position faster—if we hadn't hit the minefield-"

"Then, you'd be missing, too!"

"No!" Cody shouted, "I should have saved them! It was my duty!"

"It was a trap, Cody! A minefield exploded underneath you! No matter what move you made, the result would have been the same!"

"No! It was my duty, and I failed them!" Cody shouted, "I failed all of them! My fault! I-"

Barriss placed both hands on the side of Cody's head, and closed her eyes. Cody felt a warm, tickling sensation in his brain and suddenly he saw an overlay of images. It was the briefing that Barriss had received at the Jedi Temple. He saw a replay of the battle, as it would have been recorded from the bridge monitoring stations of the different star destroyers that had participated in the battle. He saw the blips that represented the positioning of the 501st, and the overwhelming forces closing in around them. He then saw the 212th coming up behind them, moving to assist. Too late, he saw the monitoring stations detect the minefield as it suddenly flared into life.

Barriss was right. The 212th had hit only a portion of the minefield. The minefield was huge. Had the 212th Attack Battalion rolled directly into it, they would have been shredded and incinerated instantly.

Right before the battle, Cody had received last minute orders from General Kenobi. He had changed the direction at which they would be crossing the terrain. General Kenobi had given no explanation for the last minute course change. But, Cody had obeyed his orders without question. At the time, the course change had meant crossing more difficult terrain that would be harder on the equipment and harder on the men. They had originally picked the original crossing because it funneled them over naturally much easier terrain to cross. Cody closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if the General had just gotten one of his vague feelings. _Thank you, General._ None of the 212th would have been alive if it hadn't been for the last minute course change.

After the 212th hit the minefield, Cody saw call after call for medical evac lighting up on the bridge monitoring stations. At the same time, the 501st Legion kept asking for back up from the 212th. As Cody followed the blips on the monitors, he saw that remaining portion of the 212th had continued on. He felt a surge of pride in his men. Despite losing half their Legion, and their Commander, in one strike, they'd still bravely soldiered on. They'd still gone on to back up their brothers in the 501st.

The pace of the battle became frenetic at that point. The Star Destroyers themselves came under attack. Wave after wave of vulture droids seemed to drop out of nowhere. It was the first sign of standard Separatist hardware seen in the battle. The ships swarmed all around the Star Destroyers firing wave after wave of attack. The vulture droids also began surging upon and firing upon the gunships ferrying the wounded.

As Cody watched the battle through Barriss' eyes, the remainder of the 212th surged in behind the 501st. But, suddenly, huge numbers of enemy forces swarmed in from everywhere, completely encircling both legions. The screens went crazy with requests for medical evac, requests for backup, requests for aerial bombardment. Then, all the images abruptly stopped.

Cody opened his eyes, and stared at Barriss in confusion.

"The star destroyers were all ordered to jump to hyperspace." Barriss explained quietly, "When the Admiral realized he'd been lured into a trap, he decided to pull out with what forces he still had left."

"He panicked," Cody said, eyes narrowing.

Barriss took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment in sorrow, and laid her hand gently again on Cody's face. Cody remembered the confusion on the medtechs faces, as they jumped to hyperspace. There were still wounded on the ground, and larties full of wounded still on route to the cruisers. What had happened to all of them? Abandoned and left to be picked off by the enemy? What about his remaining men from the 212th? The ones who had bravely picked up after the minefield had gone off, and still backup up their brothers in the 501st?

He opened his eyes, feeling such a deep abiding hurt and pain. Barriss deep green eyes were looking right into his, full of understanding, "We believe they were captured, Cody," Barriss said. "And, the larties," her voice grew very grim, "it appears all of the inbound larties were destroyed by the vulture droids."

Cody groaned, remembering the heavy fire his own gunship came under as they were trying to dock. They must have just been coming under attack from the first wave of vulture droids. His own survival was nothing more than a coincidence of timing.

Barriss cocked her head, and looked at him, "You know, Cody, maybe you don't want to hear this. But, we Jedi prefer to think of those kinds of things as the will of the Force."

He closed his eyes, trying to assimilate all this new information. He opened his eyes again, and looked at Barriss. She was looking at him, with concern and compassion in her eyes.

Cody stared at the ceiling for a long time. Barriss was right. He was alive, when so many other good men before him had died, including Rex. There must be a reason he had been chosen to live, something more than just a random trick of fate. He would not waste this opportunity he had been given.

Barriss was sitting there, patiently waiting. She was always so patient. Cody was absolutely amazed by her.

"Thank you," Cody said, meeting her gaze for a long moment, an understanding passing between them. "Tell me what I need to do so I can retrieve my men."

# # #


	48. Chapter 48 Healing

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 48**

Barriss yawned, and rolled over in her cot. She gazed over at Cody. He was already awake, and just looking at her.

"Morning," he said, getting right down to business, "can we start?"

Barriss raised up an eyebrow, "Well, this does beat you yelling at me."

Cody frowned, "Hey, I already apologized for that."

Barriss rolled to her side, and sat up, "You did. You're right. Sorry, just a bit overtired." She yawned hugely, and scratched her head. She stretched, and padded over to Cody.

"You should leave your hair down more often," Cody said, studying her face. "You shouldn't always hide behind that hood."

Barriss blushed furiously, and immediately pulled her hood back up. She was so tired that she'd forgotten about her hood. She never wore her hair down! She quickly began tucking all of her hair back into the hood. She noticed Cody was frowning.

"Why do you do that?" Cody asked softly, "Hide like that?"

Barriss stopped what she was doing, "I'm not hiding," she protested, "I always dress like this at the Temple."

"You're not at the Temple," Cody pointed out.

"Still, it's not proper-" Barriss protested.

"I'm in only lounge pants, _and_ I'm tied to the bed," Cody interrupted, "surely there's something terribly improper about that."

Barriss giggled.

Cody looked at her, eyes wide, "Did I just hear you giggle?"

Barriss nodded, blushing, covering her mouth with one hand. Cody looked deeply satisfied. He wondered if he could manage to get her to do it again sometime.

"Well, I guess it's not fair to just make you jump in and start work first thing in the morning," he scowled and looked at it his IV drip, "I guess unlike me, you actually require food. Do you want to get some caf or something before we get started?" Cody asked.

Barriss nodded. Caf sounded heavenly. She'd been grabbing a meal here and there at the medical center cafeteria when Cody had been sleeping. But, she hadn't been eating, or sleeping on a regular basis. She'd been too concerned about her new patient.

"Well, you'll have to get it," Cody said, nonchalantly,

"I'm feeling rather lazy today."

Barriss laughed again, and shook her head. It was good to see Cody in better spirits. Blowing up at her yesterday did seem to have released a lot of his pent-up frustrations. As Barriss turned to leave the room, Cody quipped, "I don't suppose you could bring me some, too?" Barriss shook her head at him, "No, Cody."

"What?" Cody protested, "they don't serve caf in eyedroppers here? Just kind of medcenter are they running here anyway?" Barriss actually giggled again. She turned around just enough, to see a deeply satisfied look appear on Cody's face again. She shook her head, and headed down to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast. But, as she walked, the sights and sounds that replayed in her mind were Cody's deep voice and the satisfied look he got on his face when he managed to make her smile. What was it about this particular clone that had always intrigued her so much? 

# # #

"Alright, now just relax, and I'm going to begin the healing, OK?"

Cody almost nodded, but caught himself just in time. _Yeah, Cody, you're paralyzed, remember? _He immediately cut off that line of thinking, refusing to get frustrated again.

"I'm ready," he said, realizing Barriss was still awaiting a response. He closed his eyes, and felt Barriss push against his mind. He dropped his barriers, letting her in. He then heard her voice inside his mind.

_- _OK, the healing should actually go quicker now that you are awake and conscious. We can actually work together on this.

_Then, why was I kept drugged up for the first two weeks while you were here?_

- Believe me, that was not my decision.

_Who?_

- Let's just say I've had a few run-ins with some of the doctors here. We had disagreements as to the best way to handle your care. It was a fight to get them to ease up on enough on the drugs so you could finally wake up. They just would have kept you under. None of the team here at the medical center have ever worked with Jedi healers. They're convinced I'm going to mess with the shrapnel and send pieces of it into your spine of brainstem. Or, I'll somehow get you so worked up that you'll do it to yourself. They seem to have a, um, lack of faith, or perhaps, better to say, lack of knowledge, about what I can do.

Cody was amused at her diplomatic language.

_I know you can do this._

He could feel that Barriss was pleased at his faith in her abilities.

_Have you ever been healed by a Jedi before?_

_A little, by Kenobi. But, it's not his strong suit._

- No, even Jedi masters have difficulties with it, if they are not trained healers. It requires a great deal of specialized training, and a certain natural intuition for healing.

_You're politely saying you're either born with the skill, or not. You were obviously born with the gift._

-Yes. It is why I was chosen to be a healer.

_Do you like being a healer?_

Cody could tell the question caught her off-guard.

- No one has ever asked me that before.

_Well, do you?_

Cody could tell she was giving the matter serious thought.

- Yes, I believe I do like being a healer… Most of the time. It can be quite challenging, at times.

_Like with me?_

- Actually, this has been one of my better assignments.

_Oh._

Cody had no idea how to interpret her response.

- Should we get started?

Cody was still off-guard from her earlier answer. _Uh, yeah. What do I need to do?_

- Just relax. Things should progress faster now that you are coherent, instead of all drugged up.

_Why? I mean, I know why I'm not drugged up anymore. Thank you for that, by the way. I mean, why will the force healing work better?_

Cody could sense Barriss was amused, rather than annoyed, by Cody's naturally inquisitive nature.

- Force healing is complex to explain, since it is an energy, and done by feeling and intuition, as much as it is by training and experience.

Cody struggled to understand, since so much of what he did was based strictly on rigid training and experience. It was actually frightening to him to think so much of the rest of his life, actually everything about his life, rested on something so counterintuitive to how he operated.

- But, to answer your question, Cody, the healing process itself can be very draining. I can sometimes draw strength from the person I am healing, connect with them, during the healing process. But, this can only be done if they are awake and aware of what is happening to them. It is this ability that allows those who are strong in the Force to heal unusually quickly.

_I'm a fast learner._

Barriss could sense Cody was eager to proceed now that he knew something of how it worked. Underlying it all, she could sense his eagerness to get back out there and rescue his General.

- Cody, I can't guarantee this is going to work. You may not-

_Let's talk about that later. Come on, let's go._

Despite his impatience, Barriss felt Cody force his mind into a relaxed state. He also even further let down his mental barriers. Barriss was impressed. She had no idea where he'd even learned how to erect such barriers in the first place. She felt a slight trickle of amusement from him. He was sensing as much through their bond as she was. It was a very strange experience. She had never been this intimately connected with any clone while doing healing before. Nervous, and feeling like she was taking a step into something new, she wasn't quite sure what, Barriss plunged on.

She connected more deeply with Cody's mind, trying to avoid prying into anything deeply personal. She was awash in his most recent memories, starting with waking up and seeing her in his room, and then going backwards through the events that had transpired on Kaz'haria.

Barriss followed along, riding the string of memories. She was looking for something…

Barriss was trying to establish a firm connection between them. His mind starting jumping backwards and suddenly Barriss gasped as she saw Ahsoka. For some reason, seeing her missing friend hit her by surprise. She quickly contained her emotional response and focused on Cody's memory.

Cody and Ahsoka were inquiring as to the whereabouts of Captain Rex. Barriss immediately felt Cody's stress levels rise. She pushed back further, going past that painful memory. Anything having to do with Captain Rex seemed to be a huge issue for Cody, but Barriss was starting to get it. She was starting to feel that way about Ahsoka.

Another recent memory popped up, and Barriss was surprised to see Ahsoka again. Cody and Ahsoka were laughing together by an elevator, and then mock-fighting over delectable looking pastries in a conference room. Barriss had never realized Ahsoka and Cody were friends. Ahsoka had often mentioned the friendship between Cody and Rex, and how important the friendship was to Rex. Barriss just hadn't realized that Ahsoka had also formed an attachment to Cody.

Barriss realized she now had exactly what she needed—she and Cody had a very important friend in common. Barriss focused upon the image of Ahsoka laughing and making a grab for delicious-looking pastries in the conference room. Cody responded well to the image. He was amused, and it was obviously a good positive memory for him. He thought very highly of Ahsoka. Barriss held on to that image, and then shared with Cody her own treasured memory of Ahsoka. Her memory of Ahsoka dated back several years from when they were both padawans in training at the Temple.

Ahsoka was even tinier, and her Jedi robes dwarfed her tiny, Togrutan frame. The two padawans were in the quarters that Barriss shared with Master Luminara at the Temple. They were in the kitchen area, and there was an alarming amount of smoke. The padawans were attempting to make a cake for Luminara's lifeday and it was not going well.

Baking was not part of a Jedi's training. It seems that kitchen skills just did not come naturally to Jedi, unlike so many of the other things Jedi were so innately talented in. The horrific, smoking morass that emerged from the oven did not look even remotely edible. It look as if younglings had taken their training lightsabers to it. Barriss was terribly upset, but Ahsoka, as usual, found humor in the situation.

"Well, I'm not sure if we should throw it in the disposal, or have memorial services for it," Ahsoka pursued her lips as she studied the lifeday cake. She folded her arms inside her oversized Jedi robes, and tried to look suitably serene as a Jedi should, but Barriss could tell she was having difficulties containing her laughter.

"It smells as if such services have already taken place," said a severe voice from the doorway. Both Ahsoka and Barriss gasped as they turned as one toward Master Luminara.

"What the Force is that?" Luminara pointed imperiously at the blackened mess in Ahsoka's hands.

"Happy Life Day!" Ahsoka called out cheerfully, thrusting the cake toward the Jedi Master.

Barriss covered her eyes with her hands, groaning. She heard a gasping sound, and finally uncovered her eyes. She looked up to see what the sound was.

Master Luminara was laughing.

"Is _that_ a cake?" Master Luminara finally asked, wiping tears from her eyes. Barriss had never seen her Master laugh so hard.

Barriss just nodded very solemnly, and said quietly, "Yes, Master."

With one swipe of her hand, Luminara levitated the cake away from Ahsoka, and into the disposal. She put an arm around each girl, "Well, I must thank you two padawans. I don't know when I've last had such a good laugh. This was indeed a good lifeday present."

Barriss looked at Ahsoka, thinking only her spunky best friend could pull off something like this.

"Now," the Jedi Master said, looking down at the two girls, "what do you say we go down to the cafeteria for some sweetcake? I smelled some baking earlier, and I think I might just be able to use my influence to get us the biggest piece." She steered the two girls out of the room, turning on the room fans with a wave of her hand. "Now, Barriss," her Master scolded, as they headed down the hallway of the Temple, "you must promise you will _never _ attempt to bake anything again."

"Yes, Master."

"It's downright dangerous."

"Really? Oh, I mean, yes, Master!" Barriss corrected herself, after a confused moment, thinking of all the things they did as padawans, baking was considered dangerous?

"Yes!" Master Luminara's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, and she leaned her head in toward the two girls, "did no one ever tell you the story about Mace Windu and the time he had a craving for sweet-sand cookies?"

Both girls shook their heads, and their eyes widened, as they sensed a very good storing in the telling. Master Luminara practically hugged both girls all the way down to the cafeteria as she told them the story. Barriss could still remember that feeling of being held so close to her Master, and Ahsoka at the same time. It was about the safest, most secure, and most loved she'd ever felt. Her Master was not normally one for touchy-feely and Barriss had very little physical contact with anyone in her life. It was the happiest five minutes of her life, and when they entered the cafeteria, the three of them were all doubled-over with laughter at the story. Of course, when the doors to the caferia opened, sitting there at one of the tables was Mace Windu himself, drinking a cup of tea with Master Kenobi. Mace gave them a harsh look for their undignified outburst, and the three of them contained themselves with a little more decorum as they headed for the desserts. But, even as they stood on line for their cake, her Master surprised her, by elbowing lightly in the ribs, rolling her eyes in the direction of Mace Windu, and smiling lightly at her. That lifeday was the most light-hearted and laidback she'd ever seen her Master. It was a whole new side of Master Luminara that she had never seen before, and never knew existed. The next day was back to business-as-usual, and Barriss couldn't say she'd seen much of that side since. Her Master was fair, but strict. But, she knew she had Ahsoka to thank for a special day that was as much a gift to her, as it had been her Master.

She could feel Cody's shared amusement at the story, and knew they now had a good positive connection. It was something that was removed outside of the pain of the war, which would make the healing easier. Positive energy always worked much better, and Ahsoka was the most positive person Barriss knew.

Holding on to the positive connection she'd established, Barriss began to work her way toward Cody's injury site. She'd worked on his injury before, but it had been slow, exhausting work. She could already feel a difference now. She felt herself cocooned in a much stronger layer of positive energy. Ahsoka had often talked about Rex having a good sense of humor. Barriss was glad to discover Cody had a good sense of humor, as well.

She worked her way down past the first few undamaged vertebrae, and down to the base of the neck. The first of the shell fragments came into view. She could feel Cody's surprise as they came upon the foreign invaders that were now keeping him a prisoner inside his own body.

She immediately went to work on the largest fragment, the one that had so far proved most challenging. She'd made some progress in reducing its mass, but not as much as she would have liked after two weeks of work. She wrapped her energy around the fragment, and then began visualizing it getting smaller.

She was surprised how much easier the work was this time. She was able to hold on to the fragment for a much longer amount of time. After some time, she began to feel herself tiring. But, then she felt Cody's mind, urging her on, asking her to please try for just a little longer. Then, to her surprise, she also felt Cody visualizing the fragment, focusing on making it smaller. She had no idea what effect this would have, but she felt a renewed burst of healing energy. She felt Cody's elation, and this provided her with additional strength. She realized she was willing to push the envelope a great deal for Cody.

They continued on, far longer than Barriss had intended. Barriss then became aware that Cody's strength was waning. She felt a trickle of fear. She shouldn't have let this go on for so long. She pulled back, stopping work on the fragment they'd been focused upon. She felt Cody protest, but it wasn't a very strong protest. As she quickly assessed him, she could feel he was completely drained. Barriss kicked herself, for getting so caught up in the healing that she hadn't been monitoring Cody's fatigue levels adequately. Of course he would push himself completely past his limits! After he rested, she was going to have some serious words with him.

Barriss could feel that Cody wanted to say something to her before they broke their link, but she urgently needed to break their link. He felt too weak to her. Plus, she had to admit she was annoyed with him, and she didn't want that to come across in the link.

_Barriss, wait! I- _

But, Barriss quickly withdraw from Cody's mind before they could have any further communicate between them. She broke the link. When she did, she saw Cody's eyes roll back in his head. An alarm started beeping on one of his monitors. She looked up, wide-eyed, immediately standing up. He was hooked up to multiple monitors. Which monitor was it that was going off?

She'd asked the doctors to explain all the monitors on her first day in Cody's room, but they'd done a very cursory, inadequate explanation. There were such power struggles going on between them concerning Cody's care. When she asked the doctors' questions about Cody, she kept getting brushed off. She was constantly told it was not "her area of concern." Yet, Cody was her one and only patient! How could he _not_ be her area of concern! Barriss couldn't understand how these doctors could be so thick-headed!

An Ithorian doctor came rushing in and quickly shut off the alarm. The doctor stared at Barriss accusingly, "What did _you_ do?"

Barriss sputtered, "No, I- I-"

"Never mind! Stand aside!"

Barriss took several steps back, feeling devasted. She didn't recognize this doctor. She'd had run-ins with several of the doctors over the past two weeks, but none of them was an Ithorian. She steeled herself for having to go into a whole explanation about why she was there, once again. The doctor quickly called for a medication, using his commlink. A moment later, a nurse ran in the requeted medication. The doctor injected the med into Cody's IV line. The doctor watched the monitors for a few minutes, and then nodded, satisfied. He grabbed Cody's medical chart, and studied it, frowning. At least, Barriss thought he was frowning. It was very difficult to tell with Ithorians.

"Why were these patients' medications cut back?" the doctor asked, his tone conveying his displeasure.

"It was interfering with the healing process," Barriss explained.

"What 'healing process' are you referring to?" the doctor continued to look through the chart, and then stared at her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jedi Healer, Barriss Offee," Barriss put up a hand to forestall the doctor before he asked anymore questions, "and, I was specifically asked to be here to work with this patient."

"Your methods are dangerous and ineffective. I am going to suggest you be removed," the doctor said, spinning on his heel and leaving the room. Barriss stared after him, mouth agape.

She was absolutely fuming inside. How dare he treat her like that! She tried to reign in her emotions, knowing they were unbecoming of a Jedi.

"Well, that went well," a sleepy voice called from the bed, "that guy's a real charmer."

"Cody!" Barriss anger was instantly forgotten. She leaned over the bed, and looked into his face. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired," his voice was slurred, and his eyes were only half-open. "What happened?"

Barriss sighed, and brushed back a piece of hair from his face. She'd never seen his hair this long. He normally always kept it so short, and tightly cropped. "We overdid it on the healing. But, I did take full responsibility. I should have been monitoring you more closely-"

"Don't blame yourself. I pushed you. I'm sorry," Cody's brown eyes searched out hers, and she could see genuine remorse in them.

"No, Cody, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm really the one at fault here-"

"No, Barriss, I know it was me. I'm sorry," Barriss could see the sincerety in Cody's eyes, how honest and open he was with her now as he tried to explain his actions to her, "I just so badly want to get out of this bed. To get back to the 212th-"

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by the return of the Ithorian doctor. "He's awake already? Yes, his chart said he is drug-resistant. Yes, well, this just backs up what I'm about to do. He never should have had his dosages reduced. I just conferred with another doctor, and we agreed. As of right now, he is going to be put back on the paralytic drug, Immoblin 24-7. "

"NO!" Cody shouted from the bed.

The doctor reached up to inject a syringe into Cody's IV.

"NO!" Cody shouted again. He struggled to move, despite all his restraints, in a vain effort to stop the doctor. Barriss sent a burst of calming energy his way, trying to prevent him from harming himself.

She braced both hands on the side of face, "Cody, please! You mustn't move! The fragments!" She was so focused on Cody, she had no time to prevent the doctor from injecting the drug into the IV. She saw Cody give the doctor a venomous look, filled with hatred, and then he gave her a look of misery, hurt and frustration, right before his entire body slumped into unconsciousness.

Barriss reared on the doctor, who was calmly making a note in Cody's chart, "That was completely unnecessary!"

"On the contrast, Jedi Offee, was that your name? Yes, the commander's little outburst right now just proved what a misguided decision it was to ever back off his medications in the first place. I have documented all of this now in his chart. I have no doubt now that the other doctors will all back me up on this. The Commander will be kept on Immobilin 24x7 from now on."

"To what end?" Barriss asked, bitterly.

"What do you mean, to what end?" the doctor asked, "we are trying to save his life!" The doctor sounded very indignant that his methods were being questioned.

Barriss sank back down into her chair, and stared at Cody. All she could think of was the miserable, hurt look that he'd given her as his body succumbed to the effects of the paralyzing medication. While on the Immobilin, he would not be able to talk at all, would likely be in a drug-induced sleep for most of the day. Even if he did wake up, he would have difficulties with the most basic of functions, even focusing his eyes.

"One more thing, Jedi Offee," the doctor had paused in the doorway. Barriss didn't even turn around. At this point, she didn't even trust herself to be civil to the man. "I am going to recommend that the Commander be removed from a private room, and returned to the General Ward. It will make it easier for us to monitor him. This healing of yours seems dangerous and ineffective. I see no reason why it should be continued. You should head back home, and do whatever it is you Jedi do. Leave the doctoring to us doctors."

Barriss closed her eyes, as she felt tears spring up behind her eyes. She didn't know why she was letting this obnoxious doctor get to her. As a healer, she'd worked with difficult doctors before. She gritted her teeth in frustration, and looked back at Cody again. She half-expected him to open his eyes, and quip: "Is he gone yet?"

But, his body was completely still. Too still. Barriss had to reach out to him with the Force just to double-check he was even in there somewhere. Yes, Cody was still inside that bound, drugged and restrained body. But, he was in a deep, unnatural sleep. His breathing was very slow.

Barriss felt her head drooping. She was exhausted. She laid her head down on Cody's bed, next to his shoulder, and within seconds, she was asleep.

# # #


	49. Chapter 49 Luminara

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 49**

Barriss was awakened hours later, by her commlink. It was Master Luminara, checking in. Barriss was in such a deep sleep, it took two beeps of the comm before she even recognized what the noise was. She looked over at Cody, lying right next to her. She was still in the chair, where she'd fallen asleep slumped right next to his bedside. He was still stuck in that deep unnatural sleep. He hadn't reacted or moved at all when the comm had gone off. Barriss bit her lip, and squeezed her eyes shut in sorrow. It was painfully lonely now in this room without the Commander's laughing, teasing, challenging, sometimes-moody presence. The comm beeped again, demanding her attention, waking her up fully. Barriss stared down at it. Master! It was an audio-only call. She flipped her commlink on.

"Master! Barriss here. I'm sorry- for taking so long to respond," Barriss had learned from past experience that outright honesty worked best with her Master, "I was sleeping."

"You sound tired, my padawan. Is everything alright?" Barriss thought she could say the same of her Master. She could hear fatigue in her Master's voice.

Barriss blew out a breath, "No, Master. It's not. Actually, I had a difficult day. I could use your guidance, if you have the time."

"Yes, I have the time," her Master sounded pleased Barriss was asking for help. Barriss had been getting more and more independent lately. She couldn't remember the last time she'd asked her Master for help like this. But, well, she was asking for guidance now.

"Where are you, Master?" Barriss asked. "You're safe?"

"Yes, my padawan. Stop worrying," she could hear amusement in her Master's tone, "We are following up on a lead to the far Outer Rim. It's the most solid lead we've had to date. I'm hoping we'll find something this time. But, it will take the Commando Team and I several days to get to this next planet. Anyway, I have time to talk now. So, my padawan, what is troubling you?"

Barriss took another deep breath, and plunged right into it, telling her Master everything. She finished up her report, and waited for her Master's reaction.

"You should head back home and do whatever it is you Jedi do?" her Master repeated, "Leave the doctoring to us doctors? He actually said that?"

"Yes, Master, that was earlier today. I wouldn't be surprised if the Jedi Council gets a call from the medical center with a complaint about me, and how I am handling Commander Cody's case. They think I am dangerous and ineffective."

There was a pause, and then her Master said, "And, what do you think?"

Barriss closed her eyes for a moment. Here it was- the teaching moment. She thought about it. "Well, Master, I made a serious error in judgment when I allowed the healing session to go for too long. In doing so, I temporarily compromised the Commander's health."

"Yes," her Master acknowledged, "you said he lost

consciousness after his healing session, and required an intervention to restore him to consciousness. He was then fully cognizant, aware and speaking again just a few minutes later. Correct?"

"Yes, he actually even joked about the incident. He's a wonderful sense of humor, Master."

"Yes, living in close quarters with these Commandos, I'm discovering that seems to be something all clones have in common. They can be quite the pranksters."

Barriss wondered what the story was behind _that _comment. She didn't get a chance to ask.

"Well, you appear to recognize all the errors you've made already. I see no reason to lecture you. Tell me more about how the healing went?" her Master encouraged.

"Oh, Master, I made more progress in that one session, than I did in the past two weeks of passive healing! More than that, Master, it was good for the Commander's morale. He has been very frustrated by his paralysis. Plus, he seems at a loss being separated from the men he normally commands. More than that, just being removed from his normal job duties for this long a time period seems to have affected his psyche. His inability to do anything to change these things resulted in a great deal of frustration. Well, that, and the ongoing communication issues with a lot of the doctors' here. How they get to be medical professionals with such terrible people skills is beyond me, Master. Anyway, being involved in his own healing was a positive step forward for the Commander, very likely because it was also an _active_ step. He's had so little activity with his paralysis," Barriss paused and took a deep breath, realizing she was talking uncharacteristically quickly. And, talking a lot more than she usually did. She wondered if her Master had noticed.

"You seem very passionate about this assignment, my padawan."

Oh, yes, she'd noticed.

Barriss just decided to plunge onward while she had her Master's full attention, "I feel I am making a difference here, which ultimately, is what being a Jedi is all about. You taught me that, Master. And, to suddenly rip that away, to just put the Commander back on Immobilin 24x7, and just throw him back in the General Ward- I fear, Master, it would kill him as surely as if we'd simply let those shell fragments into his brain. The only difference is the shell fragments offered a quick, painless death with much less prolonged emotional suffering than the existence they are offering him here."

There was a very long pause, and finally her Master said, "I see." It was a very characteristic response of her Master, and also a most frustrating one. It told Barriss nothing of what her Master was actually thinking. There was a long silence. Finally, Barriss couldn't take it any longer. "Master, what are you thinking?" 

"I think a patient's state of mind is an incredibly important part of the healing process. Look, I have to go. But, we'll talk again soon."

Her Master suddenly cut the communication.

Barriss suddenly felt very alone again. She stared at Cody's unnaturally still form. She tried stroking his face a few times, but he didn't respond at all. She sighed, realizing she'd gotten used to the way he responded to her touches. His face always seemed to light up when she lightly stroked his cheeks, or gave him a soft, stroking mini-face massage. He'd give her a grateful look, his eyes sparkling, and just smile at her. When he looked at her like that, it made Barriss feel – powerful.

"Oh, Cody," Barriss murmured, missing him already, "what did they do to you?" She gave up on trying to get him to respond, and wandered back over to her own cot. She collapsed into her cot, and pulled the blanket over herself without even bothering to remove her shoes or hood.

She stared up at the harsh fluorescent lights, wishing they weren't on all the time. _I'm sure I'll get in huge amounts of trouble if I try to turn them down or dim them or something,_ she sighed, scowling, throwing a hand over her eyes to block out the harsh lights. _I feel so worn down by this place, all of a sudden. Why do they get to set all the rules?_

She shook her head, feeling some un-Jedi like anger. She blew out another breath, and then feeling annoyed and petty she used the force to shut off all the lights in the room. Exhausted, she sank into a deep sleep.

# # #

When she awoke several hours later, the lights were back on—harsh as ever. She hadn't even noticed them come back on. Normally, she was very light sleeper, but when she got exhausted enough she slept very heavily.

Her stomach growled, and she thought maybe she'd track down some food and then try some passive healing on Cody. It was better than nothing. She rolled over onto her side, and looked over toward his bed.

Her eyes widened in shock and she jumped up in alarm, adrenaline-racing.

The Commander was missing.

His bed was gone—wheeled out of the room. There was nothing on that half of the room. No evidence the Commander had ever been there at all. Barriss went running out of the room, searching for the nearest doctor, nurse or technician on duty. She found a doctor just emerging from a patient room. She grabbed him by the sleeve. He looked down at her hand with disdain. Barriss didn't let go.

"What's happened to Commander Cody?"

"Who?"

"Patient CC-2224. He was in a private room 8524, down the hall. He's not there anymore. Why was he moved?"

"Oh, right, him." The doctor glared at Barriss' hand on his sleeve again. Barriss relented and released his arm. The doctor then pulled a datapad out of his pocket, typed into it, and consulted the main database, "Clone Commander 2224. Yes, found it. Transfer went through a few hours ago. He's been relocated to- General Ward 7909K."

"Where is that?"

"It's two floors down from this one. Follow the signs when you get off the lift."

Barriss was about to make a dash for the elevator, when the doctor grabbed her by the sleeve. "There's a note here in the file, saying you need to relocate to someplace else to sleep until your transport comes to get you."

"My transport?" Barriss just shook her head, decided she'd worry about that later, and made a dash for General Ward 7909K. She got lost on the way there. The medical center was absolutely huge. 

"7907… " Barriss walked past a large ward filled with bed after bed of injured clones in the same blue sleep pants Cody wore. "7908…" The sheer numbers of wounded was hard to comprehend. Some of the clones looked out at her curiously. A few even smiled, but most were either sleeping or just staring around bored, drugged, or despondent. "7909, finally!" She entered the large ward, and kept wandering around until she found Section 'K.'

She was glad Cody had a neck brace, because she would have been hard-pressed to recognize him otherwise. . With as drugged up as he was now, it was difficult to sense his presence accurately. And, there were just so many injured clones here, all dressed identically. Unlike Rex, Cody had never modified his haircut. Rex—why had she suddenly thought of him? Barriss sighed, wondering if it the onslaught of injured clones she was seeing, constantly reminding her of Rex's sad fate. Hard to believe the brave, confident Captain met such an ignoble end, all helpless and being shot by pirates like that. Barriss sighed, realizing she was starting to get caught up in Cody's emotional attachment to Rex. Or, no, maybe these were her own feelings because of the times she'd worked together with Rex, Ahsoka and Cody? Barriss wasn't sure anymore. It was all getting very confusing-

There! Barriss' heart beat a little faster when she spied a familiar neckbrace. Cody! She rushed over, yes, it was definitely him! She hurried to his bedside. There was no place to sit, and his bed was crowded close to other beds on both sides. She squeezed herself in.

"Cody? It's me, Barriss," she reached out, and touched his face. She pushed back his hair. His hair now seemed to always want to push down onto his forehead. As she pushed it back, she idly traced the lines of his scar with one finger. "Oh Cody, I wish you could hear me."

Cody's eyes struggled open.

Barriss' eyes widened in surprise, and she felt a huge surge of victory.

In your face, doctor! In your face! Look who's awake!

"Cody!" she smiled at him, and remembered reading in his file that he was drug-resistant. She expected him to smile back, but his lips didn't move. She could see he was having difficulties focusing his eyes.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and then opened them again. She could feel his frustration levels rising, just as they had when she'd first arrived.

"It's OK, Cody, I'm here. Right here," she leaned over him, trying to get her face as close to his as possible so that he could see her.

"B- b- " Cody stuttered, and then closed his eyes. "B- b-" Cody tried again. Then, he squeezed his eyes, shut, and Barriss could feel his frustration change over to anger.

She placed her hands on either side of his face, trying to calm him down. She sent him calming energy.

"N- n- " Cody objected, opening his eyes again. He was actively resisting her efforts to calm him.

Barriss closed her eyes, and opened up a link between them. It was surprisingly easy. She found that Cody's mind was already open and receptive. He had been waiting for her to do so. Plus, with the earlier bond they'd established, the link between them just flowed.

_Why are they doing this? _Cody instantly demanded.

- The doctors think you will hurt yourself if you are not on the Immobolin.

_Those chakaars! Oh, somebody is going to get hurt alright… The moment I am mobile again, I am going to bash heads! I am starting with that long-necked Ithorian-_

- Cody, Barriss reprimanded gently.

_What?_

- Getting angry isn't going to solve anything.

_Yeah, well, sorry, maybe I need a new hobby, but it's not like I have much else to do around here!_

- I'm sorry, Cody. This is all my fault.

_Don't start with that. You haven't done anything wrong, Barriss. It was those other shabuirs. I'm not mad at you, Barriss. It's those other Hutuun that are going to meet up with my fists as soon as I'm mobile again, especially that Ithorian. No, even better, I'm tying them down, and injecting them with this immobilizing poison. That would be a much more fitting revenge._

- Do you really want revenge, Cody? Is that what you want?

_What is this, an intervention?_

Barriss was amused, that Cody could find humor, even in this situation.

_No, Barriss, I just want to get out here. Help me! Don't leave me like this. Please!_

She'd never heard Cody plead for anything before, and that saddened her more than any of the rest of it.

A buzzing from her belt captured her attention. She placed her commlink on silent mode when she entered the ward.

- I have to go, Cody. I have a call.

_Well, don't let my paralysis interfere with your life. Go, take your call. Tell whoever it is Commander Cody says hi. Oh, no, wait. I'm on Immobilin. So, tell them I said: 'H- h- h- h- [drool….]'_

-Cody,I have to go! I'll be right back.

_Yeah, well, just go then. I think I'll just wait right here._

She sent Cody a quick burst of calming energy, and then quickly ended their contact. To her annoyance, she actually felt Cody try to block the calming energy. Yeah, he didn't want to be calmed. He was just mad. Well, she couldn't blame him. She hurried outside the ward into the hallway to take her call.

"Master?"

"Yes, my padawan. What took you so long? Is everything alright?"

"Sorry, I was inside a General Patient Ward. I had to get out of it before I could turn my commlink back on. Cody was moved out of the private room."

"Yes, I heard."

"You did?"

"Yes, you were right. The doctors did register a complaint with the Jedi Council."

Barriss had a sinking feeling of dread. Luminara was on the Jedi Council, so of course, she would have heard about it, especially since it concerned her padawan.

"What did they say, Master?"

"Well, very much like you said, except they took four times as long to say it. Bunch of windbags. Anyway, they want you gone, and full control of Commander Cody's case. Actually, that doctor has already assumed full control of the Commander's case. They have even gone so far as to order you a transport home."

"Yes, they mentioned something already about a transport. So, I'm going back to the Temple, Master?"

"No. I said that's what that windbag-, er, doctors said. No, they might have assumed full control, but they do not actually have the authority to do so. The Jedi Council outranks them. It was our decision to have the Commander treated by a Jedi Healer. They overstepped their bounds in reversing our decision."

Barriss felt a surge of hope, but she dared not to interrupt her Master.

"Master Windu and Master Yoda were_ most_ displeased, and this was not a good time to displease them. They have been under a lot of stress lately with the missing Jedi," Luminara almost sounded a bit amused. "Let's just say they have now set the doctors straight. They will be issuing you a full apology. They have promised not to interfere anymore with your work."

"The Commander will be moved back to his private room?"

"Well, why they were at it, I asked if you could be given better accommodations. I didn't like that you sounded so exhausted, my padawan. And, I'm sure if I questioned you further, you probably haven't been eating properly either. I know you, and how you get once you get working. So, I took the time to inquire as to what other accommodations there are on a medical station, such as where is it the doctors themselves live? Well, it turns out they live in nice-little apartments, directly adjacent to the medical wards. Very convenient. The medical station where you are was just newly renovated. So, I arranged for you and the Commander to be moved to one of the vacant apartments. It will allow you to work on the Commander, without further interference. You'll still be within the medical center, in case of emergencies. However, in your case, it allows you a better living situation. You'll have a small kitchen, both you and the commander would each have your own bedroom. You'll have a private refresher. But, best of all, the freedom to heal the Commander without anyone telling you what Jedi should and shouldn't be doing."

Barriss had a hand over her mouth, because she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Thank you, Master! It is more than I could have hoped for!"

"The Commander will be moved to his new accommodations later today. Now, I don't need to tell you, my padawan, that those doctors will just waiting for you to make any kind of slip-up. Any mistake to prove that they were right all along and you were wrong."

"I will not let you down, Master."

"I know you won't, my padawan. I have complete confidence in you, and your abilities. Do keep me posted."

"Thank you, Master!"

She hurried back into the ward, excited to tell Cody the good news. His eyes were once again closed, and she could sense he'd fallen back into a deep, drug-induced sleep. She felt saddened that she couldn't share this great piece of news with him right away. She was also saddened that she didn't get a chance to spend more time with him while he was awake.

She sighed sadly, and looked around for a place to sit. She peered up and down the ward. Just row and row after bed, just like Cody's. There wasn't anyplace to sit anywhere in the ward. It didn't appear as if anyone visited any of these clones.

She looked back at Cody again. He didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon. She should probably make a trip to the cafeteria, and see about eating something. When had she eaten last? Uhhh…. Yeah, not sure. That means it had been a while.

Yeah, I could go eat, or…

She looked around the ward again. A couple of the clones who were awake were watching her curiously.

Or, perhaps she could spend the time doing something else. Perhaps it was time to implement some visiting hours. She walked up to the nearest clone who had been watching her curiously.

"My name is Barriss. I'm here on a special assignment. But, my special assignment is sleeping right now so I have some free time if you're up for a visitor. What's your name?"

# # #


	50. Chapter 50 The big one

_A/N: Chapter 50! I have nicknamed this 'Big Chapter 50' because it's 50 pages to celebrate being the 50th chapter. Thank you for being great readers._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 50**

Ahsoka groaned, and opened her eyes.

"Snips?"

She heard her Master's voice, but it sounded faint. The lighting was poor. She struggled to make out her surroundings with her sharp Togrutan vision. Everything was just a mass of shadows. She reached out for her Master with the Force. She gasped.

"It's OK, Snips. You'll get used to it. Just take deep breaths."

"The Force, Master! It's gone!"

From somewhere off to her right, she heard the voice of Master Kenobi. "They are using Force-suppression collars on us. The Force is strong as ever."

Ahsoka tried to reach her hands up to her neck, but she was still bound hand and foot. "Who, Master?"

"I don't know, Snips. I haven't really gotten a good look at them seen them yet. I don't know what we're up against."

"What do they want with us?"

Her Master sighed wearily, sounded slightly exasperated with her, as he did at times. She wondered if he was injured. Then, she gasped, remembering seeing him get shot, twice, and then getting beaten trying to come to her aid.

"Master, you're hurt!"

"We're all injured, Ahsoka," Master Kenobi called wearily, from off to her right. Ahsoka succeeded in turning her head, feeling the weight of the heavy collar on her neck. She could now that Master Kenobi was in a separate cell. He was lying curled on his side on the stone floor looking toward her. She could just barely make out his bright blue eyes in the dark. "Can you go check on Commander Appo? I haven't seen him move at all since we've been brought in. I'm concerned he might be, uh,-" He stirred slightly, pointing toward the corner of Ahsoka's cell, and then dropped his arm again. Ahsoka peered at Master Kenobi again, wondering how bad his injuries were. "Ahsoka, I'm fine. Please, can you go check on Commando Appo?"

Ahsoka looked around her cell, and for the first time noticed she wasn't alone. Tossed into one corner was the unmoving form of Commando Appo. His helmet, weapons belt, gauntlets had been removed. His armor was badly burnt and it didn't appear as if he'd received any kind of medical treatment. "Oh!" Ahsoka said, as she spotted the Commander, and shuffled over to him the best she could. The rough, cold stone floor scraped her hands and feet, but she didn't care. The Commander looked like he had been unceremoniously into the cell and not touched since. Ahsoka scooted herself around so her back was toward him. At least this way she could touch him with her bound hands. She could sense, with her normal senses, that her Master and Obi Wan were watching her from both sides of her cell.

"Commander, can you hear me?" she prodded him with her hands. "Commander Appo?" There was no response. She leaned down toward him. She brought her head down, hoping to hear if he was breathing. But, when she did so, her Force-suppression collar dug right into his injured shoulder. The injured clone suddenly shot up and grabbed Ahsoka in a strangle-hold. Both Anakin and Obi Wan gasped.

"Commander, back down!" Obi Wan shouted.

Appo looked around, his eyes wild with fever. The Force-suppresion collar was the only thing that prevented Ahsoka's neck from being broken. As it was, the padawan was gasping for air the tight stranglehold.

"Commander Appo! This is General Skywalker! Release Ahsoka immediately!" All traces of weakness had left her Master's voice, replaced by a coldness and deadliness Ahsoka had not heard before. His voice seemed to have dropped in pitch as well, assuming a tone that promised deadly consequences if disobeyed. Appo's eyes struggled to focus, and he looked around. He looked down at his hands, "General Skywalker?" His eyes suddenly widened in horror as recognition dawned. He immediately dropped his hands, from Ahsoka's neck and sank to his knees, "Oh, shab! Commander, I'm so sorry!"

Ahsoka collapsed, wheezing for air.

"Are you OK?" Her Master's voice had returned to normal.

Ahsoka just nodded, unable to speak quite yet.

When she finally caught her breath, she coughed and then weakly joked, gesturing at Appo, "Hey, I did it, Master. He's awake."

Anakin gave her a wry look and shook his head.

Appo knelt down by Ahsoka, reaching up with his good hand, "I'm so sorry, Commander."

"It's OK. No harm done. I guess maybe there is some use for these stupid Force collars after all," She nodded her head, indicating the burdensome collar around her neck, "and, why aren't you tied up?"

Appo shrugged, and then grimaced from the movement against his burnt shoulder, "Not as much of a threat as you, Jedi, I guess."

"Well," Ahsoka coughed one last time, "if it's any consolation, Commando Appo, I find you very threatening, at times."

Appo shook his head, and gave a small smile, conceding the compliment, "How about we see if we can prove these Kaz'harians wrong about us clones being a threat, and get these bindings off of you?"

# # #

Cody opened his eyes, and blinked, trying to focus. It took him several tries, but he was finally able to get his eyes to cooperate. He looked around the unfamiliar room.

Now, where was he? His head felt thick and mushy, but he was encouraged by the fact he could at least see properly again. He decided to try his voice. He spoke out the one name that had been his guide in all of this: "B- b- b-"

He squeezed his eyes shut, and then tried again, "B- b- bar- ba- rriss?"

It was silent, and he sighed deeply, closing his eyes again.

Shab. Totally alone.

Then, he heard a light flurry of feet padding into the room, "Cody? You're awake already? They told me you wouldn't wake up for….. Oh! Why do I even bother listening to them!"

Suddenly, Barriss was right in front of him, and she was carefully wrapping her arms around him in a light hug. "I was so worried about you!" She pulled back, beaming at him.

Cody studied her. She was just wearing a nightshirt. She looked down, as if suddenly remembering what she was wearing. "Oh!" she flushed, "be right back!"

"N- no!" Cody objected, still trying to find his voice.

Barriss was already turning to leave.

"B-b-b-a—rr-iss!" Cody shouted.

Barriss turned, "Yes, what is it?"

Cody struggled to get the words out. He had to force every word past his lips, "S-s-s-tay!" he demanded.

Barriss hesistated at the door, "I should change, Commander, it isn't proper."

Cody stared at her in her nightshirt, long hair flowing down, "N-n-n-n-ight?"

Barriss nodded, "Yes, it's the middle of the night."

Cody's eyes swept around the new room, "W-w-wh-w-" he couldn't get the word out.

"We've been moved to a two-bedroom apartment," Barriss explained.

Cody's jaw dropped in shock, and he was speechless.

"Yeah, it's really nice, too, even if there is hardly any furniture. Everything is new. It's the nicest place I've ever lived," Barriss blushed, "not that such things matter!" she quickly clarified, "because a Jedi does not care for such things!"

Cody barked in laughter, and Barriss stared at him. It was the first time she'd heard him laugh like that since she'd come to the medical center. She looked at him, and even in the low light of the room, she could see the sparkle of amusement in his eyes, "Y-o-.. –yo!" he said, still laughing. He sputtered out, still laughing.

"You think I sound like Master Yoda?" Barriss stared at Cody curiously, wondering just how much time the Commander had spent working with the wizened Jedi Master. She was finding out new and interesting things about Cody all the time. Cody had turned his attention back to their new surroundings.

"H-h-ow?" Cody asked, his expressive brown eyes sweeping all around the room, taking in everything.

"It wasn't me. The Jedi Council. I guess you must have a lot of friends there, Commander. When they heard what happened, they demanded better accommodations for you so that we could continue our healing sessions."

Cody snuck a look at her, liking the way her hair moved when she shook her head.

"F-f..r M-m-e?" Cody grunted again with frustration at how hard it was to push out just those those two sounds.

Barriss leaned in closer, soothing him the best way she knew how, "Yes, this is for you, Cody," Barriss nodded, and her fingers sought out his face. She began giving him a light face massage. She stroked his cheeks in soothing downward strokes. Then, she worked her fingers in all around the meridians in his forehead, before lightly brushing the sinus points above his eyes. Cody automatically closed his eyes, and then groaned in pleasure from her light touches. Barriss smiled as Cody responded so readily to her touch, "Yes, well, Cody, the Jedi Council does care. They really are trying to do right, by the clones. Now, you should go back to sleep. And, I should go back to sleep. We'll talk more in the morning, OK?" Barriss stopped stroking Cody's face, and his eyes popped open in protest. He made a disappointed pout with his lips.

Barriss laughed, "I've spoiled you, Commander!"

She smiled gently, and leaned over toward him. Cody stared up at her, eyes widened. His pulse quickened. What was she planning on doing? As she leaned down toward him, her hair brushed up right up against his face. Cody inhaled sharply. Her hair smelled like cinnamon. He would never forget that smell. Cody stared straight up. Oh, shab. He should have let her go change. Her nightshirt was not very thick at all. He could see a great deal from this angle. Barriss brushed the hair back from his face, her hand lingering on his scar for just a moment. It seemed to him that her hand lingered there for just an extra second. Why? "Good night," Barriss murmured. Why did her voice seem extra deep and husky? With that, she abruptly straightened, turned, and left the room.

Cody was still reeling from her touch, and didn't say anything in response. He just stared at her departing figure, long after she'd left. His skin tingled everyplace where she'd touched him. And, he swore he was starting to feel things, manly things, in places where he wasn't supposed to be able to feel anything. He sighed in frustration and blew out a breath. He stared up at the ceiling of his new room.

Cinnamon.

He knew it would take a long time to fall back asleep.

Cody's eyes slowly came back open, as they emerged out of their latest healing session.

"Tired?" Barriss asked, running a hand along the side of his face. Cody had an urge to lean in to her touch.

"I should be asking you the same question," Cody responded, looking at the dark smudges under Barriss' eyes. "Are you sure it's not too much taking care of me all by yourself?"

"What- are you offering to go back to your old accommodations?" Barriss asked, a teasing glint in her eye.

Cody gave her a look of mock horror, then smiled warmly at her, "No. I don't want to go back."

Barriss shrugged, "Then, you're stuck with just me." She got up and checked the food line that ran into his stomach. Then, she shifted his blankets aside, and checked his catheter tube. Even after several days of caring for him, she could still see his cheeks burning in embarrassment. Everything in order, she quickly washed her hands and then returned to his side.

"Cody."

Cody was still looking away and wouldn't meet her gaze. She took his chin in her hand, and spoke firmly, "Cody." After a moment's hesitation, he looked up at her. She could see how much his pride was hurt. "I'm a healer. This is what I do, OK? There is nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sure you wouldn't feel this way if I was one of your brothers-"

Cody looked away again.

"Cody," Barriss tried gently gripped his chin again. "Cody, look at me." But, instead, Cody just closed his eyes, shutting her out. To Barriss' surprise, a tear slipped out the side of one of his eyes. "Cody, hey…"

"Go. I want to be alone." Cody said, firmly and dismissively.

She reached up and stroked the tear away with her thumb. "No. I'm not leaving."

Cody's eyes shot back open, and he gave her a mutinous look, "Leave me alone."

"No," Barriss said stubbornly, placing both hands on the sides of his face. She immediately started massaging his face. She went right for the meridians. She felt Cody sigh, and relax into her touch.

- Now, what brought this on? she asked directly, going their link.

Cody closed his eyes, trying to shut her out, but unable to since they were so closely linked through all of their healing sessions. She could feel his exasperation. She continued to lightly stroke his face. She could feel him sink into deeper relaxation as she hit pressure point after pressure point.

_I don't know, really. _Cody admitted. He sighed in pleasure, as she hit one of his favorite spots along his lower cheekline. Barriss lingered on that spot for a while, as she got him talking, slowly circling with her fingertips, lightly soothing.

- Was it because I mentioned your brothers? Do you miss your brothers?

That one word prompted a flood of images. Barriss saw the attack from Kaz'haria again, reliving it all from Cody's perspective. She felt his frustration as everyone kept telling him to hold still, but no one would tell him what was wrong with him. Then, she heard the repeated calls of 'Code Red' as his men from the 212th succumbed around him in the hallway of the Jedi Star Destroyer. When she heard the final call of 'Code Red,' Barriss was astounded. She didn't know Cody had gone into Code Red. His medical records hadn't told the whole story. She felt sickened- he'd been even closer to death than she'd realized.

Barriss also remembered she'd promised Cody she'd find out information on the surviving members of the 212th. She had yet to provide him with that information.

- I'm sorry, Cody. I totally forgot. I will contact the Jedi Temple and get that information routed here.

_Thank you._

As Barriss re-experienced the ordeal from Cody's mindset, she gasped with the realization of how much post-traumatic stress Cody must have from watching half his Legion get blown up, and knowing the rest of his men had walked directly into a trap-

_Don't blame yourself, Barriss. You do too much of that. Apparently, all of us clones are tightly-wrapped bundles of post-traumatic stress. It's a normal state of mind for us. We have been since they started throwing live fire at us as toddlers. Apparently, we're genetically designed to handle it. The Kaminoans are careful about cultivating those genes, and Jango, apparently, had them in spades. Guess you need them to be a good bounty hunter. So, they just perfecting those genes until they came up with clones who could handle oodles of battle stress. And, any clones who can't handle all that stress is weeded out early on in the process by the live fire exercises. It's apparently one of the big reasons why they introduce the live fire so early on. Survival of the fittest. Only the strong survive. Blah, blah, blah. The rest disappear in the middle of the night. I heard they toss us in the sea. Swim with the fishies. Although, the Kaminoans are 'merciful.' They are kind enough to euthanize us first, before we're dumped out with the rest of the trash._

- That sounds awful, Cody! I thought Temple Training was harsh. We lose padawans sometimes in our trainings exercises, but nothing like that, Cody. I'm sorry.

_I'm sure Temple training is harsh. I wouldn't want to be a Jedi. I wouldn't pick your life over mine. The training methods were effective, and have kept me and my men alive. I'm content with my lot. And, you seem content with yours. But, I guess, for a laugh, we could swap stories from our broken childhoods sometime._

- It seems we have a lot in common.

_Yeah, I guess we do._

Barriss was disconcerted at how easily Cody could read her thoughts when they were connected like this. She was used to it being more of a one-way process. Why was it so different with Cody? She could sense Cody's amusement.

_I told you I was a fast learner._

- Too fast, apparently.

_But, I would be very grateful if you could get me that information about the 212th._

- I will. Now, will you stop freaking out on me everytime I have to check your cathether?

_I do not freak out._

- You do freak out everytime I have to go anywhere near your private sections.

_Yeah, well, there is a reason why they call them private, you know._

- Funny.

_I am. And, I do not freak out._

# # #

Barriss practically cried out with excitement when the transmission came through from the Jedi Temple. She ran into Cody's room, wanting to show him the information right away. He was sleeping, worn out from their most recent healing session.

He was gradually gaining strength, and they'd been able to push their sessions a little longer each time. The mass of the largest fragment was now greatly reduced. Barriss was sure they'd have it gone within the next few days, and could start working on some of the smaller fragments. The smaller fragments should go much faster. They might be able to even eliminate as many as one fragment a day. She hadn't wanted to get Cody's hopes up, so she'd held off on making any promises.

She decided not to wake him up. She looked back at the list in her hand. She hadn't left the apartment since they'd arrived. She received a food delivery once a day, with ready-cooked meals from the cafeteria. She reheated them as needed. Since she was the only one eating the food, and she was too busy with Cody to eat much, the food had been piling up in the conservator. Giving Cody one last look back, she grabbed a sandwich out of the conservator, grabbed the list and quickly left the apartment.

# # #

Cody groggily woke up, and looked around his room. He wished he could rub his eyes. But, he still had no feeling in his arms and legs, and his limbs were still restrained. He'd asked Barriss if the restraints could be removed the morning after they'd arrived at the apartment. She gave him a sympathetic look, and then firmly told him: "No." She reminded him of how dangerous even the slightest movements could be to his final recovery.

In their next session, she grabbed a datapad, pulled up magnetic resonance imaging, and clearly showed him where the fragments still were in relation to his spinal cord and neck. Despite this, he continued to ask everyday when the restraints could be removed.

"If I can't feel anything, why do I have to have restraints?"

"You can still have involuntarily muscle movements, muscle spasms, muscle tremors… it's just too dangerous. I know how much you dislike it, but the restraints have to stay."

The healing sessions always left him tired. But, it was a good kind of tired. He knew they were making steady progress. Besides, since he couldn't move, eat, or sit-up, he didn't have much else to do other than the healing sessions and sleeping. He did enjoy the conversations he had during and in-between the sessions with Barriss. Despite her severe appearance, she actually had quite a good sense of humor. It seemed they were always finding something new to tease each other about.

"Barriss?" Cody called. His throat was dry. He waited. "Barriss?" he called again, a little louder. He waited patiently. Maybe she was in the refresher. He closed his eyes, counting silently to himself. How long did ladies usually take in the refresher? He listened carefully. He couldn't hear any sounds in the apartment. He tried reaching out over their link.

_Barriss? You awake?_

- Cody!

The response seemed fainter than usual.

_Yeah, who else would it be?_

- Stay where you are, I'll be right back!

_Stay where I am?_

- You know what I mean! Hold tight!

_What's going on? Are you OK?_

- Yes, yes, I have a surprise for you. Stay right there.

_Yeah, I think we established that I'm not going anywhere. Where are you?_

- I'm at one of the other wards. I'm headed back now.

_What are you doing-_

- Hah! Just wait! Or, you'll ruin the surprise!

Cody could sense Barriss was actually very excited about something. Cody heard the door of the apartment opening.

"Where is he?" she heard a clone voice.

"Second bedroom. This way," said Barriss.

Barriss entered the bedroom, helping along a familiar figure.

"Trapper!" Cody shouted out.

"Commander Cody!" Trapper broke out into a wide grin, he looked like he wanted to hug Cody, but wasn't sure if it was OK. He looked at Cody's restraints and neck brace warily.

"It's OK," Barriss said, "you can give him a hug. Just a very gentle one." Barriss let go of Trapper, and he leaned down and very carefully gave Cody a light brotherly embrace.

Trapper straightened back up, and Barriss looped her arm around him to support him again. Cody studied him. Trapper's arm was broken and encased in a cast from shoulder to fingertips. All of his fingers were in individual splints as well. He was limping badly, and his leg was heavily bandaged. His whole face showed bad signs of recent burns and scarring, and his left eye was covered with a patch.

"I'm a sight, huh?" Trapper said, noticing Cody's scrutiny.

Cody burst out laughing, "Well, I'm a fine one to judge. Have a seat, Trap."

Barriss guided Trapper into the chair next to the bed. Trapper studied Cody critically, and then looked around at all the monitors and tubed hooked up to him, "It's good to see you, Commander. I'd heard you were very badly injured."

Cody snorted, and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well you heard right on that account."

Trapper looked at Cody, his brown eyes wide and worried, "I was worried I'd never see you again, Commander."

Cody took a deep breath, "Yeah, me too." Cody looked over at Barriss, and then smiled, obviously trying to lighten the mood a little, "Thanks to our resident Jedi, I'm on the mend. I plan on being back on duty soon, and tracking down the rest of our unit."

"Yeah?" Trapper said, leaning forward, his interest obviously piqued, "I'd like to be a part of that. Do you have any leads, Commander? I haven't heard anything since I've been here."

Cody's face fell, "No, Trapper, I haven't had any news. To be honest, you're the first person from the 212th I've seen since arriving here."

Trapper's face fell, too.

"Yeah, me, too," Trapper said, glumly, "I haven't seen anyone from the 501st or 212th. I don't know any of the other guys who are in the ward with me. They're all Marines and engineers and stuff. One of them said he sees two guys from the 501st in physical therapy," Trapper shook his head dismissively.

"What?" Cody asked.

"He talks down about them, saying they have anger issues and stuff. They were already ticked before Kaz'hariah because of what happened with their Captain. You know, the 501st guys, they'll follow Appo, but they were loyal to Rex all the way."

"Yeah," Cody looked down, and both ARCs were silently a moment, staring down, remembering Rex.

"So," Trapper continued, "the Marines, they're saying, that Kaz'hariah just sent the 501st guys over the edge. The few 501st guys that survived—well, they are just, shab-" Trapper looked over at Barriss, red-faced and embarrassed.

Cody shook his head, laughing, "It's OK, Trap. I cuss in front of her all the time."

Trapper still looked confused.

Cody laughed again, and said, "Just treat her like one of the guys, OK?"

Barriss smiled. She rather liked the sound of that.

Trapper nodded, smiled, and continued on, "Well, they're saying Rex's guys, the few that are still around, well, they are all- just- uh, well,…" Trapper looked over at Barriss, again, obviously at a loss for the right word.

"Pissed?" Cody filled in.

Trapper nodded.

Barriss shook her head, having forgotten how much troopers liked to gossip.

"Well, this is actually all very good," Cody said, "we could use some pissed off troopers. Good to know."

"If you two are done gossiping-"

"We are not gossiping!" Cody objected.

Barriss shook her head at him, and held up her flimsy, like it was the most precious piece of flimsi in the galaxy, "This came in late last night, Cody. It is the latest known whereabouts of everyone in the 212th."

Cody's eyes widened. Barriss held up the flimsi at an angle so that Trapper and Cody could view it at the same time.

"It was how I knew Trapper was also here," she pointed to Trapper's name on the list.

"Ponds!" Trapper said, pointing out several more names on the list, excitedly. "Hawkeye! Gearshift!"

Cody squinted at the list, "Boil! Well, I've never seen him without-"

Trapper pointed further down the list "Waxer!"

Cody rolled his eyes, "Well, now the place is in trouble. Both Waxer and Boil!"

Trapper was still reading down the list, "Hey, Commander, Wooley's here, too!"

Cody remembered there had been on others on the shuttle with him when he'd arrived at the medical station, but he'd been so sick when he'd arrived he hadn't even thought to inquire whether other wounded from his battalion had ended up here. He was kicking himself for overlooking something so obvious. He looked up at Barriss and smiled gratefully.

Trapper looked around at Cody's room, "Since you've got your own place, we could maybe get the boys together over here. Along with some of Rex's pissed off boys!"

Cody looked over at Barriss with a pleading look in his eyes. "Cody, I can't make any promises! I snuck Trapper out of his ward!"

Trapper laughed, "She did, too, after feeding me a very nice sandwich. That was very nice, thank you. Much better than the food they've been giving me."

"How'd you get him out?" Cody asked, looking at Barriss with all new appreciation.

"The Commander was brilliant!" Trapper said with enthusiasm, "She knocked something over using those abilities of hers, and when the doctor was distracted, we made a run of it. And, I've got torn ligaments in my leg. I can't exactly run. So, just getting me out of bed was an accomplishment in itself. She was very determined to get me up here to visit you."

Cody raised an eyebrow, sputtering in laughter at Barriss, "Commander Offee! I'm shocked at you! You practically kidnapped a clone!"

Barriss put a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her own amusement at what she'd done, "What! You don't think the Jedi know how to bend the rules a bit?"

Cody gave her a teasing smile, "Isn't this breaking something in the padawan rulebook or something?"

Barriss shrugged, "Yes, I'm sure it is."

Cody gave her such an appreciative smile, that it gave Barriss an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, "Well, thank you, Commander. This is much appreciated."

Trapper looked back and forth between the two of them, just watching this whole exchange.

Cody turned his attention back to Trapper, "What do you know about what happened on Kaz'hariah?"

Trapper shrugged, "Probably not as much a you, Commander. I've just heard rumors. You know how brothers talk. I've just heard stuff from some of the other wounded. Some of the Marines were shooting their mouth off about it. There's nothing else to do in the ward, right? But, everyone is saying that Kaz'hariah was a trap. Word is that the 501st, all of the Jedi that were there, and parts of the 212th- they all got captured. The only way you survived Kaz'haria is if you got wounded early on in the battle. Otherwise, you either ended up dead or missing. Very few brothers came back from Kaz'haria. The whole battle was one big death trap."

Trapper's words gave Cody a chill that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He looked up at Barriss, who'd put a hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Trapper said, "I should have worded that better. I know we lost some good Jedi there, too."

Barriss just shook her head, indicating it was OK.

"If it's any consolation, ma'am," Trapper continued, "the ones from the 501st—the last of the wounded ones that were lucky enough to make it out—they said they saw the Jedi putting up a heck of a fight. All of them, too, fighting all together in a circle, Skywalker, and his Padawan, and General Kenobi… they were all of them there, with their lightsabers swinging taking down those weird new aliens, the Kaz'harians—" Trapper's voice rose with enthusiasm as he told the story. Obviously, this story had been told and retold amongst the clones, "-but, then the Kaz'harians just swarmed over them, like…like… a swarm of Genosians, or something! Totally overwhelmed them, and that's the last anybody saw of them. No more LAATs made it out after that…"

He shook his head, and his voice dropped down. "Some of the brothers, they think that they are being used as human shields someplace. Or, they're already dead. That's why we can't find them."

Trapper shook his head, looking at the flimsi again, and then back at the Commander, "But, I don't believe that. I know there are more of our guys than this left alive." Trapper stroked his chin with his one good hand, "So, the 501st guys? I guess they'd been saying it looked like they were actually being careful with some of the prisoners." Trapper looked at Cody, "Well, why would they do that? I mean, Separatists don't normally even bother to take prisoners. So, these Kaz'harians are different somehow." He sighed, and scratched at his cast, frowning, "So, well, we just need to figure out where they are keeping them and go get them, right?"

Cody smiled at Trapper's enthusiasm, but all three of them knew that there was nothing at all simple about what he was saying. If there was, the Jedi Master/Commando Teams would have found them already.

Cody looked at Trapper, at his casted arm, changing the subject for the moment. "So, Trap, how are _you_?"

Trapper laughed, and held up his arm, then groaned from even that simple movement, "My arm is totally _shattered,_ every bone in it. That minefield did a number on it. They said I'm lucky I even still have it. They were this close to just taking it off. It will heal, but it will be a while before I can use it again. Messed my leg up pretty good, too. I just started being able to put some weight on it. I guess I'm real lucky that I'm not dead."

He looked at Cody curiously, then his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "I heard though, that we didn't hit the minefield full-on. Is that true? Had we hit full on, our whole Attack Battalion would have been vaporized! POOF!" Trapper shouted for dramatic effect. He held up his injured arm again, then groaned from the movement again. Cody winced in sympathy. Trapper sighed, "I have to remember to stop doing that."

Cody shook his head at him, but part of him was a bit jealous. It was good to see Trapper, really good, but he realized now how much he'd taken for granted before.

"So, basically I'm lucky to just have this," Trapper continued. He tapped his cast, and the sounded echoed hollowly in the room, "All of us- we should be_dead," _Trapper said dramatically. "We weren't supposed to cross the mountains like that. You had us change course at the very last minute, Commander. Why? Everyone is saying that's what saved us. We were supposed to go straight across the lowlands, where the majority of the minefields were. Why didn't we?"

Cody shook his head, bemused. He'd forgotten what a flare for the dramatic Trapper had sometimes. He supposed at another time he might be annoyed by all of Trapper's dramatics. But, right now he'd been so starved for company that he was enjoying Trapper's visit, dramatics and all.

"Why did you have us change course, Commander?" Trapper pushed. "That's what saved the 212th."

"Kenobi," Cody answered, feeling a huge pang in his gut as he felt the sorrow anew of his missing General. "All the credit goes to Kenobi. He sensed something."

Trapper nodded sagely, "I should have known. The General."

Both of them were silent, heads bowed, respectfully.

Barriss just sat back and watched their exchange, a small smile on her face. It was a beautiful thing to see—all this respect and bonding.

Trapper looked up and put his hand on top of Cody's bound hand, "We're going to get him back, Commander. You, me, Waxer, Boil, Ponds, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Ponds, all of us. The 212th might be down, but we're not out. We're going to get our General back."

"Damn straight," Cody said, meeting Trapper's eyes.

"Yeah, us, and some of those shabla, angry, crazy guys from the 501st," Trapper added in.

Huh? Barriss' pleasant haze was broken as she listened to the sudden turn their conversation had taken.

"Now, hold on a minute," Barriss protested, "just what are you guys planning here? No. No. And, no! You don't know what this place is like. I practically got shut down just for trying to change your medications, Commander. And, now you guys are thinking of some sort of Commando mission?"

Cody and Trapper smirked back and forth at each other.

"Yup."

Barriss shook her head, "Well, one step at a time, Commander. Let's work on regaining some movement first, OK?"

"Fair enough," Cody said, his voice regaining its' command tone. "But, I am getting the General back."

There was a finality in his tone. His eyes met Barriss' and she saw the old spark there that she she'd seen when she'd first met him at the beginning of the war.

She took a deep breath, and placed her hand on top of Trapper's and Cody's, "I'm sure I will live to regret this. But, OK, I will make you a deal. Commander Cody, you complete your therapy and get fully mobile again, and if they have not located the missing clones and Jedi by then, well," Barriss took a deep breath, feeling like she was sealing her doom, "then, I will join you on this mad, fool crusade of yours. With the crazy shabla whomevers."

Cody smiled at her and met her eyes with a look that was meant for her and her alone. The look melted her in such a way that her stomach did very strange things. She suddenly wished they were in the room all alone together, but she wasn't quite sure why. The moment stretched on.

Trapper finally cleared his throat, and pulled his hand out from the pile-up of hands. Cody and Barriss looked away from each other, both blushing a little.

Trapper looked at Cody, critically, "So, Commander, how about you? You've looked better."

Cody laughed, "You should have seen me, _before_. Oh, no wait, this is about how I looked before." He laughed again, at ease around his brother, "but, seriously, Commander Offee here has been working miracles on me. You can't see the progress yet. But, you'll be able to see big changes soon. I'm getting much better." Barriss could hear the hope and optimism in Cody's voice.

Barriss sat back, and watched the two brothers interact. Cody was explaining to Trapper what was going on with his neck, and how the Jedi healing treatments worked. Trapper was listening to all of it with wide-eyes, the same way Cody's eyes got wide when he was very interested in something. He was just as inquisitive as Cody, and was asking a lot of questions. After a while, Barriss could hear that Cody's voice was getting hoarse.

"Cody, do you need water?"

"Yes," Cody admitted.

"Can I get it?" Trapper asked.

"No, you don't have to," Barriss said, "you just sit and visit."

"Barriss," Cody said from the bed. Something in his tone gave Barriss pause.

Barriss opened up the link with Cody.

- You want me to let him help, don't you?

_Please._

It was only the second time Cody had ever actually asked her for anything.

"Yes, actually, the help would be greatly appreciated," Barriss said, "this way." She helped Trapper up out of the chair and over to the kitchen. She showed him how to fill up one of the eyedroppers, and then helped him back to Cody's room.

"OK, got some yummy spirits for you here. So, don't you go getting drunk on duty here," Trapper said, cheerfully.

"Funny," Cody said, with mock gruffness. "just give me the water, Trap."

"Open up."

Barriss watched, feeling slightly nervous as Trapper gave Cody the water. She was worried he might give him too much. What if Cody choked? It could cause the shrapnel fragment to move? It could be disastrous. But, the opposite was true. Trapper was incredibly gentle, giving Cody just a few drops of water at a time.

"Trap, I'm not going to drown here. Just give me the water. A man could die of thirst, you know," Cody complained. But, Barriss could sense that Cody's complaining was all for show.

- OK, I see what you're up to. Barriss said through their link. She could feel his amusement.

_Hey, he's probably been just as bored and frustrated as I've been._

- Yes, well letting yourself be used this way for Trapper's sake is a very kind thing to do.

_Are you kidding? I'm enjoying all the pampering._

- Hah! I was going to teach him how to change your catherer line next.

_You wouldn't!_

- No, I wouldn't. You're much too kind-hearted a man for me to do something like that to you. I'll just show him your food bag, if that's OK. I'm sure he'll be thrilled with that.

_Fine, show him the food bag. You can show him every pipe and tube as long as it doesn't have to do with my pee. Or, other, uh, private areas. We have to have some boundaries, you know._

Trapper finished giving Cody the water, and then looked back at Barriss eagerly. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Barriss looked at Cody, and the two exchanged a look, both smiling.

"Yes, Trapper, well, it is time to check some of these other lines. Would you like to assist me? Here- you need to pinch off this end here, like that…"

# # #

Rex absent-mindedly rubbed at his leg while he watched the activities around the camp. Seeing the medic had worked out well. The tingling sensation was already improving, and he'd only received the injection a few minutes ago. Rex realized his leg had first started to bother him when he'd been tossed about around during their hard landing. He remembered smacking it into several hard things, like the walls, floor, and several stray storage cabinets. He wouldn't have felt any of that if his entire leg had still been dead of sensation. He just hadn't pieced together those feelings until now because he'd been preoccupied with everything else going on. He also figured his brain was probably still slow in processing sensations from his leg. But, at least signals were getting through now, even if they were irritating and unpleasant.

Rex noticed one of the men he'd been practicing with earlier, looking over at him hesitantly. His name was Det, a munitions expert. Det also had a leg injury. Rex waved Det over. Det walked slowly over, DC slung over his shoulder, limping stiff-legged through the snow. He walked with the aid of a standard-issue metallic cane, but it had a few splashes of color on it to match his armor.

"You called the medic?" Rex asked.

Det nodded, "I was concerned, Captain."

Rex noticed Det didn't apologize for his action. He liked that quality— a clone who made a decision, and then stood by it. Rex nodded his head approvingly at Det, "Good call. Thank you, Det."

Det beamed, "Glad I was able to help," he paused, "you OK, Captain?"

Rex nodded, then felt he probably owed Det an explanation. He gestured to his leg, "The nerves are regenerating. That's a good thing, of course. But, the process is rather, uh, uncomfortable. The medic gave me something to help with the sensation of the nerves firing off."

"Nerves regenerating, really?" Det's eyes, widened, then laughed, "you do seem to have a lucky star that follows you, Captain. Maybe that will rub off on some of the others."

Rex smiled, wryly, "Well, when it does rub off, be prepared for a sensation like your foot just waking up, except it goes on for hours on end."

"Ouch!" Det grimaced in sympathy.

Rex laughed, getting up and slapping him on the back. "Well, thank you again, Det. Next time I barf, I hope you're around."

"Uh… thank you, Captain," Det said uncertainly, then he caught the teasingly glint in Rex's eyes, "Good one, Captain. Can I walk you back to the practice line?"

# # #

Rex was inside the ship, supervising efforts to adapt the ship's weapons to be used to fire from the ground. It was tricky work, since the system was only ever meant to be used in zero gravity and be fired from space. But, they also had some incredibly talented engineers on board. Several of them were working together, making fast work of re-wiring panels. Rex shook his head in amazement as he watched how well they worked together.

Rex received a call from one of the troopers on guard duty, "Captain, we've got unknown ground vehicles headed our way!"

"Acknowledged, I'll be right there."

"Excellent work! I'm very impressed. Carry on," Rex said to the teams working on adapting the ships guns.

"Travis?" Rex barked into his helmet comlink, (of course, it didn't matter how loudly he said, the words were just going to be transcribed into text on Travis' helmet.)

_Wow, I'm doing three things at once, this feels good_, Rex thought as he hurried outside. Life was starting to feel like it was returning to normal, in a sense.

"I'm on it, Captain," Travis replied calmly.

Rex could hear Travis shouting to the troopers outside, getting them all into position. By the time Rex got outside, there were several layers of clone troopers, all in full fighting stance, focused on the incoming vehicles. The vehicles stopped just outside the camp, and a single doorway opened on the lead vehicle. A tall, darked hair woman stepped out of the lead vehicle, long rifle slung over one shoulder. She was dressed in clothing well-suited to the rugged climate. Her eyebrow arched up as she looked around at the formation of troopers all in ready fighting stance, aimed at her convoy of vehicles. She slowly lifted her rifle up off her shoulders, and then dropped it to the ground. She lifted her arms up in submission.

Rex came forward to stand by the front line of troopers, blasters on both hips, his DC-15 slung over his back, "Who are you?" he called out, loudly, in his deep baritone.

The woman eyed Rex's disabled leg with obvious surprise, also taking in his armor, rifle, and double-blasters. She was obviously trying to reconcile the different pieces.

"I am Karyn, Elder Chieftan of this Isle on Ando."

"What do you want with us?" Rex asked, making no introductions of himself or his men.

"This is our land," she said, imperiously.

Rex crossed his arms firmly over his chest, waiting, for her to continue.

"OK," she admitted, her voice and body language dropping to a friendlier, more casual stance. "we came because we were curious to see who had crash landed on our planet. We've had no visitors in a long time, unless," her eyes narrowed, "you count those menacing pirates. But," her voice, face and eyes took on the strong tone of a leader that meant to protect her people by any means necessary, "we also came to see if you were a threat to us."

She looked around at the troopers, all still arranged in their fighting stances around her. None of them had moved at all, their weapons held perfectly still, all trained on her and the other vehicles. Her eyes took in the Republic logo on Rex's uniform, "You are more of the soldiers from the Republic?"

Rex gazed at her, arms folded across his chest, just letting her talk. He did not answer her question.

Travis' voice came on in Rex's helmet, "You may want to play nice with her, Rex. These could be the locals that have Hok. If not, they might who does, and how we can get him back."

She gestured toward their crashed transport. "Is someone coming to retrieve you? _That _does not look like it will fly again."

Rex switched to a secure channel on his helmet comlink, "Travis, what's your take on this?"

"Whether they are friendly to the Republic, or the Separatists, well, shab, I don't know. I guess that's why you are the Captain and not me. But, this would be a good time to ask about our missing crewman."

Rex snorted, "Yeah, well, thanks. I was just about to ask them about Hok. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't about to walk us into a Separatist trap. Alright-"

Chance's voice cut in on the channel, "Captain, we've got incoming! They're headed straight for us! We've got less than five minutes!"

"Can you identify?" asked Rex.

"Signature looks like the same ship that attacked us before."

"Travis! Positions!"

Travis immediately began barking orders to his troops. As one, the troopers moved away from the women and smoothly backed into their new positions. Karyn jumped back, startled, reaching for her rifle. Women began spilling out of the other vehicles, grabbing their rifles. They stared at the troopers in confusion. Rex quickly made his way to Karyn's side, "This has nothing to do with you. We've got unfriendlies incoming. We'll have to continue this social call at another time. Get yourself someplace safe. Have a safe trip home. Do come back, because we did want to ask you about something. OK, bye now."

Rex grabbed her by the sleeve, shoving her toward the open door of her vehicle.

"Hey!" Karyn protested the manhandling, pulling herself free of Rex's grip. She shoved back, nearly sending Rex sprawling off of his crutches, in the slippery snow. She grabbed Rex before he went down. Rex growled loudly in irritation. "Sorry," Karyn said quickly. "I shouldn't have done that. You're injured. But, we have one of your men."

"Hok! Yes, well, then we do need to talk. We need our man back. But, you need to go! Now!" Rex said, shoving her again toward the open door of her vehicle.

Karyn pulled herself free. She planted her hands stubbornly on her hips, refusing to move, "Hold up! This is _our_ land! Who's coming? What's going on?"

"Pirates," Rex growled, "same ones that shot us down. In you go!" He gave her another hard push.

He looked away for a moment, engaged in a private conversation with Travis utilizing his HUD, working out troop tactics.

"Ah, we know of these pirates," Karyn said, "we'll fight with you."

Rex glanced briefly back at her, and the other ladies that had spilled out of the vehicles, all armed with rifles.

"Look, thanks for the offer, but it would be better if you left." Rex shook his head, "I can't vouch for your safety."

"We are Andosian women. We don't run from a fight!"

Rex muttered a few choice words under his breath that had Travis laughing through the com into Rex's helmet.

"That got transposed?" Rex said, surprised, back to Travis.

"OK. Fine," Rex said to Karyn, annoyance clear in his voice. At this point, he was beyond arguing with her. He had a battle to direct.

"Get these vehicles out of sight! Right now they're just perfect targets," Rex pointed to a nearby grove of trees. Karyn nodded, relaying orders to her people. The woman gracefully leapt back into their vehicles, pulling quickly away toward the trees.

Rex was waiting impatiently for Karyn. He'd conferred with Travis, and he quickly positioned Karyn, and the other women in a position where they would be safest, without compromising his troopers.

"I sure hope your people can shoot," Rex muttered to Karyn.

Karyn gave him an indignant look, "This is not our first run-in with these pirates!"

"Yeah, well, we had some recent experience with them ourselves!" Rex barked back.

"Sure hope you do a better job of it this time!" Karyn pointed to his downed ship.

"Will you two kids play nice?" Travis shouted into Rex's helmet comm. Rex heard him go back to barking orders to other troopers.

Rex turned his attention back to Karyn, "OK, our objective is to take the ship down before they can strafe this field and take us out. If and when we do take the ship down, and there are any survivors, we rush the ship. We will _**not**_ be taking prisoners. They will be shooting to kill, so our objective is to destroy them. Not give them another chance at this. Unless you want to make this a regular them with them, is that understood?"

Karyn looked like she was about to argue, then thought better of it, and simply nodded. Satisfied that Karyn and her women were in place, Rex turned his attention back to Travis. He cocked his head to the side, conferring with Travis on last minute trooper placements. Rex moved back into place against the ship, lined up with the rest of his shooting line.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a ship's engines straining as the pirates came at them fast and hard. The guns from their crashed transport ship began firing, the force of the shots shaking the entire ship against Rex's back. He almost lost his balance. They hadn't taken the shaking of the ship into account. The noise level was incredible, but his helmet automatically filtered most of that out.

_And, _Rex thought ironically_, we do have a high percentage of deaf troopers already._

"Yes!" Travis shouted, as one of Odds' shots connected with the pirate ship.

"Great shot, Odds!" Rex said, looking up, scanning the sky with his visor. He saw the ship coming in, streaking toward them, smoke billowing from its' aft section, guns blazing.

With crisp precision, the clone troopers began firing as soon as the ship came into range. The troopers hammered the ship with shot after shot, precision-firing. Rex noticed an arc of fire join in with his troopers' shots. He raised an eyebrow. Karyn hadn't exaggerated. Her women could shoot.

The pirates' shots' went wide, kicking up a great deal of rock and snow but not striking any targets. The ship zoomed by overhead, headed out to sea, then circled around to come back around from the seaward side.

Travis and Rex tracked their projectory, "Not good," Travis said, over Rex's comm, "the ship's mounted guns won't be able to fire at them from that angle."

"Then, we're just going to have to do take them down ourselves, Travis. Let's move the men," Travis barked orders, re-positioning the men, getting them set up for another pass.

Rex quickly hurried through the snow over to Karyn, pointing as to where her female warriors' repositioned. Karyn jumped into action, immediately repositioning her women. Her warriors moved as one, swinging into a new formation at just one hand signal from Karyn. OK, Rex had to admit it. He was impressed.

Rex didn't have time to get back to the ship, so he braced himself back up against a tree, carefully sighting down the scope of his DC-15. The pirate ship came barreling back into range, strafing the ground with its' forward lasers. This time some of the marks found their targets. Clones went down with cries of pain as the pirate ship's front-mounted lasers' penetrated right through their armor. But, troopers avenged their fallen brothers. The clones' shots found their marks as well. Shot after well-aimed shot hit the ship. Rex also noticed a hail of well-placed fire coming from Karyn and her women. Suddenly, a part of the pirate ship's engines flared up, exploding. The ship sank down over the next ridge with a satisfying crash, and muffled explosion.

"Finish it, Travis!" Rex ordered into his comm.

Travis motioned his team on: "Come on! Move it! Move it!" Everyone who'd been earlier identified as being fit to run, took off after Travis. It was a sizable compliment of troopers. Rex took a moment to admire the sight. _Disabled, my shebs! Look at them._

Rex slung his decee over his shoulder, and quickly moved to the assist the wounded. Lance and Milo were already outside, beginning triage. There were moans of pain, and many wounded. Their plastoid armor had been no match for direct fire from those lasers. Rex was just applying a bacta bandage to the shoulder of a wounded clone, when Karyn dropped down next to him in the snow. She had run back to her speeder to retrieve a large case. "I can help," she said, breathless from running. She popped open the case, revealing an impressively stocked medical kit. Rex looked up at her in surprise. She snapped on a pair of surgical gloves, "I'm the town doctor for Ando," Karyn explained.

Rex raised up an eyebrow, "Well, that's handy." He studied her critically for a moment, then nodded, "You're an improvement over a shabla tinny, I suppose." He looked around at all their wounded. "We could use the help. Thank you."

Karyn had no idea what a 'shabla tinny' was. Rex pointed out the tent Travis had set up for first aid and triage I case of an attack. Karyn called in the rest of her team to help. Karyn worked with Rex, Milo and Lance to coordinate the treatment of all the wounded. The wounded were all examined, and one-by one, carried off to the tent. Soon, it was just Rex and the doctor, with one last wounded clone. Rex's danger sense suddenly warned him something was very wrong. He snapped his head around trying to find the source of the danger. In the treeline, two pirates had escaped the wreckage. They were taking aim at Rex and the doctor.

"Down!" Rex yelled.

The doctor looked up for a moment in confusion. Rex leapt on top of her, as he felt one laser bolt singe by right over their heads. He felt the second one burn into his shoulder plates. _Thank goodness for armor_, he thought, yanking off the burning, smoldering plate and tossing it down to the snow.

"Stay down!" he said to Karyn, as he rolled back up into firing position, blasters in both hands. He balanced on his one leg, and fired both blasters at once. His eyes and hands found the targets automatically. The two pirates went down with two identical cries of pain. Rex used the scope on his visor to check for movement to see if there were any more unfriendlies lurking in the treeline. All was clear.

"OK," he said, extending his hand to Karyn, pulling her up out of the snow, "are you OK, ma'am?" he continued to balance just on his one leg.

Rex peered around, looking to see where his crutches has fallen in all the melee. He found one, half-buried in the snow. He reached down, and grabbed it. It would have to do. He'd find the other one, in a bit. He balanced, just using the one crutch.

She looked a bit stunned, her eyes blinked several times, taking it all in, "Fine, thank you," she looked at Rex, "I don't even know your name."

"Captain Rex, ma'am," Rex bent down to pick up his shoulder armor, now cooled. He inspected it, to see if it was salvageable, "Fierfik! Completely melted. I'm going to have to start carrying spare armor and paint around in my kit!" Rex grumbled. He stuck the burnt piece of armor into his belt. He gave it one last regretful glance.

"You just saved my life," Karyn said, she touched his shoulder. The bodysuit was singed, and split apart. He hissed and pushed her hand away.

"You're injured!"

Rex rolled his eyes, "I'm fine," he rooted around in the snow with his one crutch, until he struck metal, locating the other one. He bent down, and retrieved it. "I'll put some bacta on it later," he said, off-handedly, dismissing his shoulder burn. "Shame about my armor, though," he said, touching the burnt piece of armor on his belt with a regretful sigh. "Shoulder armor, couldn't have been just an armband or something, no. I _liked_ that piece, too. Piece of my original set, too. That piece is going to be hard to replace." He shook his head, staring out toward the dead pirates, thoroughly annoyed.

He turned his attention back to the wounded clone, "OK, Let's get this trooper moved inside before we receive any more unexpected visitors," Rex gestured toward the first aid tent. Two of Karyn's women were just headed out of the tent toward them to assist.

Just then, Travis and the rest of the troopers crested the hill, jogging through the snow, in high-spirits. And, they were _singing_. They weren't a lot of songs that all clones knew. But, all troopers were taught 'Vode An'/'Brothers All' as part of their flash training. Rex had to admit they made an impressive picture trotting back in their armor, chanting in Mando'a. The rest of the Andoan women began poking their heads out of the first aid tent, and watched them come in, jaws dropped.

Rex folded his arms across his chest, watching all of this play out.

"Shab," he shook his head. No more work was going to get accomplished today, that was a given. Travis trotted right up to Rex, and saluted smartly. Travis saluting him? Rex wished he could have captured a holo of the moment. Of course, the ladies were watching the whole thing.

"Mission accomplished, Captain! Nothing left of those pirates! However, I think we might actually be able to salvage their ship. Frakkin' thing could use a good cleaning- Oh, excuse me, ma'am! I mean, the –" Karyn waved her hand, saying it was quite alright. Travis nodded and continued, "Well, uh, Captain, sir," Rex almost rolled his eyes at Travis actually calling him Captain. He could salute him and remember to call him Captain, in front of a lady, but not that he shouldn't use the word 'frak.' Smooth Travis. Smooth. Travis seemed to have realize he'd goofed, though, as he was slowing down, and stuttering a bit… "Well, uh… I think if we uh… combine it with some parts from our ship , well, maybe we could uh-"

Rex slapped Travis on the back, _hard,_ "Spit it out, man!"

Karyn gave him a concerned look, at how hard he'd whacked Travis. Rex grinned at her, "Oh, it helps him with his stuttering problem. You'll get used to him. Just smack him a good one if you hear him with that speech impediment of his. Go on, Mr. Travis, you were saying?"

Rex could feel Travis glaring daggers at him through his helmet, "I was saying," Travis said, enunciating very clearly, "if we were to combine parts from that ship with parts from our ship we might be able to get a space-worthy vessel again."

Rex's eyes got wide as he took in what Travis was saying. "Outstanding, Travis!"

Karyn was about to comment on this, a space-worthy vessel, when she heard a gasp coming from several of her women. She turned to see what was wrong. Nothing was wrong necessarily. They were all just gasping and staring at the men.

Many of the clones had taken their helmets off in order to drink water from their canteens. They were in a playful mood after the success of their recent battle. They were very hot and sweaty from the run to the pirate ship and back, so several of them were tossing snow at each other. A couple of them were just grabbing handfuls of snow and using it to scrub their faces, and wipe back their sweat-streaked hair. It took them several moments to realize they had an audience. The women of Ando dropped their jaws in shock, staring at the identical faces. All conversations had stopped. Slowly, as realization dawned, the troopers stopped what they were doing, suddenly self-conscious at having an audience. A few of the troopers smiled awkwardly at the ladies, others turned red, painfully shy. Travis took off his helmet.

Travis playfully smacked Rex on the back of the head: "Frying those pirates was fantastic! I imagined every single one of them was Ko Sai, and BOOM! Totally satisfying!"

Rex smirked at Travis, "After all these years, you still love doing that, don't you?" Rex smacked him on the back, twice as hard, and Travis had to struggle to keep his balance.

Travis looked over at Karyn. He broke out into a wide smile: "Hello. We haven't met. I'm Travis. And, I do _not have _a speech impediment."

Karyn stared at Rex a moment, and then studied Travis: "Remarkable! Utterly remarkable!"

"He's utterly," Travis said with a teasing grin, "and **I'M** remarkable!" Travis thumped himself on the chest.

He noticed Rex's missing shoulder armor: "What did you do to your plate?"

Rex pulled out the melted plastoid plate from where he'd stashed it in his belt.

Travis held it up and whistled: "Impressive."

Rex scowled, "I happened to really like that particular plate."

"My fault," Karyn said to Travis, "I didn't drop down when told."

She looked back and forth between Rex and Travis, staring at their identical faces, "Are you… brothers?"

Travis swung his arm around Rex, "Yup!"

Karyn looked over at the other clones, "All of you?"

Rex nodded, smiling, "Yes."

Karyn looked over at the group of troopers, who were milling about talking, casting shy, furtive glances toward the women.

"We're clones, ma'am," Rex explained, "same father. Makes us all, well-"

"- brothers," Travis supplied, still smiling.

Rex gave him a sideways look, thinking he'd never seen Travis smile this much. What was with him? He shoved Travis' arm off his shoulder. "Go see to the men," Rex ordered. Travis saluted him crisply, and headed back over to the other men. Rex stared after him, shocked. That was twice in one day that Travis had saluted him. What had gotten into him?

"Guess it's a fortunate thing for us that you crashed here the same time these pirates began harassing us," Karyn said.

"They been bothering you long?" Rex asked.

Karyn shook her head, "No. They've made a couple of flyovers, but didn't touch down. I think they were just scoping the place out to see if we had anything worth taking. So far, I think we were far less interesting than what's been flying by up above."

Rex scoffed at that, glancing back toward their downed ship, "Yeah, noticed that."

Karyn gestured toward the first aid tent, "Captain, you have a lot of wounded. Some of them quite seriously. You're fortunate you didn't have any casualties."

Rex nodded. It was a rare battle where he wasn't tallying up the dead, along with the wounded. They had indeed been very fortunate.

"I'm concerned, though, about some of your wounded being out in the cold, like this," she nodded toward the tents, "as a thank you for your help, I'd like to offer to bring your wounded to back to our village."

Rex raised an eyebrow, "You have room for this many?"

"I can treat them at my clinic, and then we can house them with the families within the village. Our village is… plenty big enough," Karyn said. Rex could sense something more in what she was saying, but wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Rex's first reaction was to object, thinking the men had their armor to keep them warm. But, he looked toward the tent, which was overflowing with Karyn's women fussing over the wounded. Much as he personally disliked any kind of fuss, it seemed that his men were enjoying the attention.

"Excuse me a moment, ma'am," Rex said, slipping his helmet on. "Travis."

"What's up, boss? Headed off for a romantic stroll with your new lady love?" There was something in Travis' tone, though, that made it sound like that was not something he wanted Rex to be doing. It wasn't quite Travis' normal teasing tone of voice. Rex had no idea what to make of it. Travis' behavior around this woman made no sense to him. He wished Ahsoka was around. She probably would have this figured out right away.

Rex scoffed, "Hardly. Look, Karyn has offered to take the wounded back to town. What do you think?"

"Don't say that too loudly," Travis replied, looking out at his besotted troopers, "or half this group will be shooting themselves in the foot to get a ticket back with them. They'll be cursing themselves for not having the good fortunate to having gotten themselves wounded."

"And, this is why there are no women in the GAR," Rex said.

"Actually, Cap, I was thinking it's all rather cute," Travis said, merrily.

"Cute?" Rex scoffed.

"This is what I mean, Rex, when I say you have no sense of humor."

"I have a sense of- OK, no, forget it. I am not having this argument with you, again. Rex, out." Rex removed his helmet. He looked back at Karyn, who was waiting patiently.

"And?" she asked.

"Yes, alright, then," Rex said, "we'd be most appreciative. Thank you, ma'am."

"That includes you, too, then Rex," Karyn said, "I want to take a look at that shoulder."

Rex opened his mouth to protest, but Travis arrived then, and cut him off. "Go, Rex. A decent meal, and being checked over by a doctor would do you good. You have been a bit accident prone lately."

Rex stared at Travis, and opened his mouth to object, but then Travis made a move like he was going to elbow Rex in the ribs. Rex immediately moved his arms defensively to block his ribs, but groaned slightly from the movement.

"What happened to your ribs?" Karyn asked, immediately concerned.

"Nothing," Rex said, immediately. Travis moved to swing at him again, but this time Rex was ready for him and easily dodged the blow. "Fine! I'll go. But I'm only going to be there for our men," Rex grumbled. "Travis, you're in charge while I'm gone." He turned back toward Karyn, "Shall we prepare the wounded to depart, ma'am?"

Travis followed, smiling, seemingly amused by the whole exchange. He also seemed to be eying Karyn rather closely as she walked.

# # #

"OK, Rex, that's everyone. We just need to roll your accident-prone self into one of those speeders, and then you and the merry caravan of women can proceed on your merry womanly way," Travis smacked Rex lightly on the back, as the last of the wounded was secured.

Rex pivoted, and returned the smack, with twice the force. Travis coughed from the force of the blow. Karyn looked over from where she was hunched over a patient in a speeder. She gave Travis a look of concern. Travis waved to her, "I'm fine, ma'am. We're just saying our good byes." He turned to Rex, and growled, "I swear, you're going to break _my_ ribs!"

"Well, then _you_ should go to with the women and not me!" Rex mouthed to Travis, letting him read his lips. He didn't want to risk their hosts overhearing.

"Don't you want to go?" Travis asked, discreetly. He sounded like he found that hard to believe.

"Not really, no," Rex said, still speaking just for Travis to hear, "Hard as this seems for you to fathom, I'd rather stay here."

Travis shook his head, "You're a strange one, Rex. I know you don't hang your deecee into that other holster, so I don't see why you don't want to go," a light suddenly gleamed in Travis' eyes, "Wait a second! It makes perfect sense now! This is because you have someone already! I knew it! Is it that-"

"Shut it, Travis! I am _not_ having this discussion with you!"

"Aren't we, you know, like friends, now?"

"Not the kind that talk, no."

"But-"

Rex saw Karyn straighten up from her patient and look his way, "Time to go!" Rex said, totally cutting Travis off.

"If you don't mind waiting a moment, ma'am, I'd just like to grab my kit," he called over to Karyn.

Karyn had no idea what 'kit' was, but she nodded, "Of course."

Rex glared at Travis, "Discussion over. We don't share...stuff, OK? We're not _that_ kind of friends."

Rex turned away, before Travis could respond. He heard Karyn coming up behind them.

"May I walk with you, Captain, while you retrieve your, uh, kit? I wanted to ask you something?"

Rex gave Travis a look that said: 'Stay!'

"Hey!" Travis said, turning to follow.

Rex turned and glared at Travis, putting up his index finger, making it very clear that Travis was not to follow them. Travis gave Rex a hurt look, but did not follow.

He turned to Karyn, and answered politely: "Yes, ma'am. Of course."

They headed out across the snowy camp, toward Rex and Travis' tent. Rex saw some of his men using branches to sweep away bloody snow. He hadn't thought to do that. It must have been Travis. He was always was very good with the details. Rex sighed, and shook his head. Karyn was speaking. He turned his attention back to her.

"So, Captain, I was thinking that perhaps we could extend an invitation for the rest of the men to come to town tomorrow for a mid-afternoon meal? The ladies would like to thank your men, all of them, for their help. These pirates have been a real concern for us for a while now. We thought perhaps we could pull together a potluck supper, with some traditional Andosian cooking. I think we could pull together sometime nice, and some desserts as well. Some of our ladies just go crazy making sweetcakes, stacking them real high, with a lot of icing and decorations. Do you think your men might be interested in attending a traditional Andosian gathering like that? There's always a ton of food."

Rex thought of what his men had been eating, well, more like hardly eating, since they'd left Coruscant.

"Yes, ma'am, actually, that probably would go over very well. Our diet a bit, uh, bland, since leaving Coruscant," Rex confessed.

"Oh, Coruscant," Karyn responded, "is that where you were headed when you ran into the pirates?" Karyn made a vague gesture up toward the sky, "There's not much out in our end of the galaxy."

Rex hesitated.

Karyn waited expectantly, then her face lit up with understanding, "Ah! You can't talk about it! You guys were on a secret mission or something, right?"

Rex wagged a finger at her and smiled: "I like the way you think. I'll be just a moment," he disappeared into the tent, and reappeared a few seconds later with a compact bag slung over his shoulder. It was a small kit bag, pulled out of his large gear bag. It contained his razor, toothbrush, the stuff he used to maintain his hair, etc, and a few other personal items. He could certainly get by without such luxuries, but given a choice, well, it was nice to have it if he was going somewhere. He shifted the bag a bit, so that it fit snugly next to his DC-15.

"Do you want me to carry something?" Karyn said, looking at his crutches.

Rex shook his head, "No, thank you, ma'am. I'm certainly used to this by now."

Rex began leading the way back toward the speeders.

"What happened to you, if you don't mind my asking?" Karyn indicated his leg.

"Just took a bad hit to the knee. That's all. It happens."

Karyn must have sensed his reluctance to talk about it, because she didn't push the topic any further. "OK, so that's a definite yes, with the invitation for tomorrow?"

"Yes," Rex confirmed. Oh, his men were going to love this. He'd let Travis give them the news, _after_ the women had departed. No sense causing even more chaos and excitement. Clones and food. No, clones and food and sweets and women serving all that food. Yeah, what could possibly get a bunch of clones all excited about _that_?

Travis was waiting for him, next to the lead speeder. Rex slid his helmet back on so he could easily converse with Travis in private. Travis did the same. Karyn looked at them curiously, but said nothing. Rex and Travis quickly went over camp logistics, handling communications while they were separated, and pushing for more info about Hok. Rex then told Travis about the open invitation to all the men the following day. Not surprisingly, Travis was pleased. He felt the rest of the men would be enthusiastic about the idea, too.

"Don't mention anything yet," Rex cautioned, "let me check the place out first, OK? These people seem on the level, but let make sure these people aren't closet cannibals, Separatists, Hutts, witches, slavers, shapeshifters-"

"Rex, that smash into the bulkhead didn't addle your head, did it? Go!" Travis gave Rex a shove. As usual, Rex shoved Travis back twice as hard. Karyn watched all this with a raised eyebrow, wondering why the two men were fighting, yet kept their heads perfectly still.

"Just playing it safe," Rex said, "I once lost my whole battalion in one afternoon. If that's made me paranoid, so be it. I'll contact you once I've had a chance to recce the place. And, find Hok."

"I'll be waiting, and, looking forward to your report on the shapeshifting, cannibalistisic, Seppies of Ando. Now, get going. The pretty lady witch slavers are waiting."

Travis practically shoved Rex headfirst into the speeder. Rex managed to get one of his crutches back far enough to jab Travis in the stomach.

Karyn slid into the seat next to him. Rex removed his helmet and smiled at Karyn, "Are we ready to go?"

Travis removed his helmet, and smiled, slightly stooped over, rubbing his stomach. He cradled his helmet under one arm and waved very enthusiastically to Karyn

"Yes, everything OK?" she looked with concern at Travis.

Rex smiled at Karyn, hoping Travis couldn't see his lips from this angle, "Yeah, we're friends."

"And, that's how friends say good bye in the military?" Karyn questioned.

"I saw that!" Travis shouted, "she just said the word 'friends.' Did you tell her we were friends, Rex?"

"Just drive," Rex pointed, "let's move out."

Travis waved as the caravan of speeders left, shouting after them, "You said 'friends,' Rex. You can't take that back, you know!"

In the lead speeder, head turned away from Travis, Rex smiled.

As they approached the edge of the clearing, the majority of the men had assembled, waiting for the caravan. They cheered, and waved to the ladies as they left.

"What a nice, sweet, polite bunch of men," Karyn commented.

"Oh, yeah, that's the Army for you, just a bunch of nice, sweet, polite guys," Rex said, shoving his helmet on so he could roll his eyes. He looked down at his chrono, wondering how long this trip was going to take. He blew out a breath, briefly entertaining the idea of bailing, and making Travis take his place. In the end, he just rested his head against the window, and decided to sleep. It was a great way to avoid having to make any idle conversation, and hopefully he could also avoid thinking about Ahsoka for a while.

# # #

"Alright, Captain, stop stalling. Come over here and get undressed," Karyn said.

Rex was in the simple, understated, yet cheerful, clinic attached to Karyn's house.

There was space in the clinic for twelve narrow beds, in two neat rows of six. Four of the beds were currently occupied by Rex's men with injuries that Karyn wanted to monitor. The rest of Rex's men had treated by Karyn, and deemed stabled enough to recoup with families within the village itself. The 'families,' primarily single women, were rather insistent, actually, on acting as hosts to Rex's men. Their enthusiasm was almost unsettling.

Rex was a bit unnerved, so had insisted on going along to see where all his wounded men were going to be housed. He had made numerous trips back and forth from the clinic to houses within the fishing village. Their driver, a cheerful, older woman named Rosetta, kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole time, telling them all about the village. She drove them from house to house, helping the wounded men into the houses. She was extremely strong, practically lifting the men inside in some cases, with extreme ease. Each of the host women, both the single ones, and the families, greeted the Captain warmly, welcoming him and their new houseguest into their homes.

It was a nicely-laid out town, sitting right on the sea. The primary trade of the town had always been fishing, and the ocean-theme carried through in the decor of most of the homes. Rex was struck by the openness and good nature of everyone he met. The single women, though, which were the majority of the hosts, seemed especially excited when their houseguests were dropped off. Their eyes shone with excitement when the speeder pulled up, they laid eyes on the trooper, and their guest was dropped off for the night. Rex had to admit it appeared that his men would be well-taken care of for the night. He'd seen an old man, and a couple of children, but other tha few boys, but-

"Rosetta," Rex suddenly asked bluntly, after they dropped off another trooper at the home of another enthusiastic single female, "where are all your menfolk?"

Rosetta paled a bit, and then looked back at the Captain.

"Karyn, didn't mention anything about our, uh, recent history?"

Rex shook his head, "No, we didn't get a chance to talk much. We were just getting to the hellos when the pirates dropped in."

Rosetta's mouth formed an "oh." She was quiet for a long moment, looking like she was choosing her words carefully. Rex waited patiently. Karyn pulled the speeder back up in front of Karyn's clinic. They waited in the speeder for their next injured trooper to come out. Since their was nobody coming out at the moment, they had time to talk. Rosetta looked at the Rex, "Captain, there are no men in Ando, other than the few you've seen, and your men."

Rex looked at her, puzzled. He'd figured out as much by himself by now- what he wanted to know was why. He'd found one of the best ways to get people talking was to just stay quiet and let them talk.

Rosetta's voice grew quiet and pained, "We lost our men five years ago in a terrible civil war that almost destroyed this entire planet," she looked away as a tear streamed down her face. She swiped at it, "I lost my husband, then my firstborn," her voice took on a haunted whisper, "I tried to prevent my other two boys from getting dragged into it, but it was like a disease. It was this endless cycle of revenge that kept feeding on itself. We lost everything."

More tears streamed down, and Rex felt a strange desire to comfort this kindly, older woman that he didn't even know. She swiped at the tears. "I couldn't stop them from going. And, then… they… were all gone," Rosetta looked away, lost in the memory. "We lost our ships, most of our technology, pretty much everything… Some of the women wanted to pick up the fight, and avenge the men. But, it was Karyn who saw where it would all end. She was the one who was treating the wounded. But, there weren't even a lot of wounded. Mainly it was just a lot of casualties. Just dead, dead and more dead. And, the menfolk had been getting younger and younger until it was hardly more than children who had been getting sent out to war. Karyn lost 15-year old twin boys to the war," Rosetta bowed her head for a moment, then gathered her composure. "Her husband had died early on in the war, but when her boys ran off and then get themselves killed… well, that was it for Karyn. She pulled together the womenfolk of Ando into a peace coalition. She sent pictures of her dead boys to every village on the planet and told them that all of their children were going to end up like hers if this didn't stop."

"And?" Rex couldn't remain quiet any longer.

"It did," Rosetta said, simply, "that ended it… But, by then the planet was in shambles. There really was nothing left of the planet that was once Ando. Karyn gathered the survivors left into this one remote village. This is all that's left. One village of 500 people, almost all women, some children, a few old men. The rest are all dead of a planet that was once almost 8,000 people."

Rex was silent in the darkened speeder trying to reconcile the quiet fishing village with the planet's dark past.

"Sorry, Captain, didn't mean to throw that all out on you. I'm sure you have troubles of your own," Rosetta laid a gentle hand on Rex's arm.

"I'm sorry for the loss of your husband, ma'am," Rex said, "and, your sons," he took a deep breath, and met her eyes, "during the war, I lost many brothers."

"I'd be honored, Captain," Rosetta said, "if you'd tell me about your brothers."

Rex turned to look at Rosetta. He was about to tell her what he'd told Travis. He wasn't the type who talked about those types of things. He'd talked to Ahsoka, but, she'd stumbled into his mind when he'd had a fever. He hadn't exactly volunteered to discuss his past demons with her.

But, there was just something about the kindly older woman. So, as they sat in the darkened speeder, waiting for the next trooper to be brought out, Rex found himself slowly starting to talk to Rosetta. "Well, ma'am, there's not much to tell."

"Oh, I highly doubt that. I've met some of your men, now, Captain, and they're incredible. If I were you, I would be devastated by the loss of any one of them. I've lost a husband, and I've lost sons. Surely losing brothers is just as awful," Rosetta said in her quiet calm way.

Rex closed his eyes for a moment, trying not to see images of Teth. He felt a hand on his arm again.

"I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn't be pushing you. Let's not talk about it. We can just sit here and be quiet, if you like."

They sat in silence for a long moment, each alone with their thoughts. But, it was Rex who broke the silence, "Once, in a single day, I lost almost five hundred brothers. They were all under my command. It was the single worst day of my life," Rex hung his head down, temporarily unable to continue. He felt Rosetta's hand on his arm again. Rex took a deep breath, and blew it out, plunging on, "It was on a planet called Teth."

# # #

It was past ten once Rex and Rosetta finally finished dropping off all of the wounded to their host families. Rosetta walked Rex as far as the door of Karyn's clinic. She gave him a warm, tearful embrace.

"I'm so glad you and your men are here, Captain. You have breathed new life into this town again," she said to him quietly, "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the potluck. I'm going to make you my special fruit compote."

"That would be a real treat, ma'am," Rex responded, bowing his head to her respectfully, "I've never had fruit compote. I look forward to it."

"You're a dear sweet man," Rosetta said, brushing a hand up to his cheek, "you're all sweet boys." She teared up again, "Remind me of my boys, you all do." She sighed heavily, "It's good having you here." She shook her head, "I better go, before I make a fool of myself, crying over you." She turned and slipped back into her speeder.

Rex watched her go, making sure she got into her speeder OK. He watched the speeder pull away.

"Well," Karyn said from directly behind him, "you certainly made an impression on Rosetta. I don't think I've ever seen her get all emotional over anyone like that."

"Really?" Rex said, turning toward Karyn, grimacing a bit from the moment. "She's a very sweet lady."

"Sweet?" Karyn laughed, "she's considered about the toughest old bird in town. But, well, somehow she has taking a liking to you, Captain." Karyn reached forward and touched Rex's ribs. "OK, tough guy. You've taken care of everybody else. Now, it's your turn."

Rex shook his head, "I'm fine." He looked toward the beds where his men were settled. Rex immediately recognized one of the men in the beds right away. Dart, the smart ass trooper he'd run into during the journey from Coruscant "I'm just going to go sit with my men for a while."

Karyn folded her arms across her chest, "No, you're not."

Rex raised an eyebrow, and looked back at her, challengingly.

"No deal," Karyn said, "I let you run all over town. You know your men are fine. We're not bad people. Now, it's time to take care of you."

Karyn quickly turned and wiped the treatment bed down with an anti-septic spray, then patted it with her hands, "Alright, clothes off, right here."

Rex backed away, headed toward the side of the room where his men were settled, "No need. I'm fine. I've got some bacta. I can take care of this."

Karyn walked over grabbed Rex firmly by the arm, and pulled him back over to the treatment bed. "Captain, _sit down, now_." Her tone of voice brokered no argument. "You have a burn from a laser. It needs treatment, not benign neglect. It can get infected, even blood poisoning- that can be fatal. The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll be done."

Karyn was wearing traditional medical garb, and Rex had to admit it made her both attractive and imposing. Granted, he hadn't been around a lot of other women, other than Ahsoka. But, a man would have to be blind not to notice the doctor was well-built. She had particularly nice-

"Captain?"

Rex blinked quickly. Karyn's voice interrupted his profound thinking. Rex realized, with some embarrassment, she had been talking to him for some time. He'd heard her voice, but it hadn't really registered with him. He knew his focus was way off due to fatigue. Rex blinked, and forced himself to focus on what she was saying.

"Uh, yes, Doctor, you were saying?"

"Are you going to remove your armor? Or, did you want me to do it? After the fifth or so trooper, I got very good about removing armor."

"I can do it," Rex insisted. Rex began removing his chest plate. He reached up remove his one remaining shoulder plate, but grimaced from the movement. Karyn watched his progress, and then grew frustrated.

"Captain, may I?" she asked, reached forward to help.

Rex dropped his hands to his sides, and nodded to the doctor. He could feel exhaustion setting in.

"Yes, so, Captain, I was asking what Lieutenant Travis meant when he said you were injured colliding with a wall?"

"Oh, _that_… Uh… oh… just a clone expression. It means… uh, well, that is to say… er, well, to hit the wall means, uh,… it's when you… uh..." Rex floundered, knowing if he wasn't so tired he could pull this off much better.

"Oh, give it up, Captain," called Dart from his bed, "the doctor has a nice touch."

"Thank you, Dart," Karyn said.

Dart grinned at Rex, and then smirked, "_Quite_ nice, actually."

"Thank you again, Dart, I think," the doctor called, still removing Rex's armor.

Rex just shook his head, but couldn't blame Dart, since he'd been thinking about her nicer points just a moment before. But, then he felt guilty for even thinking it, since he and Ahsoka had a… well, thing. Rex wasn't sure how to define what he and Ahsoka had. It was good. It was mutual. But, what would you call it? Rex's mind drifted, thinking of Ahsoka. Where was she now anyway? Ahsoka? Rex quested for her with his mind. He felt like he could almost touch her…

"Captain?" the doctor's voice abruptly brought him back to the moment, causing Rex to startle and curse under his breath. "You, OK?"

"Yes, fine," Rex grumbled.

"That seems to be your standard answer for everything, you know," Karyn said. She finished with Rex's armor, and began removing the top half of Rex's bodysuit. She exposed his chest and arms.

"Impressive," Karyn said, getting a good look at all of Rex's accumulated chest and shoulder injuries. She looked more closely at the burn on his shoulder. Rex's armor had taken the brunt of the blaster burn. But, the skin underneath was swollen and red, with a large fluid filled burn blister. "Captain! Why didn't you say something sooner? This blister must have been extremely painful, especially with your clothing rubbing up against it all day," Karyn gave Rex an exasperated look.

Rex shrugged, then grimaced from the movement, "I've had a lot of experience with blaster burns," said Rex, "it was more important my men be taken care of,"

Karyn very gently probed the area, and Rex yelped. Karyn sighed, "OK, for now we're going to cover the blister, and just let it pop on its' own. The fluid inside will help the area heal. We have some excellent natural remedies for burns that will help them heal just as well as bacta does. In this case, I'm going to use a combination of sea buckthorn oil and seaweed."

The doctor pulled two jars, a mortar and a pestle from a side cabinet. "These just came in off of our main research vessel, The Manifest Destiny," Karyn explained. Her eyes widened as she suddenly remembered something important, "It's the same ship that picked up your man, Hok!"

Rex's eyes widened, and he jumped up, annoyed with himself that he hadn't asked about Hok sooner, "Hok! Where is he?" He looked around the clinic. "Where's Hok?"

# # #

One of the women of Andoville who had taken in a clone for the evening was a widow named Maya. She was hosting an injured trooper named Quinn.

Just as the sun was setting over Andoville, she set a soup tureen into the middle of the table in her small, cheerful kitchen.

"Are you sure you're OK to sit at the table and eat?" she asked her houseguest, "I could bring you a tray in bed, if you'd like."

"I'm fine," said Quinn. He inclined his head politely, "thank you, though, uh, ma'am."

Quinn had been strafed with laser fire down his left arm and left side. Karyn had treated his burns, and then declared him stable enough that he didn't have to remain in the clinic. He was, however, to remain in bed for the next several days, except for meals and using the refresher. So, Quinn had been helped out to the speeder by the kindly Rosetta, and the waiting Captain Rex, and ferried off to Maya's house.

Maya smiled to herself, feeling lucky she'd been chosen to host a clone for the night. There were more offers of lodging than clones who needing housing. Word had spread like wildfire that a shipload of men had crashed upon the planet. And, not ugly men either. When it had come time to assign housing, well, _that_ scene had almost _ugly_. Five years is a long time.

So, Karyn had ordered the housing selection be done by lottery. Maya had been thrilled when she drew a winning lottery number. She'd rushed home to start preparing a meal. She didn't have much, but she was determined to put forth something nice for her guest.

Maya watched her guest eat, impressed with his polite manners. He sat ramrod straight at the table, bowed his head politely when accepting food, and always called her "ma'am. Maya had never seen or met anyone like him. The sheer exoticness of him swept her breath away. Maya's late husband had been a competent enough breadwinner. But, truth be told, Maya had never been heads over heels in love with the man. Their marriage had been one of convenience, and it had produced no children.

As Maya sliced a loaf of bread that she'd baked earlier that day, she snuck a look at her houseguest out of the corner of her eye. Quinn was still wearing his armor, but he'd removed his helmet. He had dusky skin and beautiful eyes. Underneath the armor, she could just make out a muscular build. She let out a sigh.

"Are you alright, ma'am? Could I help you with that?" Quinn asked, indicating the bread.

"Fine, fine," Maya said, snapping back to reality. She hadn't realized she'd sighed out loud. "Uh, no, no, that is, no need to help. You just relax. Doctor's orders."

That was another thing to like about Quinn - his voice. She loved the accent, although she couldn't quite place it. She noticed all the clones had that same accent. It was delightful to listen to- words seem to just roll off their tongues.

Maya set the slabs of bread onto the table next to the soup tureen. She sat down next to Quinn and smiled at him. He smiled back, and then blushed.

_He's shy. I need to get him talking about something he'd comfortable about._

"So, Quinn, how long have you been in the military?" Maya ladled out a generous portion of soup into his bowl.

Quinn looked puzzled at the question.

"I'm a clone, ma'am. I was born and bred to be a soldier. So, I guess the answer would be since birth, I suppose."

Quinn stopped, because he noticed Maya was staring at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," Quinn said, "I know most civilians don't know much about us. I guess the holonet doesn't do a very good job of explaining."

Quinn stared into his soup, not eating, feeling awkward, and like maybe he'd said something wrong. Maya reached across the table and wrapped her hand around his. Quinn looked up, startled.

Maya laughed, "We haven't had the holonet here in five years. We had no idea you even existed, or your war. Would you tell me more, about you, and your life?" she asked.

Quinn looked at her, then down at their clasped hands.

"You're interested, in me?" he cocked his head sideways at her. His eyes widened, as if the thought of someone being interested in him was hard to fathom.

"I am," Maya said, her green eyes meeting his brown ones.

"I'm not even sure what to say, ma'am," Quinn said, feeling self-conscious again.

"Tell me everything about you and who you are. I don't know _anything,_" Maya said simply.

Quinn continued to look into Maya's eyes, feeling extremely nervous. He wondered if this was some kind of trap. But, all he saw there was kindness and sincerity. He looked down at their hands. Neither of them had made an effort to move their hands away.

He still hesitated.

Maya lightly stroked her thumb over his hand. Quinn gulped at the intimacy at the gesture, but still didn't pull away. He met her eyes again, and she smiled again.

_She likes me! _Quinn suddenly realized, feeling like he'd been shot again. He decided to take a huge risk, and started talking.

"Well, uh, I'm a clone, yes, but I'm also human. Some people think we're droids underneath this armor, but, of course that's _not_ true. We're just ordinary men. I've made a pledge to protect the Republic, and to lay down my life for the Republic. A lot of my brothers have died already for the Republic - some of them very hard and brutal deaths," Quinn took a deep breath, "I've always know I'll die, too, in a battle someplace. But, that's my lot in life." He looked back at Maya, "The rest of it, I'm sure you do _not_ want to hear."

"Why not?"

"Because it is the other side of being a Republic soldier—the truth. The stuff that doesn't have to do with duty and honor, and dying some heroic death. And, nobody ever wants to hear about that stuff."

Maya gave him a sincere look, "Well, I want to hear it."

"Really?"

"Yes, I do."

Quinn gazed at her for a long moment, as if judging her sincerity. "Well, OK, then, here's the rest of it. I'm expected to die for the Republic, but yet, I am not considered a citizen of the Republic, I can't vote, I have no rights, and I don't get paid. One year ago, before the Battle of Geonosis, I had three million brothers. Now, I have two million brothers. If the war continues at this rate, well, we'll all be dead inside of the next two years. All of my brothers and I, all of us wiped out for good as if we never existed," Quinn paused for a moment, caught up in a memory of something that had happened to him. He shook a little, a tremor passing through his body.

"Go on," Maya encouraged.

Quinn looked at Maya, he nodded at her, took a deep breath, another tremor passing through his body, and then continued, "My specialty is Combat Engineering," another tremor passed through his body, Quinn grimaced with annoyance, but he pushed on and continued,  
"Up until last month, I was part of the 38th Armored Division. I did a lot of constructing, and deconstructing of things as part - "

Quinn's stopped speaking abruptly, and his whole body went rigid. He sank like a stone to the floor, his entire body convulsing in a seizure.

"Quinn!" Maya dropped down to his side. She stared in horror at his convulsions, feeling panicked, unsure what to do. She dug her comlink out of her pocket.

"Hang on, Quinn. I'm going to call Karyn!"

In her panic, she dropped her comlink. She fumbled, picked it up again, and brought it up to her lips. She was about to call for the doctor when a strong hand stilled her actions.

It was Quinn. His seizure had subsided.

"There is no need to call the doctor," he said, weakly, his eyes still closed, still curled up on his side in the fetal position, "I'm alright." His voice was breathless, and he was pale.

Maya stroked his forehead instinctively, trying to lend comfort: "What just happened?" she asked Quinn.

As she stroked his hair back, she noticed a jagged white scar underneath his silky black hair. Eyes still closed, Quinn grabbed her hand, and pulled it up to the scar.

"Head injury," he said, eyes still closed, "a detonation job—didn't quite go as planned."

He opened his eyes and focused on her. Her eyes were wide with concern and compassion. "I'm not in the Grand Army of the Republic anymore," Quinn said with a tired sigh, "there's nothing grand about me, at all." He released her hands, and dropped his arms to the floor, so he could push himself up. Maya put a hand on him to prevent him from getting up just yet.

"Do you want to lie down? I could show you to your room?" she said, concerned.

"No, really, I'm OK. I think I'm finally getting used to these seizures," he said, "I'm sorry to disturb your dinner. I should have warned you before you agreed to take me on as a houseguest. I'll understand if you want to send me back. You probably don't want me in your house. I understand… I wouldn't want me."

Maya stared at him for a moment.

Quinn looked down, "I'll get my kit," he said quietly.

On impulse. Maya grabbed his face, turning it toward hers. She leaned slowly toward him, making eye contact the whole time.

His eyes widened as he realized what she was about to do. He didn't pull back. He leaned forward ever so slightly. She put a hand behind his back, drawing him nearer. He parted his lips, ever so slightly. Their lips finally met. Quinn closed his eyes, as a whole world of new sensations washed over him.

_24 hours ago, I thought I'd be dead by now._

_Maybe I did die. Maybe I just made it to the afterlife, and I don't remember crossing over. Maya is my own personal angel. So beautiful. And, sweet. I didn't expect a kiss to taste this sweet._

After they broke apart from their first kiss, Quinn looked at Maya, confusion furrowing his brow. "Are you an angel?"

Maya threw both arms around his neck, and rested her head against his chest. He was still wearing his armor. Some of the plates were now blackened, and badly in need of replacing.

Quinn tucked his chin on top of her head, savoring the unfamiliar sensation of holding a woman in his arms.

_I think I could grow to like it here._

She pulled back from his chest, and helped him to his feet, pulling him up by his good arm. She curled in to his chest again, for just a moment, enjoying the feel of his armored chest.

"I'm very glad you came, Quinn," she said.

Quinn's stomach growled, cutting in to the moment.

Maya laughed, "Come on, let's feed you. Before Karyn steals you back from me because of benign neglect."

Quinn released her, somewhat reluctantly, but he did eye the soup and bread with interest.

"We'll get back to this. I promise," Maya said, running a finger lightly along his lip, before turning back to the soup bowls. Quinn shivered, just from the light touch.

"Sit, please," Maya helped Quinn back into his chair. Quinn sat back down carefully, wincing a bit as the the burns along his side pulled. "Are you OK?" Maya asked.

Quinn laughed, "Trust me, ma'am. I've had a lot worse than this."

Maya frowned at that, but let it go. Maya put aside the cool bowls of soup, and ladled out fresh, hot bowls of soup for both of them. She passed the bread to Quinn. He accepted the basket of freshly-made bread, smelling it appreciatively, before selecting two large pieces.

"I've never smelled bread such as this before," he said.

"Really?" Maya said, eyebrows raised.

"Army food isn't like this," Quinn said, eyeing their meal appreciatively.

"Go ahead, please, and start eating," Maya said, indicating the food.

"Thank you, ma'am," Quinn said.

Karyn laughed, "Quinn, if you're going to kiss me, at least call me Maya, OK?"

Quinn looked at her, his first spoonful of soup halfway to his mouth. He blushed again.

"OK, then," he said, "Maya," trying out her name on his lips.

Maya felt a strange thrill when she heard Quinn say her name in his lilting accent.

He smiled at her again, right before bringing the soup to his lips, "Although technically, Maya, you kissed me."

Maya's eyes opened in surprise. He winked at her, and Maya knew then that she was completely lost.

He closed his eyes, savoring the taste of the soup.

"Oh, wow- this is good," he said appreciatively, ladling in spoonful after spoonful. Maya found it fascinating just to watch him eat.

She slid the butter over to him, "Butter? We have a small creamery at the edge of town, run by Rosetta. Our stuff is unusually good and creamy. I tend to like to just slather my bread."

He accepted the butter from her, touching her hand a moment longer than necessary. His eyes met hers again, and he smiled warmly. Maya could see his initial shyness had disappeared since their kiss. The way he looked at her made a puddle of warmth spread in the pit of her stomach. As their eyes met, she sucked in her breath. As their fingers met and lingered over the creamy butter, she thought she couldn't remember ever feeling anything like this in the presence of her husband. As much as she was enjoying watching Quinn eat, she was also anxious for him to hurry up and finish eating.

She stared in fascination as Quinn spread a generous amount of butter onto his bread. Slather, slather, slather. But, before he even opened his mouth to take a bite, he took an appreciative whiff of the aromatic bread. "Mmmmm….. delightful," he said, with a happy sigh, finally taking a generous bite of the sweet, fresh bread. Quinn looked over at Maya, his brow creasing a bit in a frown.

"Aren't you going to eat, ma'am- Maya? Everything is quite, ah, delicious," he gave her a long, slow smile.

Maya picked up her spoon. "Yes, sorry. I was just enjoying watching you eat. I don't think I've ever seen someone enjoy a simple meal so much."

"Oh, well, you should see what we've been eating," Quinn laughed and the sound seemed to fill the room. Maya realized then how empty her house had been these five years. "Oh wait! Perhaps this can help explain things better than I can!" Quinn tried to pull something out of one of his belt pouches, but between his arm injury, and the burns on his side, he couldn't quite manage it.

"Let me help," Maya stood up and crossed over to help Quinn. She wasn't interested in eating at all, anyway. Quinn was so much more fascinating than dinner anyway. She leaned over him and placed her hand in his belt pouch.

"This one?" she said, rummaging around in the pouch.

"Yes," Quinn said, suddenly short of breath. Maya's upper torso was right in front of his face as she leaned over him. Again, Quinn wondered if they truly had crashed on Ando, or if he was just living through some kind of post-Kamino-execution afterlife.

_Does it matter, Quinnie boy?_

"So, is this what you were looking for?"

"Yes!" Quinn said, enthusiastically, then he blinked and focused on what Maya was talking about. She was holding a food ration cube in her hand.

"Oh, yes, that was it," Quinn said in a more subdued tone, trying to get his breathing under control. "Try eating those for years, and you'll have a whole new appreciation for your delicious soup."

Maya sat back down in her chair. She studied the rations cube for a moment.

"Not very appealing looking, is it?"

"Oh, I have nothing against the way it looks. Just wait until you taste it," Quinn teased.

Maya sniffed it, "It has no smell."

"That's not all it doesn't have."

Maya took a small dainty bite of it. She chewed, and to her credit, didn't spit it out immediately.

She looked back at him, "How often do you eat these?"

Quinn shrugged, "In the past week, it's all I've had to eat. Well, that and some water."

"You're kidding!"

"No. But, I was raised to eat stuff like that."

Maya took another bite, chewing it carefully, "It doesn't get any better the more you eat it."

Quinn laughed at her, "No. It doesn't. But, I dare you to eat the whole thing."

She laughed at him, "You're on!"

Maya made a terrible face with each bite, but finally ended up finishing the ration cube.

Quinn watched her, laughing, enjoying his delicious meal of soup and bread. He couldn't remember ever enjoying a meal more, "I'm impressed. Not sure I've ever known a non-civilian tough enough to stomach a rations cube."

"Why are they so tasteless?"

"You sure you want to know?" Quinn asked, an amused glint in his eye. He looked around at their food on the table. He had taken flashtraining in etiquette. At the time, he didn't understand why soldiers had to take such things, but now he was glad he had. "It might not make for appropriate dinnertime conversation."

"Yes, I want to know," Maya said, sensing something of a story.

"Ok, then, remember you asked. Ah, well, if the food you take in has absolutely no smell, then the stuff coming out of you has no-"

Maya raised her hands laughing, "OK, OK, I get it!"

Quinn laughed with her, "You did ask."

"So, I did. What do I get for completing the dare?" she asked, giving him a playful look.

Quinn sat back in his chair, taking a generous bite of another slice of bread. He studied her carefully while he chewed. "Well," he said, finishing off the rest of the slice, and licking the butter off of his fingers slowly and appreciatively "I suppose since you won the dare, it would have to be lady's choice."

Maya in fascination as he licked fingers. She shoved the bowl of butter toward him. "More butter?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Uh, no," Quinn said, looking down at the bowl for a moment, and then back at Maya, "thank you, though. It was delicious, and, uh, very creamy, just like you said."

Maya licked her lower lip, "Ladies choice," she murmured, a sparkle in her eye. She stood up and walked over to Quinn. She looked down at him, smiling.

"I choose a kiss from Quinn."

Quinn sucked his breath in, and then grinned back at her, thoroughly enjoying the flirtation. He reached up and pulled her down on his lap. Maya seated herself carefully, not wanting to further injure his arm or side. Quinn didn't seem overly concerned about his injuries at the moment. He wrapped his good arm around Maya, and she wrapped one arm around his back, and the other behind his head. She gave a contended sigh as he slowly drew her closer in to him.

"Pay up," she demanded.

Quinn laughed, bringing his lips in toward her, "You know, I have a whole pouch full of ration cubes, since you like them so much…"

Maya couldn't wait anymore for her kiss, and brought her lips down on his. Quinn had planned on a light kiss, but Maya's kiss was hungry and demanding. Quinn heard her moan, and he responded with a growl.

# # #

Several long, exploratory minutes later, he had her pushed on her back on the table. She was desperately pulling off his armor from the waist down. He was glad for the help because he didn't have the dexterity to do it with his injured arm. He had to murmur instructions to her, since she was unfamiliar with some of the latches and clasps. But, she was a quick study, and he was soon naked from the waist down. She was too impatient to get fully undressed. She rolled her underpants off, and he pushed her dress up to her waist.

"Now, Quinn!" she demanded, pulling him down for another kiss, biting his neck.

"Did you just bite me?" he laughed, both turned on, and surprised. "That will be a one-minute penalty." He leaned over her, but didn't enter her yet. He took his time, leisurely kissing her, and nuzzling her neck. He'd never made love to a woman before, but found every part of being with Maya was just so perfect, even lying half-naked amongst the bread crumbs and soup tureen. He was so aroused that he couldn't wait to enter her, yet he wanted the moment to last forever at the same time.

She impatiently swept the bread crumbs off the table onto the floor.

"Quinn!" she demanded, breathing heavily, "please! I feel like I'm going to explode!"

Quinn frowned and looked down on the floor, "You're making a mess, you know. I'll help you clean that up later."

She reached a hand down and grabbed his swollen member.

Quinn sucked in his breath, and closed his eyes, "Yeah, OK," he said, breathlessly, "I'm pretty sure that's cheating."

Maya guided him toward her entrance, "Yeah, well, whatever works. A lady's got needs you know."

"Uh, OK, then. I guess I can't keep the lady waiting then," Quinn sounded nervous though.

Quinn felt himself hovering right at her entrance, and looked right into Maya's eyes, "Are you ready, Maya?"

"Quinn!" Maya demanded.

"OK, OK," Quinn said, "just double-checking," he leaned his face down to hers, capturing her lips in a kiss that was light at first. Maya wouldn't allow for a light kiss. She immediately escalated the kiss into searing intensity, shoving her tongue into his mouth. Quinn's eyes opened in surprise. Maya locked her legs around his hips.

Quinn moved hips forward, trying to find the right angle forward to enter her. Maya shifted her hips helping him out. Quinn bucked his hips forward and entered her. Both Maya and Quinn groaned as their bodies joined. Maya felt her body stretching to accommodate Quinn's length. He was much bigger than her husband had been, and it had been five years since she'd had sex.

Quinn stopped, "Are you OK, Maya?"

Maya pulled back from their kiss, "Yes, it's just been a long while for me."

"Do you want me to stop? I could, uh," Quinn begin to withdraw.

"Don't you dare!" Maya said, "it was a battle just getting you in! How long has it been for you?"

Quinn stilled, and Maya wondered if she had said the wrong thing.

"Quinn, what is it?" Maya put her hands up to Quinn's face with concern, "please, you can tell me anything."

Quinn looked away, and Maya was even more concerned. He looked ashamed. His face had turned bright red, and Maya instinctively knew it was not from the strain of the sex.

"Quinn, please! Tell me!"

"Maya," Quinn said quietly, the beads of sweat, still on his forehead, "I've never done this before."

Maya's eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

Quinn nodded, and he squeezed his eyes shut, even more embarrassed.

"Well, you could have fooled me, Quinn. You're…" Maya struggled for the right words.

Quinn opened his eyes, and turned toward her, his face full of hope.

Maya smiled at him, "You're good at this. You seem to have natural instincts, the kissing, the flirting, the whole bit, so just go with that, OK?"

Quinn nodded, his whole face lighting up, "Yeah, I can do that. Clones learn _very_ quickly."

She brushed a hand up against his cheek, "Seriously, sweetheart, you had me so aroused from the moment I first laid eyes on you that I jumped you right on my kitchen table," Maya said, looking over at the soup tureen right next to their heads. "I can guarantee you this is not a normal occurrence for me." She began to laugh, and Quinn joined in. "Do you know how turned on you make me?" she squeezed her thighs tightly around his naked buttocks, "now, are you going to finish making love to me, or are we going to just talk about this all night?"

Quinn flexed his buttocks, causing his shaft to drive deeper into Maya. She sucked her breath in.

"That felt good, right?" Quinn asked, looking to Maya for confirmation.

"Yes, Quinn," Maya said, with a smile, "that felt _very_ good."

"Huh, I _am_ good at this," he laughed happily, "it's good to know that I have a talent for something other than demolitions." He flexed his hips and drove himself into Maya again. She moaned.

"Guess I have Jango to thank for this," Quinn murmured. "Bet those fishheads didn't know _this_ when they picked his genes." Quinn flexed his hips again.

"Who's Jango?" Maya asked, breathless, as Quinn established a rythmn between them.

"We'll talk about that later," Quinn said as he leaned down to nibble on her ear, "busy now."

# # #

"Will you have to leave Ando?" Maya asked, several hours later, her hand tracing lazy circles around Quinn's bare chest. She was careful not to press too close to the bandaged areas of his chest where he'd been burned in the battle.

"Leave?" Quinn asked, tilting his head to look at her, a frown creasing his brow.

"Will they send a ship looking for you, and the other soldiers?"

"I don't think so. I can see where they'd be upset about losing a ship, even a junker like that one. But, losing us? No, I can't think of any reason why they'd waste good resources looking for us. They sent away us away from Coruscant trying to get rid of us."

"What?" Maya looked alarmed and upset, sitting bolt upright.

Quinn pulled her back down again and nestled her into his arms. "I'll tell you the whole story, OK?"

He explained to Maya about how he'd ended up at ArmyMed, the depressing journey towards Kamino, and right up to the point where the pirates were getting ready to attack, and Captain Rex started rallying everyone and bellowed out: "Wake up, troopers!"

Maya listened to everything, propped up on one elbow, gently stroking his chest and face. But, once she heard about what would have happened to them at Kamino, she gave him a look of horror, "Are you saying that if you hadn't crashed here on Ando, that you would... you'd be..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

"Yes, I'd be dead now," Quinn said, calmly. _I'm still not sure that isn't what actually happened, but if this is the afterlife, I'm going to keep playing along. I like sex, and I like Maya. I don't ever want to wake up._

Maya gasped, and her eyes teared up.

"All of you? All those men I saw yesterday..."

"Yes, the Captain, everyone who fought against the pirates, everyone who has injured - all of us were scheduled to be terminated yesterday."

"That's barbaric! That's horrible! That's- that's -" Maya couldn't find the words to continue.

"Well, in military terms, we've always been considered 'expendable.'Now that we are _damaged _clones, well, it's just a question of finding the most expedient way to dispose of us."

"Do you regard yourself as useless, Quinn?" she whispered.

Quinn looked away for a moment, unable to meet her gaze. After a long pause, he finally answered.

"For a time, after I found I couldn't rejoin my battalion, well…... it's the only life I've ever known... It's what I was _**created**_ to do..." He made eye contact with Maya again. "Yes, I felt worthless. When I boarded that ship, I was prepared to die. Actually, I was looking forward to it."

Maya swiped at a tear, as she listened to Quinn's story.

"But, something changed when Captain Rex and Lieutenant Travis took over. They made us feel like men again. I'm not quite sure how to explain it. They gave us back our identity as troopers, outside of our old battalions. Brought us back together as brothers. It all started with the Captain, though. If it wasn't for him, we would have been easy pickings for those pirates. They just would have slaughtered us, right there up there," he pointed in orbit over her planet.

Maya shivered at that image. She could hear the pride in Quinn's voice when he spoke of Captain Rex. "Your Captain sounds like a most amazing man," Maya commented.

"He is," said Quinn, "we all owe him our lives."

Maya looked very thoughtful, once again tracing circles on Quinn's chest with her hand.

Quinn lifted up her chin with his hand, "You look like you have something on our your mind."

"I was thinking..."

"About?"

"If you don't have to leave Ando, or, if you can't leave..." Maya started.

"Yes?" Quinn prompted.

"That means you could stay here."

"Yeah, we've got a tent city outside of town. I think the Captain has to work things out with your leader, Karyn. She mentioned something about all of that being your land. I guess I have to find out from the Captain when we have to go back there to our camp."

"That's not exactly what I meant. I was thinking about you staying _here._"

Quinn's eyes grew wide as he realized what she was saying.

"_**Me?**_ _**Here?**_"

Maya nodded, looking hopeful.

"With..." Quinn couldn't even bring himself to say it, in case he was wrong.

"Me," Maya said.

Quinn inhaled sharply. He was speechless, his mind trying to process what she was asking of him.

"You want me to..." Quinn started, and trailed off, his brow furrowed. Maya sat up, the blanket falling to her waist. Moonlight streamed in behind her, highlighting her long hair.

"I want you to stay here and live with me."

Quinn cocked his head to the side, his brow still furrowed. He was thoughtful for a long moment.

"What would I do?" he finally asked.

"What is it that you most want to do?" Maya asked.

"Other than this?" Quinn asked, with a teasing smile, brushing the back of one hand down Maya's ribcage.

Maya shivered and got goose bumps up and down her arms. She laughed.

"Yes, well, when two people live together, there is generally a lot of that. Yes, other than that," Maya said, still laughing.

Quinn continued to look thoughtful, while he ran his good arm up and down Maya's back. She leaned in to his touch, enjoying the back rub.

"I would like to be an engineer again," Quinn said, "except I would like to spend more time building things, rather than blowing them up."

At the word 'detonations,' Quinn reached his hand up, and rubbed his head scar self-consciously.

Maya studied him for a long moment. "Our town's growth has been stunted for a long time. We've been severely short on labor since our men stupidly killed themselves off. We have a backlog of things in town that are in need of repair, and we'd also hoped to expand the village. Would that be something you'd be interested in helping with?"

Quinn's eyes grew wide, and his face lit up with a smile. But, then as quickly as his smile came, it disappeared again, and he looked away.

"Maya," he said quietly, "you're forgetting about this." He took her hand and brought it to the scar on his head. He met her gaze, and she could see the anguished look in his eyes.

"I think you could do better, Maya, than a guy like me," he said, his eyes meeting hers.

Maya felt her heart melt at the sincerity in his gaze.

"You want me to give up on you because you get seizures?" she asked, in dismay.

"The Republic did," he said, holding her hand gently, "I did." He admitted.

"Well, Quinn, I'm _not_ giving up on you. Yes, I want you to stay here and live with me, here. Yes, I think you'd make an incredible engineer, and have great things to contribute to Andoville. And, if you think you can just give up on yourself and walk away from here, then, I'll... I'll..."

Maya grew flabbergasted.

"You'll what?" Quinn asked, a happy, teasing smile back on his face.

"Chase you down and bring you back here, with me, where you belong. That's what!" Maya said.

Quinn regarded her thoughtfully, the teasing smile still in place, "Mmmm... that sounds like a good bit of fun, actually, all that chasing."

Maya laughed, and punched him on his good arm.

Quinn grabbed her and rolled her down in bed underneath him.

"Oh now, you are just asking for it," he laughed, "tell me again that part about me being yours and all that chasing?" He felt himself immediately growing hard. He captured her lips in a long searing kiss. Maya moaned under the intensity of his kiss. "Are you sure you'd want me around, Maya?" Quinn asked, pulling back.

Maya wrapped her legs around his buttocks again, trapping him against her, "Yes, Quinn, yes! Now, less talking, and more of the thing you seem so naturally talented at…" She reached her down, grabbing him again, and pulling him against her entrance.

This time, Quinn didn't hesitate. He thrust himself right into her with the confidence. Maya moaned.

"Thank you, Jango," Quinn murmured again.

"Who's this, Jango?" Maya demanded, grabbing Quinn by his silky black hair, and pulling his mouth toward hers for a long, hot kiss.

"Do you really want to talk now?" Quinn murmured, peppering her face and neck with kisses.

Maya sighed, and shivered as Quinn ran his tongue up the nape of her neck, "Later. You'll tell me who this Jango is later."

Quinn just laughed, and muttered, "Mmmmm…. now this is an interesting place I haven't kissed you before…" He wasn't planning on getting out of bed anytime soon. Doctors' orders. He decided he liked Ando. A lot.

# # #

Author's Notes: OK, according to my Microsoft Word count, that was a little more than 50 pages. Mmmm… ah, whatever, it's all good. I wanted to take the time to answer one of the review questions that came in: "How did Cody know Rex was killed by the pirates?"

Ah, I realize now that I edited out two pages of Chapter 31, "Don't Forget Me," that in retrospect, I should have left in. They are still in my written, (printed out) copy so that when I re-read my binder, I assumed they were also still part of the online version as well. But, no, they're not there. Too bad. So, I'm putting those two pages back in. Not sure why I ever took them out. (Overzealous editing, I suppose.)

(Chapter 31—the missing two pages.)

# # #

The funeral ceremony for Rex was brief, but poignant. Anakin spoke first, saying what a fine officer Rex had been. Cody spoke next, very briefly, saying there had never been a finer brother. His throat clogged with emotion, he shook his head, wouldn't say anything else. He shoved is helmet back on, and went to stand beside Echo.

Anakin then asked Ahsoka if she wanted to say anything. Ahsoka shook her head, maintaining the same characteristic silence she'd kept since Rex had died. And, that was it. End of ceremony. Total ceremony time: about three minutes.

Since it was unusual for clones to even bury their dead, or have any kind of remembrance, Anakin it was a sufficient length to get the job done.

Cody walked briskly away after the ceremony was dismissed, headed full speed for the turbolift. Ahsoka headed after him.

"Cody!" she called.

Cody kept walking.

"Cody!" she called, a little louder.

Cody stopped, startled. He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts and memories, and it had been a while since he'd even heard Ahsoka's voice. It had taken him a moment to even register that it was her voice that was speaking to him. "Do you need something, Commander?" he asked, gently.

"Can I talk to you?" Ahsoka asked.

"Of course," Cody said, standing in front of her. He assumed a formal pose, place his hands behind his back, and legs hip distance apart.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, in a gesture reminiscent of the 'old Ahsoka.' "I meant, could I talk to you someplace a bit more privately?"

Cody gestured toward the turbo lift. They entered together.

"What is this about?" Cody asked, after the turbolift started.

Ahsoka turned to Cody, looking right into his eyes, "I don't think Rex is dead."

"What?" Cody stumbled back in shock. He tried to absorb the impact of her words. The turbolift stopped and the doors began to open. Cody immediately jammed the button to close the doors, and set the turbolift in motion to another floor. He then hit the 'stop' button, halting the turbolift in motion between floors. "You were the one who said Rex was dead!" Cody said in a voice so accusing it bordered on hostile.

Ahsoka backed up from the vehemence in his eyes. "I know, Cody, I know, but, I-, I-" she began, stammering from nervousness as she saw how angry Cody was.

"But, what!" Cody said, "we just held a eulogy for Captain Rex, and now you want to tell me he's not dead?"

"Yes, I know it all seems strange, and sudden, Cody," Ahsoka tried to explain, "but, I had this feeling-"

Cody took a deep breath, as if struggling to reign in his temper.

"Commander, I know you're under a lot of stress right now, so you're likely wanting to believe that Rex could still be alive. Believe me, I wish that, too."

"No, Cody, it's not like that. This was a vision-"

"Like your other vision?" Cody asked, clearly skeptical.

"Yes, but I think this one means-"

"This vision cancels out the other vision?" Cody's voice clearly showed his skepticism.

"I know it's hard to understand, but, I felt-"

Cody gripped Ahsoka's arm, "Look, Commander, I didn't want to show you this, because I figured there was no sense. We all knew Rex was dead, right? But, now I think you need to see it."

Ahsoka looked at Cody with confusion, unsure what he was trying to say. Cody pulled a small datapad out of one of his belt pockets. He called up an image onto the screen.

"The ship Rex was on never arrived at Kamino, Ahsoka. General Kenobi was able to pull some strings and send a ship to retrace their route. They found this…" Cody called up images of wreckage and debris floating in space. "They confirmed that the debris came from the hull of the Kamino-bound troop transport. It was Rex's ship, Ahsoka. His ship was destroyed en-route. Looks like the work of pirates. So, your original vision was correct. Rex is dead, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka stared at the images, then looked up at Cody in confusion.

"No, this isn't possible, I-, but, I-, but-, I-, felt-, I -, I-" Ahsoka's eyes began tearing up, as she looked at Cody with confusion.

Cody hit the button to restart the lift, "I'm sorry, Commander," the lift stopped and the doors opened. Cody turned and faced Ahsoka, "we both have to face Rex is dead." He turned and walked quickly away, leaving Ahsoka standing alone in the lift, shattered.

# # #


	51. Chapter 51 Hok is back

_A/N: This chapter was revised on May 24, 2013._

_Thanks everyone for your amazing comments to big chapter 50! We're back with Rex and the gang, and Hok is back! Now, in my story, Hok and the other troopers mutter and curse the occasional Mando'a phrase. I always translate these, since it's very annoying to have to interrupt a story to have look these up. There are those who might argue regular troopers wouldn't know a word of Mando'a outside of 'Vode'An.' But, my thinking is the clones were bred to learn so quickly. There were Mando trainers there for the ARCs, and from there, the language would just naturally filter down to everyone else/they'd pick it up from each other. Hey, what else do you do for amusement in a place that never stops raining? And, curse words are the first things you pick up out of every language._

_"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 51**_

The Manifest Destiny pulled into port late at night, and Xyra had her sister bring her speeder right down to the dockside.

"I'll just shut down the boat!" Ashla called, sticking her head out of the Captain's window, they waved back to Ashla. "by _myself_," Ashla emphasized.

Xyra rolled her eyes, and glared up at her cousin. "Fine! I owe you big time, OK? Now, get over it and start putting the Destiny through the procedures. Will you?"

Ashla huffed, rolled her eyes, and mouthed the words, 'big - time,' and slid her Captain's window shut. Xyra shook her head.

"You're sneaking him in," Jade accused, rounding on Xyra in the passenger cabin. Hok was awake and watched the exchange between the two women with rapt attention.

"Exactly. I'm sneaking him in," Xyra freely admitted. "Ready?" Xyra smiled at Hok, and he smiled back at her in such a way that she knew she was right to keep him hidden. It had been far too long since a man of his calibre had been spotted in Ando. The sight of Hok would be sure to cause a commotion, and Xyra just wanted to get him home. To _her_ home. After all, she'd seen him first.

They both very carefully pulled Hok up out of the narrow bed. Xyra turned her head toward her sister, "Could you just imagine the stir it would cause if they caught a sight of this one? Sure to cause a riot."

"One what?" Hok yawned sleepily, and stretched, the movement causing his muscles to ripple and temporarily mesmerizing the two women. It ended when he winced. "Ow. Remind me not to do that."

"Right," Xyra said, with a regretful sigh, tearing her eyes away from his well-defined chest. "Come on, let's get you up and out of here." She nodded to Jade and together the two began gently easing him out of the narrow ship's bed.

Hok hissed as the movement of getting out of bed pulled hard on the many stitches that were holding him together.

"Easy!" Xyra said to her sister.

"I am going easy! I'm not going to hurt your precious man!"

Despite the lines of pain creasing Hok's face, there was also a small grin of amusement tugging tugging at his lips again. He was torn between laughing and groaning.

"This is all very funny to you, isn't it?" Jade accused.

Hok chuckled, and looked at Jade, "If you knew how unusual all of this was compared to my normal life," Hok commented, although he was breathless from the pain of being moved, "you'd find it funny, too."

It took just a few minutes by speeder to get to Xyra's two-story wooden house. The fishing village was small, and one could get anywhere within it's confines within minutes. But, Hok saw little of the town as they passed through it. His hands clutched his side, and his eyes were closed. He focused on remaining sitting upright in his seat, and taking deep even breaths.

"Not much further," Xyra reassured him, giving him a worried glance back from where she was driving the speeder.

Jade and Xyra carefully eased Hok out of the speeder and up the steps. He was pale, and sweat had beaded up on his brow, by the time they got him into the house.

"Come on, let's get him into the guest bedroom," Xyra said, "I think he's about done for."

"Me, too," grumbled Jade, "he's heavy."

"Sorry," murmured Hok, although he was half out of by this time.

"Ignore my sister," Xyra said, "you are _not_ heavy." Although, the scientist was struggling as well to hold up the clone as they worked their way up the stairs.

"Oh, _please_," Jade said, "I'm gonna' hurl. Hey, listen, Once you two love fish are settled, I'm gonna' to sleep at Ashla's. All this sweetness is too much for my virgin ears to handle."

"Virgin, hah!" snorted Xyra. Jade shot Xyra a venomous look.

"What? We went to Ando Central together, sister. I heard the junior varsity bolo team talk. You were, and still are, the wild one in the family."

"I can change, sister."

"Hah! I'll believe it when it happens. Nothing has happened yet to change _your_ ways."

Apparently this was an old argument, because there was no actual animosity between the sisters as they gently bickered back and forth.

Hok managed to murmur politely commented to Jade, "Don't want to kick you out of your own house," his words came out as a winded gasp, since they were working their way up a steep wooden staircase.

Xyra snorted, "Not her house. Mine."

"Hey! I've been saving up for my own place!" Jade protested.

"Save - up – faster - freeloader," Xyra grumbled back, as they worked their way around the final landing.

They reached the guest bedroom. Xyra kicked the door open with her foot, and pushed on the light. Together, Jade and Ashla maneuvered Hok over to the bed. It was a good-sized bedroom, with a wooden bed cheerily decorated wit a sea-themed quilt. Xyra drew back the quilt with one hand, while she supported Hok with the other hand. Hok was so tired his muscles were quivering.

Together, Jade and Xyra lowered Hok into the bed. Hok settled in with a groan, his hands clutching his chest. He went pale as his stitches were pulled on as he lay back. "OK, that hurt," Hok admitted, closing his eyes. Xyra tugged off the warm coat and thick fishing boots they dressed him in for the going to her house. They had nothing else that would fit the burly clone. She then pulled the quilt over him.

"Alright, the worst is over. Rest now," she reassured him. "I'm going to fix you a little something to eat."

Hok barely nodded. He was almost asleep already. Xyra and Jade quietly tiptoed from the room. Jade looked back at him from the doorway, and sighed, "He's awfully cute when he's sleeping," she whispered.

"He's awfully cute, in general," Xyra said, with a sigh. She put an arm around her sister's shoulders, "Come on. I'll help you get packed up."

"Yeah. We'll don't get all sentimental on me," Jade sister, give her older sister a playful kick in the back of the leg as they left the room, "hey, I don't have to give you a talk about getting preggers on anything, do I?" she said, giving the sleeping Hok one last glance.

Xyra gasped, and smacked her sister, then laughed, "Oh, you're a fine one to give advice. Come on, then, I was just kicking you out of my house."

# # #

Hok didn't wake up again until the morning. Xyra had brought him food, but he never woke up to eat it.

As sunlight streamed into the guest bedroom, he looked around in confusion. He couldn't figure out at first where he was. He tried to prop himself up onto his elbows to get a better look around, but groaned from the movement. There was a flurry of movement from beside the bed.

Xyra as suddenly there, emerging out of an overstuffed chair she'd pulled next to the bed.

"Are you OK?"

Hok looked around in confusion, then stared up at the woman hovering over him, "Xyra." It had all been real, after all. The pain he was currently feeling was real enough.

"Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"

Hok looked around, "This is your house?" he licked his dry lips.

"Yes, we came in late last night. Let me get you some water," she reached for a glass of water next to the bed. She sat down on the bed, and put an arm behind his neck to support his bed. "OK, drink slowly."

Hok looked up at Xyra as he drank. She was even more prettier than he'd remembered, if such a thing was possible. From this angle, her perfect lips, her sparkling eyes, the way the sunlight was hitting her hair-

"Wow! You were thirsty! OK, you probably shouldn't drink too much at once!"

Huh? Hok tried to focus on what Xyra was saying. Thirsty? What? Hok had been so focused on looking at his rescuer, he'd totally even forgotten he was drinking. He startled and began to choke. Xyra put the glass down, and quickly sat the clone up more. Hok groaned from the sudden movement, coughing and moaning at the same time. This was _not_ a good feeling.

"My chest," he gasped out, struggling to breathe.

Xyra instinctively hugged him to her chest, soothing him. "Ssssh, honey! It's OK, just breathe." She gently rubbed his back in soothing circles. Hok could feel that he was being held against her breasts. As much as it had hurt to cough, and be pulled into an upright position, this was _nice_. He'd never been held against a woman's breasts before. Breasts were amazing. They were everything he thought they would be and more. They were soft and pillowy and, he took a deep appreciative whiff. Oh, wow, they smelled absolutely amazing.

"Hok, do you need a tissue? Is your nose running?"

Oh, shab, busted.

"No," Hok murmured, sheepish, his voice muffled from being against Xyra's breasts. Shab. OK, the breast sniffing was probably going just one step too far. Mental note. Do not sniff the breasts.

"Are you OK, now?" Xyra asked, still holding him.

"Huh?"

Hok put a hand up to his ear again.

"Yes… no."

What was the question?

"Is your ear bothering you again?" Xyra murmured reaching forward and rubbing his ear gently.

Hok nodded. Everything was getting a bit muffled again. Oh, but it was so worth it just to have Xyra rub his ear like that. He moaned with pleasure.

Xyra laughed, "You like that?"

Hok nodded, "Yes."

"Does it help with your hearing at all?"

"Huh?" Hok said.

Xyra laughed, "OK, that answers that question. Hang on, I had Ashla bring a whole crate of fresh remedies by this morning. I'm gonna' get some more cucumber. Unlike my sister, my cousin can actually be useful, from time to time."

Hok cocked his head to the side, and focused on reading her lips. He'd briefly learned the skill at ArmyMed from similarly injured clones at ArmyMed. Although, he hadn't been at the facility very long before he'd been deemed unsalvagable and shipped off on the next transport to Kamino. The other brothers said the skill improved in time, with practice. Hok had resigned himself to not living through to the end of the week, so he didn't think he needed to 'practice.' Now, he was wishing he'd put more effort into learning to communicate better when he didn't have his helmet on.

Xyra walked away, leaving the sunny, spacious bedroom. Hok closed his eyes, and sighed. _Breasts. I can't believe she held me against her breasts. I need to choke on water more often. Well, I did almost drown, so I guess I have that skill mastered. Maybe we should transfer and become scouts for some sort of aquatic division. Is there such a thing? _

Hok's eyes shot back open as he felt Xyra's hand on his ear again. He looked up at her, and smiled. Already he could feel the pain in his ear receeding. Xyra's touch was so soothing Hok almost fell back asleep. "I have a surprise for you," Xyra said.

_Better than being squashed against your breasts? What could be better than that?_

Hok realized he could hear better again. Huh. These sea remedies smelled odd, but no arguing with the results.

"You can hear me," Xyra's excitement was palpable.

Hok opened his eyes, and gave her a huge smile. "Yes, your voice is the first thing I have heard since I lost my hearing." He looked away bashfully, and then met her eyes again, "It is a most welcome sound."

Xyra laughed with delight, "I am so happy for you! I haven't had a chance to really test our my remedies. This is marvelous!"

They both regarded each other for a long moment, before looking away awkwardly. Then, Xyra cleared her throat, "Uh... yes, well, I spoke to Karyn early this morning. Uh. Sorry. Karyn is leader of our village. You probably heard us mention her? She's also our town doctor. Anyway, she made contact with your people, Hok! I assume you know a Captain Rex?"

Hok's eyes widened, "Captain Rex! Yes, he's my Captain!"

Xyra smiled, "Yes, well, he's coming by later this morning to see you, as is Karyn. She wants to check on your wounds. OK if I look you over now myself?"

Hok gulped. "Yes," Hok managed to squeak out.

"Are you sure you're OK, Hok?" Xyra placed a concerned hand on his brow, checking for fever. "You don't sound quite right. Maybe I should bathe you."

"Oh, _Nadala buir_," Hok muttered under his breath, staring up at the ceiling. [_Oh, hot mama_.]

Xyra looked at him, befuddled and amused, "More poetry, I assume?"

Hok looked up at Xyra startled, unaware that he'd muttered the words aloud. He flushed red, "Uh, it's probably better if I don't translate that." He blew out a long sigh.

She peeled the coverlet off of Hok and heard him suck in his breath. He averted his eyes away, toward the wall.

"I'll try to be as careful as I can, so I don't hurt you," Xyra said, as she eased the pants off, "you have a great deal of stitches in your leg. The oppee got a good bite of your leg."

"Uh, yeah, I remember that part," Hok said, still staring at the wall.

"It must have been pretty terrible," Xyra said, sympathetically.

"It was worse than a blaster burn, that's for sure," Hok admitted, "and I've been shot pretty much everyplace, so I guess I have a good basis for comparison." He stopped staring at the wall, and turned his attention back to Xyra. "I still can't believe you were brave enough to jump in there and pull me out. That creature could have turned on you." His voice conveyed his awe at Xyra's actions.

Xyra blushed, "I couldn't just watch that creature take you down," her eyes met Hok's, "I don't know. As soon as I saw you, somehow, I just felt like, I had to help."

Hok shook his head, "Nobody has ever done something like that for me before."

Xyra sat on the edge of the bed next to him, looking into his eyes. She leaned down slowly toward him.

_She wants to kiss me again!_ Hok realized. He closed his eyes in anticipation and leaned toard the attractive scientist. A moment later, he felt soft lips pressing down on his.

"Xyra," he murmured. Oh, wow, he just loved kissing. He wanted to pull Xyra as close to him as possible. The muscular scout reached up with his good arm and tugged her forward across his chest. "Yowwww!" Hok yelped in pain.

Xyra jumped up, her eyes wide in alarm.

Hok squeezed his eyes shut, bringing both arms across his chest, clutching at his stitches.

"Hok, I'm so sorry!" Xyra said, reaching her hands down to comfort him.

"No, that was totally my fault," Hok said, with a pained gasp, "I did that."

Xyra brought her hands up to his face, stroking his face, smoothing away the lines of pain, "Uh... I think we better wait until you heal up first."

Hok groaned. He liked kissing. He didn't want to wait. "How long is that going to take?"

Xyra looked at all his stitches, "Karyn can say for sure. But, I'd say about ten days to two weeks before you can even get up out of bed. You have a great deal of torn muscle."

Hok closed his eyes, knowing Xyra was right. He sighed, blew out a breath, then peered one eye back open again.

"I know. I know," Xyra shook her head and grinned at him, "trust me. I feel your pain. Literally," she leaned down and kissed him again, long and lingering, she traced her finger around one of the few places on his chest that was unbandaged, "but, think how sweet it will be after all that waiting?"

Hok blew out a long sigh, still not happy about the situation. "Alright."

"Anyone home?"

There was a shout from downstairs.

"Oh! Karyn is here already!"

Xyra shouted toward the staircase, "We're up here! Come on up, Karyn!"

Hok heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and a moment later, in walked a stunning-looking dark-haired women, and the familiar form of Captain Rex.

# # #

"Hok, from the reports of your fellow scouts about being viciously attacked and dragged to sea by a giant reptile, I didn't expect to see you looking so well," Captain Rex replied studying the scout critically after he was shown into the bedroom, "how're you feeling?"

Hok was barechested, his chest and leg heavily bandaged. Xyra had undressed him down to his black boxers. "I'm fine, Captain. Ms. Xyra here has been taking excellent care of me," he nodded toward his host.

Rex continued to study Hok. His coloring was good, and he seemed to be resting comfortably. All in all, he was probably more comfortable here than out in the snow, back at the shattered remains of their ship. Rex turned to Hok's host. He acknowledged her with a gracious nod, "On behalf of my men, I'd like to thank you for saving Scout Hok."

Xyra nodded, and blushed.

The doctor turned to Hok, "I need to check your injuries now."

"Captain, can I get you some caf?" Xyra extended a hand, indicating the direction toward the kitchen downstairs, giving the doctor some time with her patient. Rex nodded and followed Xyra from the room. He followed the scientist downstairs to her kitchen, and joined her at her kitchen table for some caf. Like Karyn's kitchen table, the furniture was all made out of wood, and the seats were benches. Rex set his crutches aside and settled down on one of the benches.

Xyra poured out two cups of caf, and then nodded her head toward one of Rex's crutches, "Captain, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your leg?"

Rex sighed as he took a long draught of the caf, trying to consider how to answer the question when talking to a civilian, "I was hit directly in the kneecap by an explosive shell. It took out most of my kneecap," Rex said evenly, he took another long bracing sip of caf.

Xyra blinked hard, and then said softly, "I'm sorry."

"All part of being at war, I suppose," Rex shrugged, and stared down at his leg, then he shrugged, dimissing it. He drained the rest of the contents of his cup. Xyra immediately got up and refilled it and Rex nodded his thanks. The Captain took another sip and then continued on, "Rosetta was telling me about the war here on your own planet. You've suffered here as well." Rex was sincere as he offered his condolescenes to Xyra.

Xyra took a deep breath, and nodded, "We have that in common, then."

Rex nodded, "Yes, well, I wanted to talk to you."

Xyra looked at him with interest, "Me, why?"

Rex tapped his injured knee, then grimaced from the contact, "I have an entire entire crewful of men just like me. We're all injured. Some are just more visible than others. As I imagine Hok told you, he was full-on deaf, although it seems to me he's hearing a bit better. We have a high percentage of deaf crewman, including the rest of Hok's scouts, and my second-in-command, Travis. We have three quadriplegics, one paraplegic, several amputees, and men with leg injuries/mobility issues, like myself. We've got men who have seizures and other types of brain injuries. We have men with severe burns, primarily from gunship crashes, and tank implosions. So, the ship that crashed just offshore from you was a medical transport." He finished off his second cup of caf and then looked up to see how Xyra had reacted to his statement.

She looked shocked, and then delighted, "That's incredible news!"

"It is?" Rex looked over at her, cautiously.

"As Karyn probably told you, my field of study is sea-based cures. But, our population is so small, I've had very few people to try them out on. We don't get very many injured here, Captain! And, now you've landed here with your whole shipful of men with just about every injury imaginable and—" Xyra's eyes shone with excitement, "when can I meet everyone?" Xyra's eyes were shining with excitement.

"Well, I was just talking with Karyn today about making provisions in town to start moving the men from the tent city and housing them in town. Karyn said more of the families here, primarily women, mostly she said, would probably be open to allowing some of my men to stay with them here in town-"

Xyra laughed. Rex looked at her, startled.

"My apologies, Captain. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that, yes, of course, the women here would be happy to host your men. It's been so long since we've had any type of visitors. Your men would be more than welcome here. You'll have no problems finding places for your men to stay."

"Well, we plan on earning our keep," Rex said, "we have all manner of skillsets. We've been trained since birth to adapt. We can learn any manner of new skillsets. So, Karyn and I already discussed Commander Travis coordinating work crews, ensuring our men are earning their keep."

"Wonderful! Well, there is always more work to get done than hands to do it! This will be spectacular!"

Rex shook his head, smiling, "Well, as I understand, there's going to be a big 'potluck' today. "

"A potluck! What time? I need to make something! Oh, why didn't anybody tell me! I've got to get a soup on! Or, bake a cake! Uggh! Why am I the last to know?" Xyra got a look of absolute panic on her face, and rushed over to her pantry. She began pulling ingredients out. She looked so distressed that Rex got up to help her.

"Can I assist you, ma'am?"

"Yes! Can you bake?"

"Uh, never have, ma'am. But, as I said, we adapt very quickly."

"Good! Because today you are learning how to bake cupcakes," Xyra shoved a baking bowl into Rex's hands.

"Cupcakes," Rex repeated.

When Karyn cake downstairs close to an hour later, Rex and Xyra were both busily engaged in their baking. Rex was so intent on decorating his cupcakes, that Karyn was loathe to disturb him. She turned around, tiptoed back upstairs, and decided to keep Hok company for a while longer.

Karyn noticed in talking to Hok that he was absolutely enamored with Xyra. As he described the story of his rescue from the Oppee, his eyes just lit up whenever he mentioned Xyra's name. It seemed he could not say enough good things about his rescuer. He laughed easily, and smiled often. Karyn had to admit that he was a handsome, charming man.

"OK, you guys have to try these!" Xyra burst into the room, holding up a plate, followed by Rex. "It turns out the Captain here has a talent for baking!"

Rex blushed, which Karyn found very endearing. She stared at him. Rex caught him looking at her, and he immediately looked away.

"Well, we clones are known for learning very quickly," Hok explained. "Baking, huh, Captain?"

Rex shrugged, "It was not difficult. I did always want to expand my skillsets. This is one I always wanted to learn."

"Yeah, me, too," admitted Hok.

Both of the women turned and stared at the men, "Really?" both women said in unison, as if men wanting to do such chores just didn't happen on Ando.

"Oh, yes," Hok explained, "clones love to eat. So, it's only natural. We'd want to learn our way around the kitchen. Never had the opportunity, though," he shook his head, "we've only ever had training in warfare." He looked over at the Captain, "how was it Captain, learning how to bake?"

Rex offered his fellow clone a genuine smile and handed him the baked good, "An excellent training exercise."

Hok bit into it, and his face lit up in pleasure, "This is excellent, Captain."

His fellow clone nodded, solemnly, but looked pleased.

Hok turned to the doctor, "Hey! Do I get to go to this 'potluck'?"

Karyn looked back at him apologetically, "Hok, with all your stitches, you shouldn't be up and about. It would be better if you stayed in bed."

Hok looked terribly crestfallen.

Karyn looked at Rex, unsure as to what to do. She bit her lip, thinking of the other injured men at her clinic, whom she had also confined to bed due to the severity of their laser burns. She also thought of the quadriplegics, who were being brought in that day. Hok's big brown eyes tugged at her heart strings.

"Well, there might be a way…" she said, reconsidering, she turned back toward Rex, "OK, Captain, I'll need the help of you and all those nice, strong men you have jogging in…"

# # #


	52. Chapter 52 Granny Hibbins

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 52**

A/N: These events are happening in tandem to each other, or within hours of each, so you have a slight jumping back and forth in time. Hope I am not making you dizzy. If so, please see the hot, town doctor of Ando, or the brilliant chief scientist, for some sea remedy that will fix you right up. There will be no charge for second doses of 11-legged sea cucumber, provided you do your share and help with the rebuilding of Ando.

OK, OK, and I promised a chapter on Ahsoka. (I do apologize. Ahsoka is _not _in this chapter.) I am still working on it. I actually bumped another chapter, already written, and ready to go, in favor of the lovely Ahsoka.

# # #

Rex woke up well before dawn the next morning. He dressed back in his armor, noticing the burn on his shoulder felt significantly better. The doctor, and her sea-based remedies, were most effective. Karyn had promised an update on Hok's location. The _Manifest Destiny_ had docked, and Hok was staying town with one of the crew members. The scout was injured and confined to bed, but Rex was assured that he was well.

Rex walked past his men who'd been injured the day before in the skirmish with the pirates. All of them were still sleeping soundly, and had passed a quiet night. Rex slipped outside, so he could call Travis and do a situation update with Travis. He spied an inviting-looking bench, set well back from the house, and made his way over to it. There was a small stream that wound its' way through Karyn's land. Provided nothing tried to eat him, as it had Hok, Rex had discovered a nice place to sit in the morning.

Rex settled himself down, as the weak pre-dawn light began filling up the sky. He gave the stream a through sweep with the sensors in his helmet.

There were a plentitude of fish, but no lurking, oversized reptiles that seemed intent on devouring him. Satisfied, Rex put in a commcall to Travis.

Travis' cheery voice immediately filled Rex's helmet.

According to Travis, everything was fine back at the base camp, if a bit dull. As Travis predicted, the men who had been left behind were all rather disappointed they weren't the ones being fussed over by the women. Rex nodded his head. Yes, the men had seemed rather enchanted by the women of Ando, and vice versa. Rex shook his head, and looked toward the main house. He didn't quite get it. Sure. The women were hot and all, like Karyn. She was smoking hot, no denying that. But, given a choice, Rex would still rather be staying back at the base camp. Heck, he'd rather be sleeping permanently back at the base camp back in a tent in the snow. He sighed, knowing that wasn't in the best interests of the men, though, with as many injured as they had, and the type of medical care available to them in the village.

As Rex talked to Travis, he turned his head to watch the orderly fishing village start coming to life. It was definitely different from being in an active warzone. Except for his trips back to Coruscant, the majority of the towns Rex had come into contact with had been under siege. A building was usually classified as a potential target, or a place to take shelter. He'd never spent time in a village that was being used as simply, well, an actual _village_.

He watched in fascination for a while as the people went about their business of being of a village. There was something very peaceful about the whole place. As Rex updated Travis, he gave him a positive review of the town and its' people.

"No sign of the cannibalistic, shape-shifting, Separatist witches?" Travis teased.

"They're saving those for the potluck later today," Rex quipped back.

"So, that means we're coming?" Rex could hear the excitement in Travis' voice.

"Yes, go ahead and inform the men."

"Oh, they will be beside themselves once I tell them. I might wait a bit, as no work will get done once I reveal this little bit of news," Rex could hear that Travis was trying to be very professional about the whole thing, but there was an edge of giddy excitement to his voice.

"Yes, well, I'll leave all those details up to you. You always were good with the details."

Rex heard a gasp from Travis, "Did you just say something nice to me?"

"Cut it out, Travis," Rex growled, "I'm nice."

"Yeah, but usually only when you're half-dying, half-asleep, or too busy giving orders to remember to be mean to me."

"Hey, that's not fair."

"Rex, I'm sure there's a kinder, gentler side of you. And, maybe this mystery woman of yours has seen it. But, all I've ever seen, is the guy who busts balls day in and day out."

"Now, that stings, Travis. You really see me that way?"

"You do spend the better part of the day smacking me about as hard as you can, Rex."

Rex thought about that, "But, you're just so annoying sometimes, Travis. You'd think the Kaminoans would have cloned that particular trait out of you."

"Hey! I'm as genetically perfect as the next guy!"

Rex thought about that, "Nope. Don't think so. I definitely got the better genes, Travis."

Travis began sputtering at that comment.

"You see, for one, there's your stuttering problem…"

"But, but-"

"I rest my case."

"Hey!"

Rex began snickering.

"Didn't appreciate you hitting me yesterday in front of Karyn," Travis objected, and the way Travis said it, Rex could tell it actually had bothered him. What was it about Travis and this doctor?

"Oh, please, Travis, if you were faster, I wouldn't be able to hit you so much. See? I got better genes. OK, change of topic, let's talk about how you and the men are going to get to the village. It's about ten klicks. You guys want transports, or do you want to walk in?"

Travis was quiet for a moment as he considered the logistics, "Weather is good. The men will be beside themselves with excitement over women _and_ food. Yeah, we'll walk it in. What about our spinals, and the wounded?"

"I'd come out personally to bring them in, with Karyn. I'm going to start a dialogue about maybe our staying here a little longer. Start making some long-term room and board arrangements for our troops."

"A little longer- as in…?"

"Well- not sure when and if the Republic will catch up with us, or if they even care enough to want to catch up with us. The whole shoot the deserters thing."

"Yeah, I heard they were doing that now."

"You heard correctly, Travis. If the 100 of us end up getting classified as deserters, they'll assign teams of commandos to track us down and shoot us."

Travis whistled, "Lovely."

"There is normally only one retirement plan for the GAR, Travis, and this isn't it."

"I assume you want me to leave that particular detail out of the morning briefing?"

"Please."

"OK, potluck with lovely ladies in. Getting shot-to-death by former comrades out."

"Yes, that might be a bit of a morale killer."

"You think?"

"But, we seem lucky enough to have crash-landed in a place that hasn't heard of the war, and they seem to have something of a labor shortage."

"So, that means we're staying for a while, then."

"Travis, I regret that you are out of my reach, right now."

"Because those big meaty gloms you call hands want to smack me again, right Rex?"

Rex sighed, and blew out a breath. "You know, you intentionally bait me, Travis."

"I do, Rex. But, only because you make it fun. So, when are you talking to Karyn?"

"Yeah, what part of I haven't talked to Karyn, yet, didn't you _hear_?"

"I'm deaf, remember, Rex?"

"Only when it seems convenient to you, Travis."

"OK, OK, got it. Hey, speaking of Karyn, did you get to enjoy a nice hot meal with her last night?"

Again, there seemed to be something in Travis' when he mentioned tone when he mentioned Karyn's name, although Rex couldn't quite place it.

"I didn't eat, actually," Rex confessed.

"Typical," Travis said, "let me guess, you were too busy watching out for the welfare of everyone else and didn't take the time to eat."

"Something like that," Rex admitted.

"Did you even take the time to eat a rations bar or something?"

"No. I was pretty tired."

"Rex, watching out for everyone else is all very admirable, but at some point you need to take care of yourself, too. So, stop talking to me, and go find yourself some food. I know you don't like me that much."

"Yeah, OK."

"You're agreeing with me? Now I know you're suffering from low blood sugar. Go. Eat."

"Yeah, will do. Rex out."

"Travis out."

Rex stretched his body out, using his arms to carefully straighten his injured leg. Shab—that annoying tingle in his leg was back. Rex smacked his leg a few times, hoping to wake it up. Ow! OK, that just made it worse. Maybe he could ask Karyn if she had some of that same stuff Lance had used on him. Rex stood and wandered back into the clinic. He smelled caf, and followed the smell into the kitchen. Karyn was already up, sitting at the kitchen table. She gave Rex a bright smile, "You're up early, Captain. Join me for caf?"

Rex couldn't help but return her smile. There was something undeniably pleasant about her personality, "I'd like that," he said, joining her at the wooden table that dominated the kitchen. She poured him a cup of caf out of a carafe, and then pushed a plate of bread rolls toward him. Rex selected a roll.

"Sleep well?" Karyn asked.

"Actually, I did. You were right about that sea remedy of yours. It could give bacta a run for the money," Rex said, flexing his injured shoulder.

Karyn smiled, obviously very pleased. "Well, this morning, you'll meet our chief researcher, Xyra, host to Hok. If you're interested in learning more, I'm sure she'd be happy to talk your ear off about the wonders of our Andoan natural sea remedies."

"I'd actually be interested in hearing more."

"Seriously?" Karyn looked surprised.

"Not sure if you noticed, but we have an unusual amount of injured men within our group," Rex gestured toward his crutches, "my case is not so unusual."

Rex prepared himself for the inevitable questions, but Karyn surprised him. She actually did what he would do, she just sat patiently and waited for him to continue. She took another sip of her caf, and just gazed at him expectantly.

Rex scowled, trying to figure out the best way to explain things. The simple explanations were usually the best. "We were a medical transport," he finally said.

"Ah," Karyn nodded, she looked at his crutches. She shrugged, and then said, "well, knowing that now, I am even more impressed with how well you took down those pirates yesterday. I guess I should have known something was up when the Captain of the group had just one good leg." She looked at him curiously, "So, where were you headed?"

Rex scowled again, and took a deep breath, "Yeah, well, that part is more complicated."

Karyn just sat back and took another sip of her caf, and just patiently waited for him to continue.

"Kamino," Rex said, taking a strong, bracing sip of his caf, "we were headed to Kamino."

Karyn shook her head, "Never heard of it."

"Yeah, they do their best to remain hidden."

"So, do you still want to go there?" Karyn asked curiously,

"Uh…."Rex hesitated, not sure how to continue

Karyn lifted up the carafe, "More caf?"

Rex drained the last of his cup, and pushed it forward, "Please."

"Captain, we're not involved in your war at all" Karyn held up the plate of sweet rolls toward Rex. Rex studied them for a moment before selecting a second one. He noticed his appetite was coming back, "so, if you have something you need to say, or, ask, just come out and say it. I wouldn't even know how to choose a side in your war. We've just been through a war, so we totally understand. And, having no access to the HoloNet here, well, you and your war a blank slate to us. We have no preconceptions at all where you and your men are concerned."

Having said her piece, Karyn waited patiently again for Rex to continue.

Rex nodded, considering all this, as he slowly chewed his sweet roll. He finished it. Karyn offered him a third one, but he refused.

"Uh, OK, then, I guess it would help if I told you then a little about who we are," Rex said, tidily brushing crumbs from his fingers onto a napkin, "We are from the Republic, as you correctly surmised," Rex looked thoughtful for another moment, trying to figure out how to sum up himself and his men, "The Republic Army is compromised entirely of clones, like myself. We fight against the Confederacy of Independent Systems—also known as the Separatists. They have a droid army, lead by General Grevious," Rex's eyes narrowed as he mentioned the elusive enemy they'd been tracking. He looked over at Karyn to see how she was reacting to his story. She continued to listen patiently, without judgment. Somehow, General Grievous seemed more distant, and less important now that Rex was on Ando. Strange. Rex paused again, trying to figure out how to tell the rest of the story. Karyn offered him more caf. Rex accepted it, and sipped it for a moment, while he thought. He tapped the side of his cup while he thought. Karyn continued to wait. Whoa- the woman was patient! She could give Obi Wan a run for the money.

"The men I'm currently commanding," Rex finally continued, "well, we were all deemed too injured to serve anymore. So, we were all being sent back to Kamino where we originally came from. That's when we, uh, ran into the pirates." Rex sighed, and took another sip of his caf.

Karyn creased her brow, "Captain, I couldn't help but notice your hesitation in telling me all of this. You don't strike me as a hesitant person. You said you were too injured to serve, and you were being sent back to Kamino. Were you going to receive some medical care there? Forgive me for prying, but you don't seem all that eager to be continuing on to this Kamino."

Rex scoffed, and gave a wry smile. "Uh no, ma'am, we're not. We don't want to go there at all."

"Because?" Karyn finally prompted.

Rex took a deep breath and blew it out. He set down the remains of his roll, "We weren't being sent to Kamino for medical care."

Karyn waited patiently.

Rex wasn't sure how to deliver the last bit of the story, so he just out and said it, "They were going to terminate us clones," Rex said, meeting Karyn's eyes.

Karyn gasped, and dropped her caf cup. Rex quickly got up, grabbing his crutches, and grabbed a towel from the sink. He mopped up the spilled caf.

_I probably could have handled that better,_ Rex thought, replaying the situation in his mind.

Karyn put her hands up to her mouth, "OK," she said, recovering slightly, "I was not expecting at all. We did some horrible things during our war, but I can't say we simply terminated our wounded."

Rex grimaced, "Yeah, it's a new level of low for the Republic, as well."

"Who's in charge of this war?" Karyn asked, starting to grow indignant."

"Well, ultimately, the Chancellor. Below that, the Senate. Our immediate superiors are the Jedi, who act as our Generals."

"Jedi!" gasped Karyn.

At the word Jedi, all Rex could think of was Ahsoka. It was not a topic he wanted to discuss.

"Yes, but it's not as bad as it sounds," Rex said, trying to defer the topic.

"Oh, I don't know, Captain. It sounds pretty awful from where I'm sitting."

"Yes, well, there are a lot of good Jedi," Rex said, still trying to get off the topic.

"If you say so," Karyn said, shaking her head, sounding thoroughly unconvinced, "how many men do you have back at your camp?"

"We're just over 100 total," Rex said, relieved to be changing the topic.

"All injured, then."

"Yes."

"And, would you like to stay here on Ando?"

Rex's heart beat a little faster at the thought that Karyn might be offering to let them stay, "For the time being, at least, yes, ma'am, if we could."

Karyn nodded, "OK, well, then why don't we look into moving the rest of your men into Andoville. We have plenty of room. Could you get me a detailed list of exactly how many men you have, and the nature of their injuries? I could begin working out a housing roster right away."

"Yes, ma'am, immediately, and, thank you. We learn fast, and work hard. I'm sure we can help out around here, and work off our room and board."

Karyn smiled, "Captain, we're a town without men. You've got a shipful of men without a place to stay. I think we can make this work." She can extended her hand across the table, and Rex took it. He intended to just shake it, but Karyn held his hand.

"Uh, thank you again, ma'am," Rex said, trying to extricate his hand.

"Please, Captain, not so formal. Everyone around here just calls me Karyn."

"Yes, well, thank you, again, Karyn," Rex finally succeeded in extricating his hand. "Would you please excuse me?" Rex left the room to call Travis and update him on his conversation with Karyn. Truth be told, things were getting a bit crowded in the kitchen for Rex.

# # # 

When Rex came back in, Karyn was waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Captain. Come with me into the clinic," she gestured toward to the connecting door.

"Why?" immediately concerned that something had happened to one of his men, Rex followed her.

"Because I want a look at that knee of yours," Karyn said, leading the way to one of the examining tables. Rex noticed all the men in the clinic were already eating breakfast. Karyn must have brought food to them while Rex was out talking to Travis.

"No, there's need. It's fine." Rex's said, coming to a halt, and turning to retreat from the clinic.

Karyn hooked Rex by the arm, "Nope, sorry, Captain. No excuses. You're under my roof, for the time being. That means I get at least one chance to examine your knee. Agreed?" She patted the examining table. "Come on. Up you go. Armor off."

Rex hesitated, noticing all his men were watching this whole thing playing out. Karyn noticed, too.

She walked over and drew a curtain separating the examining area from the rest of the room. The men uttered a protest. They were bored, and wanted a chance to see this power struggle continue between the doctor and their Captain.

"Eat," Karyn said, authoritatively to the injured clones as she slid the curtain closed. She turned back toward Rex. "Let me see the knee."

Rex scowled, but relented—only since he'd been planning on seeing the doctor anyway. If he hadn't, there was no way he would have given in so easily. He had to give her a grudging look of admiration as he hopped up on the table. She was a natural born leader. She felt her hands over his, helping removing the leg plates. He didn't like that sensation. The last woman who'd helped him remove his leg armor had been, well, Ahsoka.

"I can do it," Rex said, tugging the last armor plate away from her, then he hissed as the plate dug into his leg.

"OK, OK, Captain, easy," the doctor said, reaching up the table to switch on a powerful lamp. She began examining his knee slowly and carefully. Rex had been through this time and time again over at ArmyMed. Rex leaned his arms back, and bore it all without saying anything.

Finally, after she finished her examination, Karyn just looked at him for a long time. Rex had already come to recognize this as her stubborn "tell me" pose. She arched an eyebrow, patiently waiting.

"What?" Rex asked, although he had an idea of what it was she probably wanted to know.

Karyn pointed to his knee, "I've seen many blaster injuries before, Captain. But, I've never seen something quite like that. You want to tell me what happened to your knee?"

Rex sighed, "I wasn't hit by an ordinary shell. I was hit by an experimental piece of ordinance called clone-shredder ammo.' Some even called it 'clone killers.'"

Karyn's eyes got wide as she listened to Rex, and she stared at his knee again. Karyn nodded her head in understanding, as she listened.

Rex pointed to his knee cap,"The shell entered here, and exited here." He shivered involuntarily. He didn't think talking about it would bother him, but suddenly he was flooded with images of flying backwards into the dirt. He felt a sudden overwhelming sense of nausea and saw red in front of his eyes.

"Captain?"

Rex blinked, and looked at Karyn. She took one look at him, and went to the sink. She went and soaked a cloth and brought it over to his face. She wiped down his face. "Have long have you been at war, Captain?"

"Over a year," Rex said, taking deep breaths, as he tapped down the nausea.

"A year," Karyn said, shaking her head, in disgust, "and they've done all this to you in just a year. Amazing." She pointed to the severe burn marks on Rex's knee, "I hate to ask, but what caused _this_ scarring?"

Rex took another deep breath, "Well… " Why did everything always come back to Ahsoka? He looked up. Karyn was wiping his face down again with the cool cloth. Yeah, that reminded him of Ahsoka, too. "Well, uh… I almost died from bleeding out… but…the, uh… Jedi I was with…. she, uh…. cauterized the knee… with her lightsaber."

Karyn gasped and paled, dropping the cloth.

"It was my idea, actually," Rex said, because he couldn't stand to see the horrified look on Karyn's face. He couldn't stand to have anyone think of Ahsoka that way, "She didn't want to do it. I convinced her it was the only way, since we weren't near any other medical treatment. I had to threaten to do it myself, before she would even consider it. She said if I tried to do it myself that I would cut my own leg off. So, I finally got her to do it," Karyn's face got paler and paler as Rex told the story. Rex was surprised. He didn't think you could freak out a doctor, "I owe her my life." Rex said simply at the end of the story.

Karyn turned, and picked up the cloth, returning it to the sink. She shook her head, still turned away from Rex, "I guess I don't understand this relationship you have with your Jedi in the Republic," she said very quietly, "it sounds very complex."

There was no way Rex wanted to delve into _that_ particular topic, so he stayed quiet. Karyn left the cloth in the sink, and turned back around. She pointed back to his knee. "So, what happened then?"

"After we were med-evaced, some tinny-"

Karyn smiled, in understanding, murmuring, "Shabla tinny." Now, she got what Rex was murmuring when she first met him. After an evening full of treating clones, she was starting to get more accustomed to the way they spoke.

"Yeah," Rex said, "he wanted to take my leg off at the hip. He said he had a whole closetful of replacement legs for clones. I told him I wasn't interested in being pulled apart that way," Rex scowled, and then shrugged. "_That_ didn't go over well. So, I was sent to ArmyMed on Coruscant and dipped into bacta for a while. When I came out, my leg looked a whole lot better, but I couldn't feel anything anymore. So, I was given a one week grace period."

"One week?" Karyn asked, incredulously.

Rex shrugged, "Well, it's a busy place."

"After a week, when I still didn't have any feeling back, I was written off as 'nerve damage.' Well, you know the rest of the story because it ended with us running into those pirates and crashing here on Ando."

Karyn was silent for a long time, as she considered everything Rex had said. "Wow." She looked toward the closed curtain. "Story is probably about the same for the rest of your men?"

Rex shrugged, "To be honest, I haven't had the time to hear the rest of their stories, ma'am, because everything happened pretty fast once we were hit by the pirates. But, yes, I imagine yes, something to that effect, yes."

"Wow," Karyn leaned back against the examining table, close to Rex, almost too close for Rex's comfort. After a very long moment, Karyn finally said, "Captain, you and your men, have a home here in Andoville, for as long as you need it."

Rex bowed his head, "Thank you. That is exceedingly generous. We will try not to overstay our welcome."

Karyn looked over at him, and she had tears in her eyes, "It just doesn't seem fair- all that you've been through. Doesn't it bother you?"

OK, now this conversation was starting to bother him. Intimate talks were not his thing, "Um, bother me?"

"Aren't you angry?" Karyn asked.

Rex looked at her, "Uh, I think I'm past that now," Rex said simply, "shooting those pirates was very cathartic."

Karyn laughed, "Yeah, that did feel good."

"Uh, your team did a good job. They are well-trained," Rex said sincerely.

Karyn smiled broadly, "Well, I know you do not give compliments lightly, Captain. So, that means a great deal. Thank you."

Karyn stood back up, and turned her attention back to Rex's knee. Rex breathed a sigh of relief. He preferred much more personal space when having a conversation.

"So, you have no feeling in your knee?" Karyn said, placing her hand on Rex's knee.

Rex's whole leg jerked back, startling Karyn.

"Uh, not exactly, as you can see," Rex said, gritting his teeth.

"Whoa!" Karyn said, turning around and grabbing a probe out of drawer, "you are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Karyn began probing different points on Rex's knee. Rex gritted his teeth every time she touched his knee, but didn't complain. He just nodded his head, acknowledging that yes, he could feel the (annoying) metal probe.

"How long has it been since nerve sensation returned?" Karyn asked, putting the probe down.

Rex breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing his shoulders.

"I first noticed it when we were crashing," Rex admitted. "I got tossed around the cabin a bit," Rex continued, "I collided into my brothers, hitting my legs. It wasn't until later that I realized _both_ my legs hurt from that."

Karyn indicated her metal probe, "OK, I imagine any sort of touch is uncomfortable for you now because the nerves are over-sensitive."

Rex shrugged, "Uh, yeah, maybe a little."

Karyn made a move to reach for the probe.

Rex put his hand over the probe blocking her, "OK, OK, maybe more than a little." Rex quirked his lips into a smile—that had been a smart move on her part. He had to admire the woman's tactics.

"Alright, alright, _any_ sort of touch hurts, a lot. Pins and needles, even," Rex admitted. "It was like that when I first injured my leg, all the nerves were over-firing, just before I lost all feeling."

Karyn put the probe down and stared at his knee thoughtfully. "Well, obviously the nerves are starting to re-generate now. And, we're doing a lot of research here on Ando in nerve regeneration. You picked a great place to crashland. Our chief scientist, Xyra, has discovered a great deal of native born species with outstanding medical applications."

Rex stared at her, his mouth agape, "Nerve regeneration?"

Karyn nodded, "Xyra and her crew just docked. They have a hold full of fresh catch. All of it for healing, and studying. None of it for eating. They are a medical research vessel, and not a fishing vessel. You interested in science, Captain?"

Like all clones, Rex was able to learn and process large amounts of data extremely quickly. "I'd be interested in learning a lot more on the topic, yes. There are a number of men within my crew who have nerve damage issues."

Karyn's eyebrows went up again, "Really? Well, I've never been much to believe in that Force thing of the Jedi, but maybe there was a reason your ship crashed here."

Rex did a double take, as Karyn's words almost exactly mirrored what Travis had said the night before. He just raised up his eyebrows, and let Karyn continue.

"We're so isolated here," Karyn said, "Xyra has had no one to really benefit from all this great stuff she has been discovering. She really thinks she can help people."

Rex felt a strange feeling run through him, a feeling of rightness. He felt like they were in the right place at the right time. Ahsoka would call if the Force, and kept trying to tell him he had a connection with the Force. But, that thought terrified him so much that he refused to acknowledge it. However, he was comfortable relying on his intuition and hunches. They always seemed to serve him well in combat. He seemed to always survive, against all odds, sometimes when he didn't even want to. Sometimes it seemed wrong to survive when his brothers perished. Now, though, it seemed he and these other clones had indeed landed in the right place at the right time.

"Captain, I need to run some tests, but I'm almost positive I can help you," Karyn said. Rex focused his attention back on their conversation.

"Something other than taking my leg off at the hip?" Rex asked, half-joking, trying to distract his mind away from the seriousness it kept seeming want to descend into.

"Yes and no," Karyn said.

Rex looked at her, his brown eyes wide with concern.

"Two months ago, Granny Hibbins, who lived on the far side of Andoville, died," Karyn said.

Rex waited patiently, wondering what Granny Hibbins had to do with him.

"I'd been planning for years to replace her knee. We started on this process even before the war started. She kept putting the surgery off for one reason or another. Finally, she died of old age," Karyn said.

Rex waited patiently, still wondering what this Granny Hibbins had to do with him. He was still trying hard to avoid thinking too much of fate, the Force and a certain Togrutan.

Too late. Ahsoka, where are you? But, try as he might, Rex just couldn't _feel _Ahsoka. It was as if she wasn't there anymore, and that terrified him more than anything. Thankfully, Karyn interrupted his thoughts. She returned from a back storage room with a metallic box in hand. Rex looked at it expectantly, glad for the interruption.

"I still have Granny's knee," Karyn said.

"Excuse me?" Rex asked, staring at the box, slightly aghast.

"Her replacement knee," Karyn clarified, opening up the box. "We don't have access to these anymore. But, I kept this one." She handed the box to Rex. "Fortunately for you, Granny Hibbins was a very large woman."

Rex peered down into the box at a gleaming, crystalline prosthetic knee. Rex had been told at ArmyMed that he was not a candidate for knee replacement, since he had no feeling in his leg. He looked down at the hermetically sealed prosthetic, all sterile in it's plasti-wrap. He felt a surge of hope blossom inside of him. For the first time in over two months, he dared to think back to what it felt like to actually walk on his own two feet. He closed his eyes for a moment, actually getting choked up for a moment. He dared to even remember the great joy he took in taking a run every single night before bed. He was always so fast—the fastest in the 501st. He thought he would never run again. He opened his eyes again a moment later. He looked up at Karyn, his warm brown eyes meeting hers.

"Yes," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "whatever it takes."

Karyn went and retrieved some more diagnostic equipment, taking some more measurements of Rex's knee.

She nodded, smiling, "Yeah, just as I thought, you and Granny, a good fit. Bless that large woman. Too bad we didn't save any of her dresses. You two truly are the same size."

Rex folded his arms across his chest, and gave her a look that said: 'Seriously?'

Karyn poked him in the chest, "Oh, lighten up, Captain!" Rex felt like she left her finger on his chest, just a moment too long. But, he shrugged it off.

Karyn continued to take measurements of his leg, and ask him questions about his injury.

At one point, she took a break and walked back into the house. She more brought some sweet fruit. She took one for herself, and tossed one to Rex. Rex caught it easily, and took a bite.

"Thanks."

She smiled back, holding his eye for just a moment too long.

Rex looked away, self-consciously.

_OK, I'm not quite comfortable when she does that_, Rex thought. _It doesn't give me that same warm gushy feeling I got inside like when Ahsoka used to do stuff like that._

Rex sighed, wondering again where it was Ahsoka was. He'd dreamt again of Ahsoka the night before, yet he was no closer to figuring out where it was she could possibly be. And, until they got the ship up and running, he had no way of getting to her either. Plus, he couldn't ask any of the men to go with him, since he'd be placing their lives at risk. Yet, he wasn't sure he could crew the pirate ship all by himself-

"Something wrong, Captain?" Karyn asked, from where she was kneeling in front of his knee.

Rex shook his head.

"You sigh a lot, know that?" Karyn said, smiling at him again. She rested her hand, just above his knee.

Rex gritted his teeth. It seemed much too familiar a gesture, plus with his nerves being over-sensitive, it felt twice too familiar.

"Uh, it's a clone thing. I've heard others comment on it before… Are we almost done here? I need to check in with all my troops," Rex said, moving a little, as if to get up. Much to Rex's relief, Karyn moved her hand away from his knee.

"Yes, that should do it," she said, rolling up the measuring tape. "I'll enter all this into the computer, and then we'll set a date for your surgery."

Rex felt his gut twist a little at the words 'surgery.' He hadn't even discussed this with Travis. Having surgery seemed almost selfish. After all, it wasn't like he had a life-threatening condition, and, as Rex looked around the clinic, these seemed like less-than-ideal conditions. Yeah, he definitely should have discussed this with Travis first. Rex grabbed his crutches, and beat it out of Karyn's office as fast as he could.

# # #


	53. Chapter 53 No, Ahsoka!

A/N: Ahsoka's back!

We've also got some _action_ back on Ando in this chapter as well. Once again, forgive the time jumps on Ando. A lot of different scenes all took place within 24 - 48 hours of each other. It would have been difficult to present them sequentially, so you are getting the scenes one at a time. Hey, after our boys crashed, it was an exciting 48 hours in Ando. Gheesh, wish 100 clones would crash in my small town.

* WARNING * This chapter is sooooo not rated G. This chapter begins to show Rex's boys putting down roots in Ando.

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 53**

**# # #**

"I'm sorry again, Commander," Appo said, as he knelt by Ahsoka's side, and carefully studied the mechanism binding the Force collar together. He tapped the mechanism tentatively, with his gloved finger, checking for deterrents to just what he was doing now.

"It's OK, Commander," Ahsoka said, giving him a weary, but hopefully, encouraging smile. She held still, a bit nervous about tampering with the Force collar. "I hadn't meant to startle you like that."

"Uh, well, I think I startled _you_, so I guess we're even, huh, Commander?" Appo said, giving her a wry grin. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"I think we could 'Commander' each other to death here," Ahsoka said, thoughtfully, "how about just for now you can call me Ahsoka?"

Appo looked uncomfortable at that idea. He looked around their darkened cell, and then looked at either side of their cell, where General Skywalker and General Kenobi were being held. "Uh, Commander, I'm not so sure about that."

Ahsoka sighed, patiently, "OK, well, it was just a thought. The offer stands, though, if you change your mind."

Appo tugged and pulled on the collar for several minutes, sweat continuing to bead up on his brow. He swiped at it again, then blew out a breath, "I just wish I had _some_ kind of tools." He looked down forlornly at where his utility belt usually resided on his hips.

"Why don't we take a break?" Ahsoka suggested.

Appo nodded, and sat back, taking a deep breath.

"How are you feeling?" Ahsoka said, leaning in close to him. She wished she could reach up to feel his forehead, but even from this distance she could feel the heat coming off of him, "you feel like you're burning up."

"I do feel hot," he admitted. He scowled at the untreated blast wound on his shoulder, "it's probably from this… it feels worse than the others." He glanced down at his assorted other injuries, scorching his armor, "the rest don't feel as bad as this one."

"It might be getting infected," Ahsoka said, with concern, frowning. "Could you remove your armor so I could see it?"

"Yeah, OK," Appo said, tiredly, reaching up with his one good hand to start tugging off his shoulder armor. He hissed and grimaced as he came into contact with the area around his shoulder. He groaned aloud as he pulled his bodysuit away from the area. Blood had caused his suit to dry to the wound, and he hissed with pain as it came unstuck. "There," he finally said, his face pale, and looking slightly ashen, "but, I don't see what you can do, Commander, with your hands bound."

Ahsoka crept slowly forward, this time very careful not to bump Appo with her Force collar. She studied the wound for a long time. It was red, puffed and angry, with red streaks leading away from the wound. Ahsoka sighed, "Well, at least we know what's causing your fever."

"Yeah, well, as I said, there's not really anything we can do," Appo said, with a resigned tone, making a move to put his armor back on.

"Hang on," Ahsoka said, quietly, "there might be one thing."

Appo stilled his movements and looked at her curiously.

"Uh, there is this thing that I did for Rex one time when he was hurt really badly," Ahsoka's voice hitched at the mention of Rex's name, "it was when he was hit with the clone-sh-" Ahsoka stopped, suddenly remembering Appo didn't know about that mission. It was still sealed and classified. "Uh, that is, it was on the last mission we were on together. Anyway, uh, Rex had an infection from a serious blast wound, and we couldn't get medical care right away. So, I was able to do some, uh, Force healing to get his fever down."

"Force healing, huh?" Appo asked, sounding wary, but interested.

Ahsoka nodded, and began to explain how it worked, "Yeah, I'm not all that experienced at it, really. Rex was the only one I've ever done it on. But, it did seem to help. So, I could try the same-"

"Absolutely not."

Her Master's voice cut into their conversation, startling both of them. Both Appo and Ahsoka immediately looked over in the direction of Anakin's cell.

"Master?" Ahsoka questioned.

"I forbid you to do Force healing on him, Ahsoka," her Master's voice had a cold finality to it.

Ahsoka's jaw dropped. "But, Master, I can help-"

"No, Ahsoka. Absolutely not. Force healing is very draining even for experienced practioners. It is not something to be meddled with lightly. You need to focus your Force strength on your healing your own injuries, Ahsoka. I specifically forbid this."

"But, Master, I can do this. I've done this before-"

"_No_, Ahsoka," Anakin's voice had a hard-edge to it, "It's too dangerous. There's a reason why the practice is not taught lightly."

"Commander, it's OK," Appo had lightly touched her with his fingers in a placating gesture, "it was a good thought anyway. Thank you." He was already working to put his bodysuit and armor back on. Ahsoka could see how much the movements pained him. She grimaced as she got one last look at the deep long red streaks of infection before they were covered up again. Couldn't her Master see how sick Commander Appo was?

Ahsoka scooted over to the side of the cell nearest Anakin's cell. "Master!" she hissed quietly, between the bars.

"This is not up for debate, Ahsoka," Anakin said. Ahsoka noticed then that he looked pale and ill himself. "Ahsoka, we need to conserve our strength in case an opportunity arises to get out of here. So, focus on healing yourself, OK?" He closed his eyes, and turned away from her.

# # #

Det sat nervously at the kitchen table, thinking he'd never been in this close proximity to a woman- all by himself before. He was incredibly nervous.

The Captain, and a kindly, older woman named Roseanne, had dropped him off at this house, with his kit, about 15 minutes before. He was to stay here for the evening, and the Captain would come pick him up again sometime the following morning. Simple enough, right?

Det scratched at the bandage covering the left side of his chest. When the pirates had come in for their second pass, they'd successfully strafed a number of troopers, including Det. The lasers had penetrated right through his armor, burning his left arm and his side. Det had sunk down into the snow, trying to cool the agony of the fire that was burning his skin. The doctor had later told him it was the best thing he could have done to ease the severity of his burns. He'd remained buried in the snow, probably for about ten minutes, until the Captain and the doctor had fished him out. By then, he'd been comfortably numb from the cold of the snow. He'd been given a painkiller and carried off to the first aid tent. Now, except for the itching of the bacta, Det wasn't even that uncomfortable. The bacta was already working on healing his burns, and he had a comfortable amount of painkiller in his system. He'd had a lot worse burns than this in the past. All in all, he didn't feel that badly at all. Plus, they'd eliminated their target. The pirates were completely neutralized.

Det looked around the kitchen, studying the walls. He realized he'd also never been in a civilian kitchen before. There were pictures on the walls, mostly paintings, although one or two were hand-drawn on flimsy with chalk and colored pencils. Det found his attention kept getting drawn back to these pictures. They just didn't seem to serve any functional purpose. He finally concluded they were just there to be visually pleasing, in the same way that his brothers sometimes hung up shots of bolo teams and Twi'lek girls. (Although, in the barracks, the holos of the Twi'lek girls were usually hidden behind the bolo team posters to avoid offending the Jedi- this was especially true of the battalions with Twi'lek Jedi.) Det had never had access to any interesting holos, either sports teams or Twi'leks.

"What are you looking at?" Kat asked.

The woman's voice startled Det. He'd been so engrossed in his study of the walls, he'd forgotten about her. Det turned toward her, his eyes wide, as if he'd been caught doing something forbidden. He felt himself catapulted back in time to Kamino, and a senior female Kaminoan punishing him for a lapse of attention during training.

"I'm sorry," the woman apologized, placing her fingers on his uninjured arm, "I didn't mean to startle you."

He shirked back from her touch, the quick movement jarring his injured arm. He sucked in his breath from the pain. Det forced himself to stay seated and not bolt away.

"Uh, no… ma'am," Det stuttered out. It was all he could manage to get out at first, but it seemed to be enough. She smiled at him, at the sound of his voice. Her smile was so beautiful that Det couldn't help but respond to it, "I'm totally fine."

"Fine? Huh, I guess that's a matter of opinion." Her eyes widened at his response, and then her lips crinkled up in a smile. She looked at his many injuries, and then put her hands on her hips. "You are positively brave, is what you are," she said. She pointed to her paintings, "I noticed you were looking at my paintings. You like them?"

Det looked at her, startled, "You created these?"

Kat smiled, nodding, "Yes, painting, sketching- it's my favorite hobby."

Det stared in awe at the paintings, "They're fantastic! Much better than bolo teams and Twi'lek girls."

Kat burst out laughing, "I'll take that as a compliment, I think."

Det wanted her to keep talking to him, so he jumped right back into the conversation. "No, really, they are the best I've ever seen," Det said, then added in, honestly, "although, I do have to admit, I've seen very little." He stared at the paintings again, and then pointed, "what are they?"

She laughed again. She seemed to find him very amusing. She sat down next to him, and then began pointing to the paintings, "Feelings."

Det cocked his head to the side, thinking about what she said. Then, he shook his head, "I don't understand," he furrowed his brow again, studying the images.

Kat was struck with the urge to run her fingers along his brow. She turned her attention back to the conversation. "The paintings represent my feelings. Each painting was done on a different day. The colors and patterns represent my mood that day. For example, this one," she pointed to a painting that had tangled swirls of black and grey, with some twirls of white, "was painted a few weeks after I lost my husband. I was angry, and depressed, and wondering where we go when we die."

Det just stared at her, fascinated. He stood up, grabbed his cane, and walked over to the painting. Without quite touching the painting, he traced all the swirls of black and grey, then picked out the little twirls of white. Finally, he said quietly, "I think about that a lot, too." He turned to Kat, "The white parts here, they represent life after death, don't they?"

Kat looked at him in surprise, "You are the first person to get that. No one else has seen anything in this painting except for the dark, angry parts."

Det turned back to the painting, his fingers tracing the air over one of the white swirls again. He said very quietly, "There has to be more than just the darkness, otherwise how would we go on living?"

When he looked up again, Kat was standing right next to him, "Yes," she whispered, looking at him in wonderment, "that's exactly what I felt when I created this piece. It's more than just a statement of darkness. There's an expression of hope here, too."

"Sometimes we need the dark, in order to be able to see the light," Det murmured, wondering why he wasn't nervous around her anymore.

Kat put a hand on his good arm again, and this time Det didn't shy away. She smiled at him, and Det smiled back. They stayed like that for a long moment. Then, Kat sniffed the air, and looked toward the stove. "Excuse me, just one sec," she slipped away, and walked over to the cooking unit. She opened it up, and a gust of heat came out, along with the smells of something tempting. Det heard his stomach growl in response. Kat put protective coverings on her hands, and pulled a stoneware-cooking dish out of the cooking unit. She peered into the dish, grabbing a wooden spoon and poking at the contents.

"Another ten minutes, I think," she said, replacing the lid, and placing the dish back into the cooking unit. She turned and noticed Det looked at the cooking unit curiously.

Kat noticed his gaze, "Yes, I know, I know. We're like 100 years behind Coruscant here. You'll find it's like that all over Andoville. This place is like the land that time forgot. And, yes, for the most part, that's intentional. Everyone likes it that way. It's the part of charm of the place. Although," Kat made a wry face, "part of it is forced, too, because of the war, _our_ war, that is. It took out what little technology we did have around here."

Kat kept up a steady stream of chatter while she went about the business of setting the table. Det walked over to stand next to her by the table, "May I help, ma'am?"

Kat shook her head, looking at his injuries again, but giving him a grateful smile. "No, you sit, but you are very sweet to offer. I give you huge points for manners. Sit, sit." She pointed, and Det settled back into his chair.

Det had never known anyone to chatter on like this, but he found it entertaining. He just smiled, and listened as Kat went right on talking about Ando, "Not that I've lived anywhere else except here on Ando, mind you. But, before the war, here on Ando, I had been to Coruscant. Twice. I have a cousin there. Well, at least I assume she still lives there. Can't imagine she would move. She actually loved the place. Can't imagine why. That life just wouldn't be for me. She lives in one of those gazillion-story high-rise buildings. Oh, I got vertigo just looking out her windows. I had to close the blinds in the guest room. Can you imagine? Too crazzzzy there. Totally not for me. I couldn't sleep a _wink _when I was there. Nope. Totally exhausted, the whole time I was there. That constant noise? Made my heartbeat too fast. I felt stressed out, and wound up, the whole time I was there. The food was good, though. They have a restaurant for everything you could imagine. You think of the craziest, wildest, wackiest theme imaginable, and, well, they have it there in Coruscant."

Det raised up his eyebrows. He'd never actually eaten in a restaurant. Matter of fact, this would be his first meal outside of a Republic commissary. He wasn't sure what to say, so he just agreed with her politely: "Uh huh, yes, ma'am."

Kat finished setting the table, and looked around the kitchen, hands on hips. "Well, that should do it. I guess we have a few minutes. Would you like to see the paintings in the rest of the house? Some of my best artwork is actually hanging in the hallways, and along the staircase. I have more space there."

"Yes, ma'am. I'd like that very much," Det said, sincerely.

Kat looked at his cane, "The stairs aren't- uh- a problem?"

Det looked a bit taken back, "No, not at all. I'm a clone. I'm designed to adapt. I can manage just fine."

"OK, OK, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Det put his head down, "I apologize, ma'am. I didn't mean to be rude. I guess I'm a bit over-sensitive, maybe, when it comes to my leg injury."

"Why?" Kat asked curiously.

Det sighed, "Long story." He was rather reluctant to delve into the whole tale of how he'd come to be kicked out of the GAR because of his leg injury.

"OK, fair enough. Well, if you decide you want to talk, I'm a good listener." Kat said. She smiled at him, "I'm not just good at talking, you know."

Det laughed at that.

"Come on, those paintings are this way," Kat led the way out of the kitchen.

Det grabbed his cane, and followed Kat. She hadn't exaggerated. Her best work truly was in the hallways. She had created some beautiful landscape scenes of Ando – the sun setting over the ocean, peaceful scenes of fishing boats coming in to port, and, an old fisherman intently focused on landing a fish.

"That's my father," Kat said, fondly, pointing to the old fisherman.

Det raised his eyebrows.

"He was one of the ones who died in the war," Kat said, as she continued to gaze at the painting.

"I'm sorry," Det said. Kat just nodded, and led the way toward the stairs. The paintings changed at the staircase. Suddenly, Det saw the blackened remains of a burnt fishing boat, and just the back profile of a woman staring at the boat. The woman's shoulders were slumped, and she looked devastated. Suddenly, Det recognized the woman. "That's you!" he said.

Kat nodded, and pointed to the boat, her voice thick, "My father's boat. He was in it when it burnt."

Det stared at the image for a long time, seeing so much emotion in the painting, "I'm sorry, Kat."

Kat nodded, silent for once, and pointed to other paintings going up the staircase. Det slowly studied them one by one— two hodgepodge fleets of space-faring ships, about to attack one another in space. Another painting showed a forest completely engulfed in flames, all of the animals fleeing in complete panic. Another painting simply showed an empty pair of fishing boots, next to an abandoned fishing pole, sitting by itself on an empty dock, without a single ship in sight as far as the eye could see. The final picture was simply a blackened anchor tethered to a burnt ship. After Det looked at the final painting, he had to sit down.

Finally, his eyes met Kat's, brown eyes meeting her green ones. He had tears in his eyes.

A buzzing sound went off somewhere downstairs, startling both of them. Det quickly whipped out his blaster, and jumped up. He grabbed Kat, shielding her completely with his body, pressing her between him and the wall, he quickly scanned up and down the staircase, looking for the source of the threat. He wished he'd left his helmet on, so he could an infrared sweep-

"It's OK, Det! That was the stove timer. Our dinner is ready," Kat said, gripping his good arm.

Dinner?

Det turned to Kat, as her words penetrated his adrenaline-fueled brain. She was so close, her face just inches from his. Kat put her hands up to his chest, and pressed him back into the wall. She pressed her lips down onto his.

Det opened his eyes in shock, but didn't pull away. Kat's eyes were closed. She seemed to be enjoying the kiss. Det took this as a cue that he should be enjoying it, too. He tamped down on his initial shock and panic, closed his eyes, and just focused on the feel of the kiss. He began to feel something building in the pit of his stomach. Det growled, and pulled Kat closer. He _liked_ kissing.

Kat opened her eyes, murmured his name, and said, "No one has ever protected me like that before. That was, well, _hot_." Kat then showed him something new- the tongue kiss. Det was caught off-guard at first when he first felt Kat's tongue in his mouth, but quickly caught on. He tried to pull Kat even closer to him, but there was no place to go, since they were already pressed up against the wall. Kat finally pulled away from their kiss. Det was disappointed when they stopped.

"I have to get our dinner, Det," Kat said, extricating herself from his arms, "before it burns to a crisp."

Det wasn't quite sure what 'crispy dinner' would be like, since all of the food they had on the Jedi cruisers was prepared by automated droids. However, he was willing to risk it if it meant he could spend more time exploring Kat's tongue.

"I love your enthusiasm, Det. We are just going to put this on hold until _after _dinner, OK? Then, we can pick up right where we left off."

Det sighed in disappointment. He was very hungry, but kissing was absolutely amazing. Couldn't they both just chug down some rations bars, and get right back to this kissing thing, (particularly the part where she shoved her tongue in his mouth?) Once he let Kat go, his arms felt curiously empty.

They returned to the kitchen, which seemed very bright, after the more intimate lighting of the hallway. Kat patted his seat at the kitchen table, "Come on, have a seat. I can tell our dinner's done." She sniffed the air, "I can smell it."

Det sniffed the air. The kitchen did smell heavenly. Kat put the mitts back on her hands, and once again removed the ceramic dish from the heating unit. So much heat came out of the cooking unit, that Det could see waves of heat coming up. Kat was undeterred, and brought the ceramic dish out with a graceful flourish. She placed it on top of the cooking unit, and examined the contents, "Just got a little browned, but it's fine." She turned the cooking unit off, and then brought the dish over to the table. She uncovered the lid, and pointed to the contents in the dish, "This is a nice fresh filet of Andovian silver fish, my personal favorite," Det peered at the food as she pointed it out, "and these little chunks here, are roasted tuber roots in a spicy cream sauce."

"Det, would you pour us drinks out of that carafe there? It's a spicy fruit punch from the local Atches fruit that grows here. It has a kick to it, but it is very refreshing."

Det poured them each a tall glass of the vibrantly purple drink.

Kat held up her glass, and proposed a toast, "To my new house guest, welcome."

Det held up his glass, nodding, and then said, "To my host, thank you."

They clicked glasses, with a dull, plastic, thud, smiling self-consciously at each other. They each took a sip.

"Whew! That is spicy!" Det said, as the flavors of the fruit punch hit his tongue. He stared at the very purple drink in his cup, wondering if it would stain his tongue purple. His tongue was actually tingling from the spiciness of the drink. Yet, strangely, he already wanted another sip. Det brought the glass to his lips and drank some more. The more of it he drank, the less spicy it seemed. It all seemed to be doing a great job of quenching his thirst. He hadn't even realized he was thirsty. Before he'd realized it, Det had drained the entire glass.

Kat laughed, reaching for the carafe and pouring him some more, "Well, I can see the Atches juice is a hit. I'm so glad! Have more!"

Det blushed. He hadn't meant to drink it all so quickly. He vowed to make his second glass last longer. He didn't want to seem totally uncouth and unsophisticated in front of his host. He turned his attention to his food. He tried the tubers first. They were soft and had a mild flavor. The spicy, creamy sauce jazzed up the flavor and provided a nice contrast to the roots' mild softness. Det then tried a bite of the silverfish. His eyes widened at the flavor. The fish was crispy on the outside from the breaded coating Kat had added, but soft and flaky on the inside. The fish itself had a naturally buttery taste to it. Det closed his eyes, just enjoying the taste of the fish. He opened his eyes again so he could spear another bite. He noticed that Kat was not eating. She was just watching him. He grew self-conscious.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, putting his fork down.

"Oh, no, no," she said, hurriedly, reaching out a hand to touch him, as she reassured him. "It is just such a joy to see you enjoying your meal so much... I've never met anyone like you, Det."

Det smiled back at her, and picked up his fork, thinking back to their kiss, "Well, for what it's worth, this has been a big night of firsts for me, too."

"You need to eat," she said, pointing to his dinner. "The doctor mentioned you guys haven't had a proper meal in a long time."

Det took another bite of fish, "It depends upon what you mean by a proper meal. We had some ration cubes. Ration cubes provide for all your basic metabolic needs, and you can survive on them indefinitely, provided you have an adequate source of hydration," Det added several bites of tubers in his mouth.

Kat shook her head, "Yes, as I said, you haven't had a proper meal in a long time. We keep emergency bars like that in the first aid kits on the boats, just in case we get stranded at sea. I've tried them. Heck, as kids, we used to do dares and bets around consuming the awful things. My parents even used to use them the threat of them as punishment. 'If you don't get your chores and school work done, young lady, it will be ration bars for dinner! Mark my word!'"

Det's eyes widened, "Really? They punish civilians with them?"

"Here on Ando they do," Kat said, she looked thoughtful, "or, at least they did. A lot has changed since the war."

"Is it OK if I ask how the war started?" Det asked, softly.

Kat shook her head, "Yes, of course," she sighed, "So senseless. So stupid. It started as a dispute over prime fishing waters. There is a lot of money to be made selling the best silverfish, especially when they are in high season. The dispute got ugly, and a fight broke out. Shots were fired, and a boat caught fire. The other boat claims they tried to render aid, but, the fire spread too quickly. They had to back away because it was apparent the fire was about to hit the fuel reactor. It did, and the other boat blew. All hands were killed, and the entire catch of silverfish was lost as well. That one incident sparked a conflict that kept getting uglier. That one incident just kept escalating," Kat hung her head down, and Det could see the pain as she remembered back, "Once it got going, it just fueled itself like an inferno, More and more men took sides, getting involved in the conflict. Soon, the 'conflict' turned into an all out war. The fishing fleets kept getting sabotaged. We lost the entire harvest, and then our best boats. But, even worse, everytime we lost a boat, we lost a crewful of men, too. The few men that were left had to take on more and more responsibility. It was just too much for too few to handle and even more tragedy struck, and we lost even more men, including my father. And, my husband."

Det didn't know what to say. Mention of a husband was like a bucket of ice water on the hot intensity he'd felt between them. Even though she'd been saying her husband was gone, it still felt like a barrier. A wall. An unwanted intruder. Det had been thinking of being bold, leaning forward and offering comfort, pulling her into his arms. But now he just sat back and listened.

"With the fleet completely gone, there were so much anger and hard feelings. A lot of the women wanted to continue on with the conflict, picking up where the men had left off. But, Karyn called an end to it. She made women from both sides gather together and asked them if they wanted their children to die—she'd just lost both her sons. She ended up uniting what was left of both sides, and brought an end to the killing. By then, so many people had died already."

"And, it all started with a dispute over fishing rights?" Det asked.

Kat nodded.

Det sighed, "I can't say as I've ever truly understood the war between the Republic and the Separatists. I was created to be a soldier. Yet, I don't get the war. Is that ridiculous?"

"Ridiculous? I think it's beautiful. You have a beautiful soul, Det. That is why you don't understand war," she turned her head, and nodded toward the paintings, "and, that is why you understand art."

Det smiled at Kat. She grabbed his hand and tugged him to a standing position.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered.

Det smiled at her, sensing what she was asking, even if he had no experience in that area, "I feel just fine. Great. Strong. Never better."

She laughed, "Never better! Liar! However, you've got me convinced, come this way, then." She tugged on his hand, and led him down the hallway.

But, Det did mean it. Never in his life had he felt so alive. Despite his injury that day, and the injury that caused his dismissal from the GAR, he felt amazing.

Kat led him into a small, yet warmly decorated bedroom. There were more paintings on the walls, and Det wanted to study them all. Later. He would study them later. There was a large bed in the center of the room. The bed seemed oversized for one person, especially someone as petite as Kat. Then, Det remembered she had been married. It suddenly felt odd to him to be in another man's bedroom.

Kat must have seen the hesitation in his face, "It's OK," she said, soothingly, putting a hand on his armored chest, "there is no one else now. I was married once, yes, but he died several years ago. Now, it is just me."

Det looked nervously at the bed. He wanted to do this, but had no idea how. He suddenly felt the weight of his inexperience. Should he tell her how old he actually was? Uh no, bad idea. That would probably be a total mood killer. But, some honesty probably couldn't hurt here. "Uh, Kat, I need to tell you, that, uh, I've never done this before."

Kat raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Really?"

Det nodded his head, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment, "Is that terribly unusual?"

"No, no, not at all," but something about the way she was trying to reassure him made Det feel like it was unusual.

Det shifted foot to foot uncomfortably, and then tried to explain,"Uh, all of us guys, that is, the clones that are here, are probably in the same boat. Well, not a boat as you uh, know, it," Det flushed red again, feeling like he was babbling, "I mean, all of us, are probably just like me, and don't know how, uh, to, uh, well, uh, that is-" He heard Kat move forward. He felt her place both hands on his hips, and he sucked in his breath.

"Det, look at me."

Det kept his head down. His cheeks were still flushed red with embarrassment, and he was sure he was messing this whole thing up.

"Det," Kat placed one hand under Det's chin and gently pushed his chin upwards, "please look at me."

Det met her eyes, and saw no judgment there. "I'm a little nervous, too," Kat admitted, moving her hand up to cup his cheek.

Det leaned his face into her cheek, "You are?"

Kat nodded, "It's been a long time for me. There's been no one since my husband died. And, there was no one before him. I really mean it when I say I've never connected with anybody like I have with you. But, that still doesn't change the fact that I'm also kind of nervous. Does that help?"

Det nodded, his cheek moving up and down against Kat's hand. He wasn't sure how to get things started, but he suddenly had the urge to kiss Kat's hand. He turned his face and kissed the inside of her palm. He liked the way it felt against his lips. Her hands felt tough and strong, but were not as calloused as his hands. She moved her hand up to his hair, and ran her fingers through it. He closed his eyes. No one had ever run their fingers through his hair before. It was a very curious sensation. She stroked her hands back and forth, rubbing her fingertips against his very short, neatly cropped hair.

"I love your hair," she murmured, "it's so silky. It's like satin, so smooth, yet strong, at the same time."

Det had never given any thought to the consistency of his hair. "I have nice hair?" he questioned.

Kat nodded, still captivated by his hair, "Mmmm hmmm mmm."

"Oh," Det responded, not able to come up with anything better. But, he was pleased. He had nice hair. "I like your Andovian silverfish."

Kat burst out laughing. She looked at Det, and saw he was grinning.

He reached his hands down slowly until he had one hand on either side of Kat's ribs. While she was still distracted by his hair, he proceeded to tickle her. She shrieked in surprise. She fell back on the bed. Det laughed. She stayed on the bed, and beckoned with one finger for Det to join her. Det gulped nervously, and then lay down next to her. Not waiting until he lost his nerve, he rolled over onto his uninjured side, and started kissing her.

Kissing naturally seemed to lead to touching. Touching was much more interesting without armor on. Kat was being very helpful with the undressing of both of them. He looked at Kat. Her bra had been removed, and her breasts were perky and… well, in his hands.

He sucked in his breath, as he felt Kat's hands inside the waistband of tight black boxer briefs. Oh! She just grabbed him! This was so much different from when he was doing this by himself.

"You're a big boy, aren't you?"

Det had no idea if he was 'big' or not. He had absolutely no point of comparison. The only other males he'd ever seen were sized exactly like he was. As far as he was concerned, he was perfectly average. Having no response, he just remained silent. He hoped that was OK. She helped remove their undergarments and they were both fully undressed. He felt not the slightest bit of embarrassment at being fully naked in front of Kat. Things felt right, and good, between them. He began to explore Kat with his hands. She seemed to respond to his every touch, and Det began to feel very powerful. The faster he moved his hands, the more she responded. She pressed her lips to his for another intense session of kissing. Oh, he loved kissing this woman. Her kisses had taken on a new urgency now.

He felt her body reach a pinnacle and then tighten into spasms around him. He stared at her, eyes wide, wondering what was happening. She seemed to be enjoying it, though, so he figured he must be doing something right. The spasms stopped, and she looked up at him with this amazing smile.

"Oh, Det," Kat said, grabbing him in another kiss, that made it all worthwhile, "now, it's _your_ turn."

With her hands, and her mouth, Kat proceeded to show Det exactly what _'your turn'_ meant. Det lay beside Kat, recovering from '_his turn_.' He still hadn't entered her body yet, and he wondered if they were going to proceed to that step, or if this was all they were going to do. If so, it was still a beautiful experience, but, still been hoping…

"Are you ready for round two?" Kat said, rolling over onto her side, smiling at him.

Det raised his eyebrows, and looked at her hopefully. "By round two, do you mean more…"

Kat reached down, and grabbed him, causing Det to squeak in surprise.

"More sex, Det. Yes, I mean, more sex. Are you ready?"

Det sucked in his breath, and just nodded. Kat then proceeded to show him exactly what she'd had in mind for round two.

# # #

The next morning, they ate breakfast in bed. Det had Kat encased in his arms. She leaned back contently against him, using him as an armchair.

"Det," she asked, happily, as she sipped her coffee, "will you stay?"

"Mmmmmm?" Det asked, grabbing another muffin off the plate. He polished it off in two bites. He swallowed, and then began nibbling on her neck. "Stay?"

"Yes, will you stay, here, with me?"

Det stopped what he was doing, and looked at Kat.

"You want me… to stay?"

Kat put her coffee cup down on the nightstand. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and vulnerable, her eyes pleading. "Will you… stay?"

"I'd have to clear it with my Captain, Kat," Det said, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm not sure if we're staying here…"

Kat twisted around in his arms to look at him, tears in her eyes. "You might be leaving? But, your ship? It's destroyed!"

Det could see her mind racing, "Are others coming to pick you up? Do you have to go back to the war? You're still injured, Det! Why do you have to go back! They can't force you to go back! Can they?" Det could hear the anguish in her voice. His eyes widened, as he realized her anguish was for him.

She jumped off the bed, and gathered up his gear. He sighed, thinking she was asking him go. He prepared to get up and get dressed. "Where's your communication thingie?" Kat asked, looking at his gear in confusion. She finally just dumped all the armor on the bed right next to him, and looked up at him again. "Call him, please, right now? If he clears it, will you stay?" Kat asked again, her eyes were filled with tears.

"Kat, it's not that simple," Det began, wiping away a tear that had just started to escape her eye. How did he begin to explain the complicated situation they were in? How did he call up his Captain and ask permission to stay behind if they suddenly had to flee the planet because the Republic hadn't gotten wind that they'd never gone to Kamino as planned? Would he place the others at risk if he stayed?

"There's someone else," Kat said, in a small broken voice, "I should have asked first. I shouldn't have assumed. I shouldn't have thrown myself at you like that. This is all my fault. I've made a mess of things." She turned her back on him, and began walking away, looking completely destitute. Det wanted to go after her, and wrap her in his arms. He had absolutely no idea how to handle this situation.

He stood up, standing there, naked and lost. He had no frame of reference for handling a situation like this.

"Forgive me," Kat whispered, shoulders hunched, as she left the room. She was halfway down the hallway, when she heard Det's voice.

"Captain, this is Det. I have something I need to ask you…"

# # #

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	54. Chapter 54 Appo and Ahsoka  Duty

A/N: Hello All! Slowed down the pace of the updates a bit to allowed a very valued reader a chance to catch up with the rest of the us. Plus, in the meantime, it allows me some uninterrupted time with our boys on Ando. Ah, but this week's chapter brings us back to Ahsoka, as I had multiple requests for some more Ahsoka time. Many thanks to Sachariah for proofreading this chapter. And, as to your question as to how Ahsoka was planning on force-healing Appo with bound hands and a Force collar, well, shab, that IS confusing. So, read-on, and I do explain that in this chapter…

About Appo… according to Wookipedia, (the great answer to all the mysteries of life), there is very little history about him BEFORE Order 66. So, I've given his character a great deal of thought. What would it be like to follow in Captain Rex's shoes, particularly if the 501st Legion is grieving/pissed off? What type of man would Commander Appo have been before his famous walk up the Temple steps?

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 54**

Appo moaned in his sleep, occasionally murmuring "no" and "trap" as his head restlessly moved back and forth against the cold ground.

Ahsoka watched him sleep, chewing her lip worriedly.

"Ahsoka, you're supposed to be resting."

Ahsoka's blue eyes met those of Master Kenobi's. She slid over to the bars that separated her from Master Kenobi's cell, "I can't sleep, "she confessed. She turned back around and looked toward Commander Appo. "Master, he got hurt protecting me. The only reason why I'm not in worse shape is because he threw himself over me. He got shot instead of me. Now, he needs help. As a Jedi, I just can't sit back and do nothing. It's not right, Master."

Obi Wan sighed. He sounded just as weary as her Master, but still much more patient. As usual, he tried appealing to her common sense first, "Commander Appo was doing his job. It is his duty to protect the Jedi."

Ahsoka frowned, "And, what about our duty in return back to them?"

Obi Wan looked around at their bleak surroundings: "Sometimes, there are limits as to what we can do, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka shook her head, and looked down, bitterly, "I don't think we do nearly, enough for the clones, sometimes, Master."

Obi Wan was silent for a long time, studying Ahsoka in the near darkness. She thought perhaps he might have fallen asleep.

"Master?" Ahsoka prompted.

Obi Wan's voice cut quietly across the gloom, just softly enough for Ahsoka's sensitive Jedi hearing, "Let me ask you something, Padawan. Are we talking about Commander Appo, here, or… Captain Rex?"

Ahsoka whipped her head over and stared at Master Kenobi. The fast movement in the confining Force collar, combined with having been clubbed on the head, made her head hurt. She moaned from the movement. She paused, and leaned her head against the bars, separating them, just staring at Master Kenobi. "That was a low blow, Master," she finally whispered.

Their eyes locked on each other, and Obi Wan stared backat her for a long time. When he saw she wasn't backing down, he said, "Anakin is right, you know. Force healing on others is not to be taken lightly. Even trained Jedi Masters, like Anakin, are hesitant to use it. It is truly a very specialized skill."

Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders, wincing against the confines of the Force collar, "Yeah, well, so far, we haven't managed to get this stupid collar off, so it's a moot point anyway. I can't help him until we figure out how to get out of this thing."

"Ah, now there you're wrong, padawan," Master Kenobi shook his head, his own Force collar glinting dully in the low light. "These collars might do a lot to suppress our abilities, but they can't contain them completely. The more times you've been in one, the more you will come to realize there are limitations to the technology."

Ahsoka's eyes widened, "What are you saying, Master?"

"If you can bring Commander Appo over to me, I'm willing to try healing him myself."

"Really?"

Obi Wan nodded, "It would be much easier if I could physically touch him with my hands. But, well, his hands are free, and we can probably work with that…I will try, Ahsoka."

Obi Wan gave a weary sigh, and closed his eyes again.

Ahsoka peered back toward Anakin's cell, "But, what about-"

Obi Wan snorted.

"Let me deal with Anakin. Wouldn't be the first thing he and I disagreed about. You know, before he spent all of his time disagreeing with you, he spent a great deal of time disagreeing with _me_."

Ahsoka's face split into a big grin, "Thank you, Master!" She looked back toward Commander Appo, then, a bit uncertain as to how to proceed, "Should I go wake him up, or…"

Obi Wan shook his head, "Let him sleep. And, you should rest. Or, at least meditate," He let out a tired yawn, "and, I'm going to rest. We'll attempt this later, OK?"

Ahsoka smiled, and lay down on the stone floor. Master Kenobi gave her a patient, if weary, smile and closed his eyes.

As she watched him drift off to sleep, she realized he hadn't really moved much the whole time they'd been speaking. She wondered just how bad his injuries were. She wished she'd thought to ask. She stared around at the dimly lit walls of her cell, unable to sleep. She didn't feel like meditating either. She was happy she'd found a way to help Commander Appo. But, just how were they all going to get out of here?

# # #

"Up! Move it!"

Ahsoka was harshly awaken out of a sound sleep a short time later by activity in Master Kenobi's cell. The lights were flipped on. After all that time in the dark, the bright lights were absolutely blinding. As she squinted, and tried to figure out what was going on, she was surprised to see that Master Obi Wan had not one, but two cellmates. One was in the distinctive blue and white armor of the 501st, and the other had the orange striping of the 212th. Both were lying on the floor, either just injured, or sleeping, when four heavy-set, thickly muscled Kaz'harians burst into the cell. They looked up in confusion as the guards swarmed into the cell.

"Not you!" the guards said, kicking the two clone troopers aside. They headed straight to the back of the cell, and two of them grabbed Master Kenobi by the arms.

Ahsoka stared openly at the Kaz'harians. The battle had been so quick and confusing she hadn't gotten a good look at their new enemy. Their captors were imposing—with body structures similar to Gamorreans, except their skin tone was grey, instead of the traditional Gamorrean green. But, unlike the porcine facial appearance of the Gamorrean, the Kaz'harians had more of a simian facial structure. It was appeared from gazing into their dark, simian eyes that their IQ vastly outstripped that of the average Gamorrean. The Kaz'harians were not only brutally powerful, but also keenly intelligent, as was evidenced by the fact they'd managed to capture the 501st, the 212th, and several prominent Jedi.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Obi Wan cried out in pain.

"No! Master!" Ahsoka objected, as she watched Obi Wan get dragged by his captors, the rough treatment pulling and dragging on his laser burns.

"Quiet! You!" one of the Kaz'harian guards yelled out, jabbing a blunt pike through the bars. It was headed straight for Ahsoka's right eye, but she managed to dodge it. As it was, it just caught her on the shoulder. It still hurt, and she grunted from the impact. Suddenly, she was being pulled back into the darkness of her cell, out of the reach of the Kaz'harians.

"Hey! Let me go!" Ahsoka protested, focused completely on Obi Wan as he was being taken away. She felt somebody hiss in pain as she struggled. She felt a hand clamp down over her mouth.

"Commander! Quiet!" hissed Commander Appo. Ahsoka stilled, breathing heavily, pressed back against Appo's armor. They watched as Obi Wan was dragged away. The lights were clicked off in his cell again, and everything was once again thrown into bleak near-darkness. Commander Appo released her.

"You, OK, Commander?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, ignoring the new bruising in her shoulder. She shook her head, and looked down, "that…. was pretty stupid of me…. I'm sorry."

Appo nodded in acknowledgement.

"Commander Appo." Both Ahsoka and Appo looked over at the next cell.

"Yes, General Skywalker?"

"Good work."

"Thank you, sir."

Ahsoka looked up at Appo, and just whispered the words, "You, OK?" He looked pale and sweaty. He just shook his head, shaking off her concerns.

Ahsoka sighed, and then looked over at her Master, "Where do you think they took him, Master?"

Her Master had his head resting against the bars of his cell, staring at Obi Wan's cell, looking bleak and forlorn, "I don't know, Snips."

Ahsoka was quiet for a moment, chewing her lip. Then, unable to remain silent any longer, she asked, "Well, what do they want with him anyway?"

Anakin shot her an annoyed look, "_I - don't – know_. I have no way of knowing. I've been locked up same as you. Look, just get some sleep. OK?"

Ahsoka gave a frustrated sigh. Sleep? How was she supposed to sleep at a time like this? She was tired of sleeping. She scooted over to the far corner of the cell, and tried to meditate. Uncomfortable from her bound hands and feet, she wasn't able to get much meditating done either. After a while, she sensed somebody sitting next to her.

"What is it, Commander?" she whispered. "Can't sleep?"

Commander Appo smiled wryly, "Yes, well, somebody is sighing and blowing out their breath so much it is kind of hard to sleep."

Ahsoka's eyes widened, "I'm so sorry!"

Appo shook his head, amused, "It's OK. I'm a bit too wound up to sleep anyway," he nodded his head toward her bindings, "how about we take a break from working on the collar, and maybe work on loosening your bindings up?"

Ahsoka wanted to protest, feeling she owed Commander Appo the chance to try Force healing on his fever. She especially felt she needed to try it, now that Master Kenobi was no longer here to help. They should be working on the collar first, since unlike Master Kenobi, Ahsoka didn't feel she could do that healing with the collar still on. But, they hadn't made any progress at all with the collar. Maybe they could make some headway with the bindings, and maybe from there some answers would present themselves with the collar. Ahsoka sighed. She just hoped it would be in time to help Commando Appo.

"OK," she nodded, "let's work on these bindings…"

# # #

After hours of working on the bindings, Appo and Ahsoka finally felt like they were making some headway.

"Yes! I can feel it loosening!" Ahsoka said, excitedly, feeling a little bit of slipping by her wrists. It wasn't much, but it was something. She looked up, and Appo gave her a tired, but encouraged smile. His forehead was entirely beaded with sweat again.

Ahsoka leaned back, "This is great progress for now. Why don't we take a break?"

Appo nodded, sinking back on his haunches tiredly. He swiped at the sweat on his brow, then grimaced.

Ahsoka leaned in toward him, "How are you feeling? Honestly?"

His eyes got big and round, reminding her of Rex. He got a wry smile, and then shook his head: "Honestly? Not great." He sighed, stretching out his muscles, and then grimaced, as his shoulder wound pulled. He snorted, then looked at his dirty, smoke-stained armor, "Beat-up, all over. Never thought I'd say this, but I'd actually welcome a bacta tank right now."

Ahsoka got a far away look for a moment, "Rex used to hate being in bacta."

Appo was completely silent, just staring at her. He wondered if she even realized she'd said that aloud. It was the first time he'd even heard her mention the famous Captain he'd been brought in to replace. Everyone said she'd pretty much lost it after Rex was killed. Appo wasn't sure how to respond. Emotional stuff wasn't covered in their flash training at Kamino, and he'd never had a female friend.

After a long silence, Appo reached up his good hand and placed it very lightly on Ahsoka's shoulder. "Uh…" Appo started awkwardly, feeling foolish, but now that he'd started this, he figured he had to continue, "I know I can probably never measure up to the Captain. Everyone tells me how he was the greatest and all. But, all I can promise is that I'll do my best to honor his memory and keep the men safe, because that's what he would have wanted." As soon as the words were out of Appo's mouth, he realized what a complete idiot he was. He'd vowed to keep the 501st Legion safe? He'd been their Commander less than a month, and the entire Legion had gotten captured for shab's sake? Captain Rex must be rolling over in his grave! Appo felt his cheeks burn with humiliation, and he turned away. He walked over to the darkest corner, and sat there cross-legged. He considered banging his head into the wall a few times, but knowing how softhearted the commander was, that would probably upset her. So, he settled for just hiding and cursing himself for being a shabla idiot.

It was several minutes before he felt light footsteps pad over behind him. Then, he felt Ahsoka's light form sit down cross-legged next to him. She leaned carefully up against him, careful this time not to bump his shoulder wound with her Force collar. They sat that way for a long moment, in companionable silence.

Finally, Ahsoka said: "You're right. You know. It's what Rex would have wanted." Ahsoka looked up at Appo, and he could tell even if the dim lighting that she'd been crying.

He opened his mouth to object, to say how miserably he'd failed. But, she shook her head. "No. We're here through no fault of yours. You're a fine Commander, and you'll make the Legion proud." Ahsoka gave a watery smile, trying to look confident, "we've gotten out of a lot worse messes than this. We'll get out of here. All of us."

Appo smiled down at her, thinking how tiny she looked. He'd never realized until this moment how tiny Skywalker's Padawan really was. How old was she anyway? With tears streaking down her face, and how bravely she was trying to smile, (and failing), she just looked much too young to be locked in a filthy prison in the middle of a warzone. Something in Appo's stomach clenched as he looked at her. He closed his eyes, and looked away.

"Are you OK, Commander? Are your injuries bothering you?" Ahsoka immediately asked, misinterpreting the look on Appo's face.

Appo took a deep breath, getting a hold of himself. He decided it would be good to change the subject. "Commander, can I ask you something?" he asked, speaking very softly.

Ahsoka turned toward him, and raised her eyebrows.

"Well, I'm curious… " Appo continued, he looked nervously toward General Skywalker's cell, and kept his voice very soft, "I don't really know much of anything about this Force healing, but it involves using your hands, doesn't it? So, how were you planning on healing me anyway with your hands still tied up?" He nodded toward Ahsoka's bound hands.

Ahsoka laughed, very quietly, keeping an eye toward her Master's cell. Her Master was lying on his back, sleeping. In response to Appo's question, she repositioned herself so her backside was toward Appo, and then grabbed him with her hands.

"Hey!" he squeaked in protest as she grabbed him.

Ahsoka's bright laughter lit up the cell for a moment. They both quickly looked over to Anakin's cell to make sure they hadn't woken him up, like naughty children caught doing something they'd shouldn't. He hadn't stirred at all. They turned back toward each other, and shared heartfelt grins, their miserable situation forgotten in that quick moment of levity.

"Just a little Jedi ingenuity, Commander Appo," Ahsoka said, as she scooted herself back around, so she could see his face again. "We would have probably had to twist ourselves up like Tandorian breadsticks to get our hands and bodies in the right places to do the healing, but we could have made it work." She blew a breath out, irritated, and glanced in the direction of her sleeping Master. "I just don't get him."

"I'm sure he has his reasons, Commander," Appo said, cautiously.

Ahsoka shrugged, "Oh, I could tell you what his reasons are. It's always the same reason. He is totally over-protective of me. It drives everything he does. It also drives me insane. How can I grow as a Padawan if he keeps holding me back?"

Appo just looked at her, eyes wide open, completely unsure as to what to say. Finally, he said: "Uh, I find it best just to follow orders, Commander."

Ahsoka laughed, quietly: "Well, with Skyguy and I, the better part of my training seems to have spent learning how to creatively disobey orders."

Appo continued to stare, unsure how to respond to that. After a moment, he rose to his knees, and took her bound hands in his own, "Uh, well, Commander, should we try this again?"

# # #

Ahsoka was dreaming of Rex. They were back in the cave and sharing their first kiss, except Rex wasn't injured. There was a fire burning in the background and soft furs spread out of the cave floor. Rex was laying her back amongst the soft furs, and murmuring her name as he stroked her lekku-

"Out of your cell! Jedi scum!"

Ahsoka was harshly awakened out of her very pleasant dream by activity in Master Skywalker's cell. Once again, blinding lights were flipped on.

"What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"

There was harsh laughter from the beefy Kaz'harian guards. They looked back and forth at each other.

"He wants to know where he's being taken?"

"Wouldn't that spoil the lovely surprise?"

"Oh, well, I guess, we it couldn't hurt to tell you a little bit. It's your turn for a little experimentation. Your friend seems to be enjoying it so well."

"Do all you Jedi have such high-pitched screams?"

The Kaz'harians laughed together at that with laughter that was deep-pitched and rumbly, fitting for creatures of such large size. At the mention of 'screaming from a fellow Jedi,' Anakin decided to fight back against his captors. The fight did not go well.

"No! Master!" Ahsoka automatically lunged for her Master to intervene, but strong arms grabbed her around the waist and held her back. She saw dark simians dart her way, but this time did not end up getting hit with a wooden staff. Appo held her back, physically restraining her, and hiding her in the dark part of their cell, until the Kaz'harians were gone.

"No…" Ahsoka moaned in despair as she watched her unconscious Master get dragged roughly away. The lights were flipped off in his cell, and they were left alone once again.

Appo released her. Ahsoka whirled around, filled with anger, and needing to release it upon someone. But, her anger immediately deflated as she saw Appo wincing, and clutching at his injured shoulder. She immediately realized eased just how painful it must have been for Appo to restrain her. He met her gaze evenly. He gave her a patient, measured look that said he would do this time and time again. For a moment, that look reminded her of Rex, and it twisted her gut so painfully that she had to look away.

"Commander, are you okay?" Appo asked, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder.

Ahsoka squeezed her eyes shut, and didn't say anything.

Appo stood there, frozen, unsure what to say or do. After a long moment, he said, "General Skywalker… is known to be resilient."

Ahsoka opened her eyes, and gave Appo a brave, if tentative, smile, "Yes, he is. "

He nodded, and smiled back at her. "Well, we're both awake now. Let's work at beating these beasties at their own game, shall we? How about we work on your bonds some more…"

But, truth be told, Commander Appo was concerned they were coming for Ahsoka next and there was no way he could fight off those four brutish guards in his current condition. He studied the commander surreptitiously as he continued to patiently work on her bindings. Even though he knew it was a fight he had no way of winning, he knew when the time came, he would try to protect her anyway.

# # #


	55. Chapter 55 Cody & Barriss

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 55**

Cody opened his eyes slowly, a bit blearily. It had been a long healing session, and he'd immediately fallen asleep afterwards. Barriss was still sitting by his side, in her customary place. Sometimes, it seemed as if she never left his side.

"How do you feel?" asked Barriss.

Cody hesitated, stretching out with his feelings. Something felt different. He frowned, trying to identify what had changed. Then, his eyes widened as he remembered: "The large fragment— we finally got rid of it!"

Barriss beamed at him, "And, several of the smaller ones, too." She shook her head, "The healing is proceeding even faster than I could have hoped." It had been an incredible week. The catheter had come out earlier in the week, and they were now able to take care of those needs using a urinal. He hadn't been eating anything beyond clear liquids, so his body demands had been relatively simple so far. Soon, Barriss would start getting him up out of bed so he could use the refresher. They were small steps, yet great ones at the same time with regards to Cody's recovery. She reached forward to stroke his cheek. Cody closed his eyes, basking in the feel of her fingertips. "We make a good team, you and I."

Cody felt his heartbeat increase, from just that simple touch.

"So, there's something you've been asking me to do for a long time," Barriss said.

Cody's eyes widened, wondering what she was referring to. He felt his heart began to thump even faster. She leaned toward him. He thought his heart was going to explode out of his chest.

"I can feel your reactions!" Barriss laughed. "You're really excited about this."

Cody flushed with embarrassment. Barriss stroked his cheek, laughing. He turned even redder because she was laughing at him.

"Don't be embarrassed!" Barriss said, "You have a right to be excited! You have been asking for this for so long."

Cody stared up at her in confusion, his eyes wide. Barriss leaned toward him again. Cody opened his mouth to protest.

Barriss reached toward his constraints, and untied them. That was his surprise? She was finally untying his hands? She missed his shocked look as she lifted Army-issue blanket and freed his ankles. Cody managed to shut his mouth before she turned back to him, smiling. Cody tried to work his face into an appropriate reaction. But, he must have failed miserably, because Barriss' pleased smile immediately faded.

"What's wrong, Cody? I thought you'd be pleased. You've been asking for this for so long."

Cody felt like a complete cad. Then, all rational thought fled as spiking pain assaulted his hands.

"Ahhhh!" He closed his eyes against the pain, and balled up his hands into fists. A moment later, the pain struck his feet. He tried to stop himself from crying out again, but couldn't stop the whimper that escaped out his throat.

"Cody!" Barriss cried out.

Cody couldn't speak. He felt Barriss push against his mind, demanding to know what was wrong. He didn't want to let her in. Years of combat training- shielding others from his pain—automatically kicked in. But, the closeness of all their healing sessions was too much. He felt her overcome his barriers. She was suddenly there inside his mind, and he found himself glad because of her presence.

- _Cody, don't shut me out, _ her voice pressed gently inside his head.

He couldn't hold the pain back from her any longer. He suddenly let go, showing her how much the blood returning to his hands and feet was hurting him. She sent a wave of calming energy over him, soothing him, and flooding his system with pain-killing endorphins.

_Oh, shab, that feels good, _Cody felt his tightly coiled muscles begin to relax.

Then, she began working on him from the outside, pulling both of his hands between her own. He cried out from the movement, and she apologized, directly into his mind. She began massaging his hands, working the interior of each wrist where the binding had sat for weeks. She moved on to the inside of each palm, and then on his individual fingers. She then treated each of his feet, starting with the ankle, where the binding had rested, then the inside of the arch, before moving on to the heel, and each of the toes. Cody sighed with the pure pleasure. No one had ever touched him in such a way before. As he moaned, Barriss chuckled.

Cody peered one eye open. "Did you just laugh at me?" he accused, but there was no malice in his voice. He was too relaxed. He closed his eyes again. Barriss just smiled. She finished massaging his feet, and went to go wash her hands. She returned to his bedside, and sat down. When she sat down, she hesitated a moment, and then said, "I wanted to apologize."

Cody looked at her, in surprise, "For what?"

Barriss looked up, "I should have anticipated this," she gestured to his hands and feet. "You suffered needlessly because of me." Her voice was choked up. "It was not my intention to add to your suffering. I'm sorry, Cody." She had tears in her eyes, and she looked down. She was startled a moment later, to feel a pair of strong hands close down upon her own.

"Hey, look at me," said a soft, commanding voice.

It was hard for Barriss to obey. She was too shocked staring down at the tanned-pair of hands gripping her own. Even though she'd freed Cody from his bindings herself, it was still such a shock to see him moving again. As if her hands had a mind of their own, one of her fingers lightly stroked Cody's hand.

Cody sucked in his breath. Then his strong brown fingers intertwined themselves with hers. The movement seemed so natural. Barriss stared back at him, her eyes wide. She suddenly felt like there was electricity sparkling around them like a force field.

"You did nothing wrong," Cody insisted, in his gentle, commanding tone. "I owe everything to you, Barriss. I can do this now, because of you." He gave their joined hands a gentle squeeze. "And, this isn't the first time I've had my circulation cut off from bindings, just so you know."

Barriss gave him a hesitant smile.

"So," Cody gave her a cock-eyed grin, "Is the neck brace coming off today, too?"

"Not yet," Barriss shook her head, "I'm sorry, Cody."

Cody looked terribly disappointed. Barriss disengaged their hands, but her hand felt somehow bereft when she did so. She reached up to touch Cody's neck brace, "There's still a few more fragments, but they're small. We'll get rid of them easily. They're not in such a dangerous place as the others. Mainly now, the brace is to support your neck from the original injury. The bones in your neck still haven't fully healed yet."

Cody sighed, still looking disappointed.

"Cody, you were in a minefield blast. This _will_ heal. Just give it time. You've made incredible progress already. Faster than I even could have hoped." She moved her hands from the neck brace to his face. She instantly felt him relax, as she gently worked her hands over his face.

"Hey, this was a huge day. How about we make some snacks and watch a holo?" Barriss suggested.

Cody looked at her in surprise. "You're going to let me have something other than clear broth and jello?"

Barriss looked at him, considering, "Well, I'll probably break the snacks in tiny pieces just to be on the safe side to protect your throat. But, yes, I'll find something more interesting than jello."

Cody gave her a heart-stopping grin, and then said, "Would you sit with me?"

"Well, of course, I just said-"

Cody interrupted her, and patted the place in the bed next to him, "No, Barriss, I meant, would you sit with me and watch the holo?"

Barriss felt her heart start beating quickly. Part of her wanted to just say yes.

"Uh, no, Commander. I don't think that would be proper. I'll go get those snacks, OK?"

She made a hasty exit from the room. Behind her, she could feel Cody's disappointment coming off of him in waves.

# # #

As she poured through her limited kitchen searching for something to serve that would be appealing yet not a choking hazard, her mind was a mess. Had Cody just asked her out on a 'date'? She might be a Jedi Padawan, but she still knew about dates. Even girls at the Temple talked about such things from time to time. After all, there were _boy_ Padawans, and, well, it was inevitable that despite all of the lectures about 'attachment,' puberty and hormones would have their day, too, and there would be some daydreaming during some of the more dull lectures… Barriss had always tried to be a proper Padawan at all times, but even her mind had wandered from time-to-time, much as she wished it wouldn't. And, she overheard things the other Padawans said, and some of them didn't seem to be trying quite _that_ hard to be proper Padawans at all times… She'd even unintentionally witnessed liasons in the gardens, _twice_, even though she'd wished she'd hadn't. It was hard to get the images out of her mind afterwards, and very difficult to sleep. So, yes, she knew some things…

All she could see was that look on his face, as he asked her to watch a holo with him. Even now, her fingers tingled as she remembered how it felt to hold his hand. She'd held clones hands more times than she could count in act of comfort on the battlefield, in temporary field hospitals, and in acts of healing. But, why did everything feel so different when it was with Cody?

She put her head back against the kitchen wall and closed her eyes. Was he just grateful for help? Was all of this just an expression of friendship? Was he just lonely? He was very isolated here at the medical center. Yet, he saw Trapper everyday for at least an hour or two. Barriss hadn't yet pushed her luck and tried to 'kidnap' any of the other 212th members. So far, the staff seemed to be turning their backs on her coming to get Trapper. After their first run-in with the Jedi Council, they seemed reluctant to confront the young Healer again. But, Barriss didn't want to push things by randomly grabbing clones out of wards whenever she wished. After all, the clones were all here due to serious medical issues. They all had PT schedules, other treatments, procedures and surgeries scheduled. She was aware of Trapper's schedule, and was careful with how long he visited with Cody. Now that the Commander was doing so well, perhaps she could talk to his fellow ARC trooper about healing his arm.

Barriss found some snacks that were soft, yet salty, and pleasing to the palette. She selected a knife, and using her Jedi reflexes she had the snacks almost instantly sliced and diced. She actually enjoyed being in the kitchen, and one day, wanted to spend more time cooking. One day…

Barriss arranged the snacks artfully on a plate, hoping Cody would like them. She dug through the cooling unit, and found two containers of juice she'd never consumed at breakfast. The medical center had been sending her three meals a day with more food than she could eat. Her cooling unit and pantry were well-stocked now, even with Trapper raiding the kitchen every time he came. Trapper kept hinting there was enough food to have a "212th party" in the apartment. Barriss kept politely deferring the suggestion, although she knew Cody and Trapper hadn't given up on their idea of getting not only all the 212th members together, but rounding up members of the 501st as well. She shook her head. Trouble. Those two were definitely going to get her in a lot of trouble.

She walked back into Cody's room. He gave her a small smile when she entered, but she could still feel his disappointment at her rejection. She set the snacks on the table next to the bed.

"I brought you snacks," she said, brightly.

"Thanks," Cody said, politely, not even looking at the snacks.

"What would you like to watch?" Barriss asked, settling into her chair. Her usual chair suddenly felt uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

Cody shrugged, "Uh, well, how about lady's choice? You've been working so hard. You should choose."

Barriss smiled at him, at both his good manners, and the way he continually found ways to thank her. She picked up the remote, and clicked on the holoscreen. Since it was a doctor's apartment, it was equipped with decent A/V in all the rooms. Barriss put on the holo-on-demand system, and began flipping through the titles. Cody noticed her blushing as she scrolled through some of the titles. He peered over to see what had caught her attention. He pointed to a particular title. "Would you like to see that one? It's a stereotypical chick holo. But, all in all, it's supposed to be decent."

Barriss looked at him, in surprise, "What do you know about chick holos?"

Cody hesitated, looking sad, "Rex."

"Rex?"

Cody nodded solemnly. After a moment, he launched into an explanation, "Holo night on _The Resolute_. Rex and General Skywalker didn't always get their way in picking the titles."

Barriss' eyes widened as recognition dawned, "Ahsoka?"

Cody chuckled, "Yeah, Ahsoka." He looked a bit wistful for a moment, "Rex said whenever Ahsoka would pick the holo, well, guaranteed, it was a chick holo- that's where I first heard the word. Oh, Rex was mad. He just wanted to watch his action flicks."

Barriss shook her head, smiling, once again amazed at the things that clones spent their free time talking about. Cody stopped then, and sighed. Barriss realized it was still hard for him to talk about his lost friend. She put her hand over his. Cody nodded, thanking her for the support. He took a deep breath, and continued, "After a while, he stopped griping so much about Ahsoka's holo choices. Matter of fact, he started telling me about the story lines themselves. He actually even recommended a few titles."

Barriss smiled, "So, Captain Rex actually started getting… into these… holos?"

"Yes, but, it wasn't just Rex. The whole 501st was at these holo nights. Apparently, Denal, Fives, Chopper, Echo, well, they would have spirited debates about the merits of these chick holos late into the night. Rex would have to call and end to the talks just to make sure they got some sleep."

Barriss had one fist in her mouth because she was laughing so hard. Cody had his head cocked to the side, and he was just studying her.

"What?" Barriss said, suddenly self-conscious.

Cody grinned, "Nothing. It's just good to see you laugh like that. You should do it more often."

Barriss smiled at him, "Well, just keep feeding me these funny stories." She held up the plate of snacks. "Speaking of feeding- I made teeny-tiny finger food."

Cody looked at the finger food, but he didn't pick one up. Barriss frowned. Cody lifted up his eyebrows hopefully, and patted the bed next to him again. "I promise I will behave with honor."

Barriss was about to protest when Cody interrupted.

"I'm in this big neck brace, and still technically partially paralyzed. What could I do anyway?"

Barriss looked at him consideringly, and Cody patted the space in the bed next to him again. Barriss put down the snacks, slipped off her shoes. Using the Force, she vaulted gracefully into the bed in one smooth move.

"Show off," Cody grumbled, but then he bumped her with his shoulder and grinned, "You won't regret this. I promise."

Barriss gave him a nervous smile. "Not a word of this to my Master."

"I don't talk to your Master," Cody protested.

"I know," Barriss responded, "but anyway, just keep this between us. She, uh, wouldn't understand."

Barriss glanced over at Cody out of the corner of her eye.

- _OK, truth be told, I don't know what I'm doing here,_ Barriss admitted to herself. _But, well, Jedi sometimes do unorthodox things for morale. Yes, that's it._

True to his promise, Cody kept his hands to himself. Although he was itching to hold her hand. His hands felt so twitchy, he quickly asked, "Uh, could I have one of those snacks, please?"

Barriss handed him the plate, while she continued to scroll through the titles. She kept an eye on him out of the corner of her eye. Cody had yet to feed himself.

Cody cautiously attempted to lift one of the small pieces up from the plate to his mouth, his movements slow and stiff. He wasn't quite able to bend his elbow back enough to get the piece of food all the way to his mouth. Barriss gently guided his hand to his mouth. Their eyes met as his lips opened, and her fingertips brushed against his lips. He quickly swallowed the treat, gulping noisily.

She put her hand to his throat, "Slow down, Cody!" she cautioned.

"Sorry," he said, blushing, "still getting used to this kind of food, again, I guess. A bit trickier than broth."

She brushed her hands up against his throat, feeling it cautiously. "Are you OK?"

He felt his heart start pounding, at how closely their bodies were pressed together when she examined him in this position, "Yes, thank you, I'm fine," his voice was breathless. "Could I have something to drink, please?"

Barriss reached over to the side table, and automatically brought the juice to his lips. His hands closed over hers. He released his hand, and let her give him the juice. His eyes met hers, as he drank the sweet juice. His eyes widened as the sugary sweet sensation hit his tastebuds.

After she took the cup away, he grinned, "That's not water!"

She returned the cup to the sidetable, and took a long sip from her own cup. "Yes," she said, after she put her own cup down again, "well, tonight we're celebrating." She popped one of the midget-sized treats into her mouth. They were actually quite good. "Tomorrow, we'll work on practical therapy items, like re-training the muscles you need for holding a cup, and using a fork, spoon and knife."

"I need to re-learn all that stuff, too?" Cody asked with disbelief.

"It will come back very quickly," Barriss reassured him, "but, you have spinal damage, and muscle atrophy. So, none of it will be immediate. In meantime, you still need to accept a little help from me. Let me know when you want more snacks, or juice, and we'll do it together."

Cody grinned.

"What?" Barriss said, folding her arms across her chest.

Cody gave her heart-stopping grin, "Therapy is so much more interesting the way you do it."

Barriss blushed then, turning a deep shade of green.

Cody eyes widened, looking at her in alarm. "Are you OK?"

"Yes," Barriss said, confused, puzzled by Cody's sudden reaction. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Cody reached up to touch her face, his movements still slow and stiff. "It's just that you suddenly turned— green."

If it was possible, Barriss turned an even deeper shade of green. Barriss put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh, well, uh…" she stammered, at an uncharacteristic loss of words.

Cody stared at her, puzzled at her behavior, his concern apparent.

"I'm not sick, Cody," she explained.

Cody's brow puckered in confusion, an expression Barriss found strangely endearing.

"Mirilans turn green when they blush, Cody," Barriss finally managed.

"Ah," Cody's brow smoothed out, then his lips twisted into a strange grimace. Barriss looked at him a moment in confusion, and then realized he was trying not to laugh.

"This is funny to you?" Barriss questioned.

Cody tried to nod, but couldn't with the neck brace. So, he had to settle for sputtering out, "Yes." He lost it then, and burst out into a deep belly laugh. The sound was so infectious that Barriss couldn't help but join in. Barriss looked so happy in that moment that Cody wanted to kiss her. But, he'd made her a promise he wouldn't try anything. He let out a low throat growl in frustration.

"Are you in pain?" Barriss asked, her humor immediately gone, concern crossing her features.

"Huh? No," Cody said, totally frustrated with himself for ruining the moment. He hadn't even realized he'd made an audible sound. He struggled for the right thing to say. _I'm just groaning because you're beautiful, and I want to kiss you, even though I know it's wrong? Yeah, that would go over well. _"Uh, how about that holo?"

Barriss looked— disappointed? Cody didn't know how to interpret that at all.

She turned her attention back to the selection of holos. She did end up selecting a chick-themed holo. It was an angsty tale of love and romance with a dashingly handsome romantic lead, and a strong, brave female. The lovely lady ended up being the one who did much of the rescuing, complete with witty one-liners. Just when things looked to be their bleakest, the plot flipped itself around and everything worked out. Somewhere in the middle was a hot steamy sex scene in the midst of a jungle rain storm. Both Cody and Barriss squirmed uncomfortably during the hot love scene. They avoided making eye contact, both just staring at the screen, pretending this was totally OK. Cody was glad when the scene was over. As hard as he tried not to react to what was going on, his body reacted anyway. He crossed his legs, and rearranged his Army-issue blanket to cover up the offending parts. He kept his hands crossed over his lap for the rest of the holo. He just hoped Barriss hadn't noticed his reaction. _Stupid! Why hadn't he suggested a documentary on some inane medical thing? Oh, who was he kidding? It had been so many weeks since he'd any kind of, er, release, that a documentary on just about anything would probably have had the same effect. This was a bad idea. He wasn't fit company. But, maybe, just maybe. Barriss hadn't noticed his reaction._

The holo ended, and Barriss practically bolted from the bed. She quickly gathered up the plate and two cups.

"Well, it's getting late. Good night," she said, almost in a single breath, headed for the door. She didn't even make eye contact with Cody. She clicked off his light, and shut his door, without another word. Oh, yeah. She'd noticed. Cody groaned and pulled his blankets up and over his head.

# # #

By the middle of the night, he was still awake, tossing and turning. He was going to have to take care of things, or there was no way he was going to be able to get back to sleep. Cody groaned. When he wasn't injured, this wasn't an issue at all. He had the privacy of his quarters. Even when he was out in the field, well, a man did what a man had to do, but he always made sure he had something to use for well, er, clean-up afterwards. But, now, he was stuck in bed. He'd been stuck in bed now for weeks on end. _That _was the problem. Ugggh. How was this going to work? It wasn't. He couldn't face Barriss in the morning all sticky. When Trapper wasn't around, she was the one who bathed him. She would know right away what had happened. Well, she basically already knew anyway. Cody buried his face in his pillow and groaned again. This was going to be a very long night. He shifted in bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. Nothing was helping. And, this was just one of the many reasons why clones hated being in the medical bay/center.

"Cody?"

Cody startled at Barriss' voice in his doorway. He looked over at Barriss, but couldn't find his voice at all. She was in her nightgown.

"I woke up, and felt that you were in pain. I came right away. What's wrong?"

Cody just stared at her, open-mouthed. The lighting from the hallway backlit Barriss in her nightgown. _Oh, shab. Does she have to look so beautiful in her nightgown?_

"Cody?"

"Barriss," Cody said, hoarsely, his voice suddenly feeling incredibly dry, "it would be better if you left."

Barriss leaned over him. He felt Barriss put a hand on his forehead, checking for signs of fever. "Are you ill, Cody?" Cody groaned. Her breasts were practically in his face.

"Barriss," Cody groaned, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, "I'm not sick. Please just go."

"I'm not leaving you," Barriss sat down in her chair, she began stroking his face, "Come on, Cody. Don't be like this. Now tell me. Are your hands and feet hurting again?"

She picked up one of his hands and looked at it.

Cody opened his eyes, and pulled his hand back as if her touch burned him. He stared directly into her eyes, "You, Barriss! You are what's wrong!"

Barriss' eyes stared back at him, hurt and confused. "I- I- don't understand."

Cody blew out his breath, trying to be patient, "Don't you?" Did he have to spell this out? "The holoholo?"

Barriss turned green. Cody didn't laugh this time.

"Ah, I understand," Barriss said, after a long while.

Cody squeezed his eyes shut again, and whispered, "Just go, OK?"

Barriss was quite for a long moment, then finally stood over him and said, "OK, so how are we going to handle this?"

Cody's eyes shot open, and stared at her. Barriss had her arms folded across her chest in her no-nonsense pose.

Cody took a deep breath. _Think, Cody, think._ It was easier to think when her arms were crossed across her chest like that, and he could see less of her. Cody took another moment to think it through. Barriss just stood over him patiently, waiting, a look of serene Jedi calm on her face.

"Can I go to the refresher?" Cody finally managed. "Could I take a shower?" His voice squeaked a bit at the end of his request, but at least he managed to get it out.

Barriss nodded her head, as she thought it through, "I was planning on having you getting you up to the refresher in the next couple of days anyway… So, yes, I could help you there. You'd have to remain seated the whole time you were in the shower-"

Cody turned beet-red as he didn't want to think about Barriss working out the logistics of what he would be doing in the shower. He closed his eyes and looked away for a moment. Barriss continued to talk, "-as there is no way you could stand that long. And, I'd have to be right outside the door, in case you need me."

Cody flushed an even deeper red, thinking of 'taking care of things' with Barriss right outside the door. No matter how he looked at it, it was downright embarrassing, almost humiliating. But, the alternative was hiding under his covers all night, tossing and turning, and things would just continue to get worse. Sometimes a man just had to swallow his pride and accept help when it was offered.

"Yes, uh, thank you, that's fine," he said, his voice still feeling dry and stuck in his throat. Without even being asked, Barriss brought a cup of water to his lips. Cody looked at her in surprise, but accepted the drink. He ended up draining the cup. He nodded his thanks.

"OK, I'll get things ready," she said, disappearing out of his bedroom. She reappeared a few minutes later. She helped him out of bed, carefully ignoring his 'state,' which was rather obvious in his medical lounge pants. Cody's legs trembled with weakness and could barely take his weight. He was surprised how strong Barriss was. She practically carried him all the way to the bathroom. She flipped the lid down on the refresher, and seated him there, while she adjusted the water in the shower. Then she helped him out of his blue lounge pants, her eyes carefully averted from the part of him causing him so much difficulties. She helped him back up, and into the shower. The water felt good as soon as it hit Cody's skin. It had been weeks since he'd been in a shower. She guided him to the chair she'd placed in the middle, and pointed out the shampoo, soap and razor, all within easy reach.

"Do you need anything else?"

Cody kept his eyes on Barriss' face, careful not to look anyplace else. Her nightgown was now soaked from helping him into the shower. He wanted to look—he wanted that very badly. _Honor_, Cody told himself. He kept his eyes focused on her face.

"No," Cody said, his voice hoarse. He wanted to tell her she'd done a great job. He wanted to tell her how amazing she was, but his voice had simply failed him.

Barriss closed the shower curtain, and he was alone. Cody blew out a breath, thinking that was harder anything he'd gone through in Command training. He closed his eyes, suddenly missing Rex all over again. This was not a story he could ever share with Trapper or anybody else within the 212th. It just didn't seem appropriate. The only one who could possibly have understood all of this would have been Rex. Cody threw his face back, and let the hot water soak into it. For a moment, he simply allowed tears to eek from his face, and gave into grieving for his lost friend. It was strange—the moments when the loss would hit him. Sometimes he felt he'd have a handle on the grief, and then other times the pain of losing Rex would just hit him so sharp and raw again. He wondered if he would ever truly get over it. Then, again, did he want to? Part of him was worried if he did, it would mean he would forget Rex. That frightened him more than anything. Rex was one of a kind, and Cody would honor his memory until he died.

Cody dropped his head back down, and reached for the shampoo bottle, his movements still stiff. He felt grateful he could move at all. He shampooed up his hair, enjoying the sheer pleasure of being in the shower again. It felt great to be getting thoroughly clean again. He reached for the razor. OK, a mirror would have been good, but he'd shaved plenty of times without. He shaved the best he could around the confines of the neck brace. He scrubbed the rest of his body, as much as he could reach. He let the water run over him, rinsing off the soap and shampoo. He sighed, blowing out a breath. He'd never taken such a long shower before, not even when he was on leave. He estimated he'd been in the shower almost ten minutes already. He'd apologize to Barriss when he got out for taking up so much of her time.

Then, having gotten everything else out of the way, well, he had to take care of that other thing. And, Barriss was right outside the door. He wondered if she'd changed or if she still wearing her nightgown—the one that had gotten soaked when she'd helped him into the shower… He remembered how she looked, backlit by the light in the hallway, peering in his room, asking him if he was OK. She was so beautiful… So amazing… So kind…

# # #

Barriss gasped, and sank down the ground. Cody probably didn't realize he was broadcasting his thoughts. It was only when he was in pain that the barriers between them were totally down.

"Oh, dear," Barriss murmured, as she was assaulted with images. She closed her eyes as the images washed over her. Wow. She was not naive when it came to the ways of men and women. Her Master had told her all about them, and she had both witnessed and assisted with childbirth. She had also seen women who had been victims of rape. Plus, she'd spent time in the Jedi Gardens… So, she was by no means 'innocent' when it came to how procreation occurred. But, this was— whoa! _Cody sees me as beautiful? He wants to-_

Barriss turned a deep shade of green, jumped up off the floor, and fled for the kitchen. No more waiting outside of the refresher door. She would fix herself a cup of tea, and just listen for the shower to be shut off.

Part of her wanted to completely block out the images from Cody, and part of her couldn't. Or, maybe didn't want to? She wasn't sure which. But, when Cody exploded into a thousand points of light, she felt it all the way in the kitchen.

"Oh my, oh!" Barriss said, clutching the kitchen counter for support, and almost dropping the hot kettle. She let it hit the stove with a clang, before she burned herself. OK, from a medical standpoint, she knew what _that_ was, but she had just never experienced one first-hand before. Or, er, second-hand through a mind-link before. That was a first. Or, er, a second. Oh, this was all so confusing. She wished she had somebody to discuss all of this with. She wished she had… Ahsoka. Barriss picked up the kettle again and with a shaking hand managed to get the hot water into a tea cup. But, she felt tiny dots of hot water splashing onto the back of her hand. She looked down, and realized it was coming from her. She wiped the back of her face, suddenly missing Ahsoka so fiercely. Why hadn't her Master and the Commando team found Ahsoka yet? She scrubbed at her eyes, and then laid her head down on the cool stone of the kitchen counter for a moment, composing herself.

"Barriss?" she heard Cody calling from the shower. "I'm, uh, done."

Barriss lifted her head up. "OK, Cody, I'll be right there," she called calmly, taking a bracing sip of her tea. She poured some water out of the faucet, quickly washing her face. She dried her face, and then headed to the refresher.

She opened the curtain, and shut off the water. She handed Cody two towels. He wrapped one around his waist, and used the other to dry off the best he could. He handed the towel back to her, and she finished drying him off. She helped him up, and the towel around his waist fell off. She caught it immediately with her Jedi reflexes, and tied it tightly and efficiently. It could have been awkward, but she didn't make it so.

"Did you have a good shower?" Barriss asked, sincerely.

Cody gave her a look, and then said, "You're kidding, right?"

Barriss gave him a stern look back, "I meant that how it sounded. It was your first shower in weeks."

Cody sighed, "Actually, yes. It did feel good to get clean again." Before they proceeded out of the shower, Cody stopped her, "Barriss, thank you. You were very… understanding about all of this."

Barriss did want to talk to Cody, because she'd thought of something she'd needed to say to him on this topic. But, it was still the middle of the night. It could wait until morning.

She smiled back at him. Even with the neck brace on, he looked good in the shower, just wearing a towel. He smelled good, too, with the soap and shampoo coming off his freshly scrubbed skin.

Ok, this was a very _un-Jedi_ line of thinking. She decided to bury those thoughts and pretend she'd never had them. No thinking about certain clone Commanders wearing just a towel. She helped him back to bed, again, mainly supporting him the whole way. She liked the way his muscles felt under her arms. He was warm from the shower. No, no, no! she did _not_ just have those thoughts.

As she helped get him back into bed, Cody said: "Are you OK, Barriss? Your face looks green again."

Barriss flushed, putting a hand up to her cheek, turning an even deeper shade of green, "No, no, I'm fine. Just hot, I think. Er, I mean, it's a warm night."

Cody gave her a puzzled look, "The medical center is climate-controlled."

"Good night, Cody," Barriss said, heading quickly toward the door.

"Good night, Barriss. Thank you, again," Cody called from his bed.

Barriss gave him a quick smile and shut off his lights. Cody immediately fell asleep, but his dreams immediately picked up where his waking mind had left off. He had a restless night dreaming of a certain Jedi commander who turned green when she blushed. His dreams were filled with soap, shampoo and nightgowns. When he woke up in the morning, he needed a shower again.

"Shab." 

He vowed to start walking again on his own as soon as possible.

# # #


	56. Chapter 56 Life on Ando

A/N: Hello! After an overly long hiatus, I'm happy to bring you a long string of new chapters to this story. I've spent the past couple of weeks writing and completed 100 new pages. So, you can expect a number of new chapters in the next couple of weeks. Please note one small correction: Travis rank should have been a 'Lieutenant' this whole time, so that he ranks below Rex. Thanks, as always, to Sachariah for the extra pair of eyes in being my beta-reader!

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 56**

Ahsoka wasn't sure if it was day or night anymore. She had initially tried to keep track of the days after her capture, but quickly the days and nights blurred together into one endless haze of shadowy grey despair. She had no idea if she was even on a planet, or just a large prison ship. Deprived of her senses, it was much more difficult to tune and sense things. She was trying to remember how to use her Togrutan senses, without relying on the Force, but found the lack of her powers a continual distraction.

After what seemed like a week, or maybe ten days, their captors finally started bringing around both food and water.

_I guess that's a good thing that they're finally feeding us_, Ahsoka mused. She pursed her lips and stared forlornly up at the dull grey ceiling of her cell, _I guess it also means they plan on keeping us around for a while… _She dug one of her bound feet into the floor, bored, pushing the dirt around. _Still- I suppose that's good news no matter how you look at it. As long as you are still alive, there is always hope. _She paused.

_Hope? _Ahsoka tossed the word around in her brain as she continued to push her feet around restlessly. _The moniker of the Jedi. Hope. Hope. Hope. No, actually, I'm not so sure I actually believe in 'hope' anymore… _She kicked idly at a small pebble. _Fat lot of good it did us on Kaz'hariah! _She tried to locate the pebble so that she could kick it again. _Hope wasn't enough to save Rex!_

Ahsoka would have laughed out loud with bitterness at the word, except she didn't want to wake up Appo. Although, he might not have stirred anyway. His fever was getting worse, and he was staying awake for shorter and shorter periods of time. It was all Ahsoka could do sometimes to rouse him when the food came around. He would force himself up, and then help Ahsoka eat and drink. Their food consisted of a single bowl of gluey bluish gruel, which they drank directly from the bowl. Appo always insisted that Ahsoka eat first, and held the bowl up to her lips so that she could swallow the gruel. If she took less than her share, he would shake his head and implore her with the beautiful, brown eyes that reminded her so painfully of Rex.

"Sorry, Commander, you're not done," and he would insist that she finish fully half of the ration.

They were also given a bowl of water, which to the credit of the Kaz'harians, looked decently clear. Ahsoka kept trying to convince him to drink more of the water, to help with his fever, but Appo always shook his head at her, and pressed her to finish her share.

After they ate, and he pushed the bowls back toward the entrance of their cell, Appo would insist on still working on loosening her bonds. After a few minutes, he would inevitably pass out again, often passing out as he was working. She'd ease him into as comfortable position as she could, often squirming out from underneath him when he'd collapse directly on top of her. Then, she would scoot back over to the dark corner of their cell that she'd claimed as her own space. She would be alone again for the seemingly endless grey hours that had become her existence. Her body no longer seemed to want to sleep. So, she would just lean back against the dark wall of her cell, lost in her thoughts. Eventually, she turned to meditation to pass the time. At the Temple, she used to despise meditation. There always seemed to be something more exciting to do, and meditation was keeping her from doing it. But, now, since she could not sleep, and there was truly nothing else to do, meditation actually had a sort of appeal to it. She could not submerse and surround herself in the Force as she meditated, but she found she could still explore her subconscious.

At first, her thoughts were dark, filled with bitterness and despair over Kaz'hariah, and the pain of losing Rex. Then, she found her mind submersing itself into mental escapism, losing itself in happy memories to block out the current reality. But, eventually, her mind balanced itself out, and settled upon a piece of useful information. Before he'd been taken away by the Kaz'harians, Master Kenobi had mentioned that if one wore a Force collar long enough, 'the collar did have its' limitations.' What did he mean by that? While she was meditating, for the first time, Ahsoka took a greater interest in exploring the mechanics of the bulky, burdensome, electronic device fitted around her neck. _Master Kenobi, what were you trying to tell me?_

# # #

Rex scowled as he studied the datapad in his hands. He made a note onto the pad, tapped his finger against the side thoughtfully, and then scowled again.

Karyn came up behind him, where he was seated at the kitchen table in her house, and handed him a cup of caf. "Here, you look like you could use this."

"Thanks," Rex said, accepting the cup. "Who would have thought that working out the operational and planning details for a dinner for 100 clones-"

"-and 500 townspeople…" Karyn reminded him.

"Yes," Rex grumbled, "and 500 townspeople, would be so complex?" He pointed to his datapad, "So, I came up with a list of items that Travis and his men could handle, like you suggested." He held it up for her approval. Karyn leaned over his shoulder to read everything over. She leaned way in as she read the list. Rex looked up, raising an eyebrow at how near to him she was getting. She seemed to be crowding way into his personal space, but he didn't say anything. "Will this plan work for you?"

Karyn gave him a smile full of promise, "Oh, yes, this arrangement will work out for me just fine."

Rex pulled back and away, putting some space between them. He checked his chrono, "Time to go. Need to meet up with Travis." He took a final sip of his caf, and clipped the datapad to his utility belt. He slipped his helmet on his head, and headed out the door.

Karyn watched him go, and sighed.

# # #

Travis led a team of about 50 able-bodied troopers who jogged in from the crash site. Rex met them about two blocks from Karyn's house, just as they were coming down the street. Travis put up his hand, and brought the group of men to a halt. They removed their helmets, and began getting water out of their canteens.

"Have a good trip in?" Rex asked Travis.

"Outstanding," Travis said, after he finished getting some water. "Love the countryside here. A man could really grow to like this place."

"Wish I could have run in with you," Rex said, looking up at the clear skies. "Perfect day for it. How long did it take you?"

"Under two hours," Travis said, stretching out his muscles a bit as he spoke to Rex. "But," he shot a look back toward the others, and then said, "yes, well, we took it _easy_ since these lazy grunts have mostly just been sitting around for weeks now and, of course, I didn't want to push them too hard." Travis winked at Rex and waited for a reaction. A couple of the troopers within hearing (or lip-reading) distance took exception to the comment and shot Travis a challenging look. He grinned back, hooked his thumbs in his belt, and said casually, "If I was by myself, I would have done it in 90 minutes."

Another trooper nearby, also in Galactic Marine armor, shot Travis an even look, "90 minutes, Lieutenant? You're on."

Travis pointed to him, and nodded, accepting the challenge. He turned back to Rex.

Rex shook his head again, smiling, but, at the same time feeling a twinge of envy at both Travis and his fellow Marine. A two-hour run through the countryside on a perfectly cold day would have felt amazing. But, once again showing Travis how much faster he was than him would have felt even better.

"So, the rest of the men are back at the camp awaiting transport," Travis was saying, "So, you said you needed us to divide into work crews to help get ready for this little party of yours?"

Rex handed Travis a data pad, "Yes, this _little_ party. I detailed everything for you."

Travis smirked, "Of course you did."

Rex ignored the comment, and began running through everything on it. "Right, so, as you said, we'll need several men on transport duty to get everybody into town. Several of the women from Ando have volunteered their speeders, and also want to help with the transporting—they were most enthusiastic about wanting to help, I might add."

Travis chuckled, "Ah, does sounds like a more entertaining afternoon than shooting tinnies." He took the datapad, and began running his fingers over the screen, scanning through all the action items.

"There's more," Rex said, pointing to the screen, "then, I need a crew of men down at what's called 'The Fishermen's Hall' to set up tables and chairs, and also make arrangements for any of our troopers with special seating needs, like the bio-beds. I'll let you decide where those would fit best in the hall, since you delight in figure out details like that." Rex tapped the screen, pulling up a 3-D diagram of the hall.

Travis studied it thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side, and Rex could see he was already working out al the logistics.

"Right, well," Rex continued, "just for tonight, the men in the bio-beds will be housed at Karyn's clinic. So, preparations need to be made over there in advance. She said the celebration could go late, so she wants everything ready. But, come tomorrow, she's already had offers elsewhere in the town to act as regular host families for them."

"Really?" Travis' voice conveyed his surprise, "these people are fully aware the complexities involved?"

"Yes," Rex said, "Karyn was very explicit in explaining what fully paralyzed meant in explaining things to the families interested in taking them in."

Travis shook his head, "A very interesting people these Andosians."

"Yes, well you'll meet more of them tonight. Oh, and Hok will be there tonight, as well."

"Hok!" Travis looked very pleased.

"Yes, well he was the whole inspiration behind this whole set-up, since he is currently bedbound and didn't want to miss anything. I spent time with him this morning."

"How's he doing?"

"Very chewed up-can barely move. But, never seen the man happier."

"Odd."

"Not when you meet the woman who pulled him out of the sea."

Travis chewed his lip thoughtfully, "His fellow scouts did say some interesting stuff had happened after he was pulled in the water, but they couldn't see it clearly after the fog rolled in. I'm sure they'll be anxious to see him again," Travis cocked his head, "So, she's quite the looker, then?"

Rex shook his head, dismissively, "I don't notice these things."

"Yes, you do," Travis insisted. "You're as much Jango as the rest of us, Rex. Admit it."

Rex pointed to the datapad, "Could we focus on work, Travis?"

Travis grinned, "I'm multi-tasking, Rex." His eyes had still been scanning the datapad the whole time he had been verbally jousting back and forth with Rex. "I've got it," he said, handing the datapad back to Rex.

"Questions?" Rex asked, clipping the datapad to his belt.

"Nope. You know me, logistics guy." Travis smiled, and glanced around the village curiously, taking it in, "You know, I'm looking forward to meeting more of these intriguing Andosians, after meeting the women warriors yesterday…" he inclined his head back toward the rest of the men, who were milling around talking, and drinking water, "…as are the rest of the men, I'm sure." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand, "So, Captain, why don't you lead the way to the Fisherman's Hall… " He leaned close to Rex's ear, which was probably a futile gesture with so many deaf troopers who could read lips, "…between you and me, no work was getting done this morning anyway."

Rex scoffed, "Was that because they were excited, or because _you_ were so excited, Travis?"

Travis made a look like he was mock-offended, but then just grinned good-naturedly, "Hey, I think today's work detail might be a nice change of pace for everyone."

"Speak for yourself," Rex grumbled, "I think a prefer good battle."

Travis squinted up at the skies, as if searching for something, "Ah, well, maybe we can round up some more pirates for you to shoot?" After a moment, he shook his head, "Nope. Sadly, it seems we did much too good a job blasting them all out of the sky yesterday. Not a pirate to be seen anywhere in the skies today." He clapped Rex on the back, "Seems we are stuck on party planning duties, after all."

"Seems so," Rex agreed with a sigh.

Travis smiled at Rex, "Cheer up. I'm here. How can you have anything but a good time?"

"How indeed?" Rex said, shaking his head. "OK, I think the men are rested, let's move out."

Travis lifted up one arm, and brought the men back to attention. "All yours, Captain," he said.

"Thank you," Rex said, giving Travis a respectful nod. He turned and gave the signal to move out, leading the group down the street toward the Fisherman's Hall. The men easily marched in formation, keeping their lines perfect, and their steps in sync with each other. Each house they passed, curtains opened up and faces peeked curiously out. The men pretended not to notice, but Rex knew that with their 360 viewcams in their helmets, they saw everything and were enjoying the attention. Rex had a feeling things were about to change for many of these men. He thought back to some of the call-ins he'd made to the men who had been wounded in the battle yesterday. Many of them had sounded unusually happy this morning. And, Det had already requested if he could stay on the planet permanently. So, if just a handful of clones, had made such an impression, Rex wondered what a 100 clones at once would do.

# # #

Rex was exhausted and the dinner hadn't even started yet. Maybe he'd luck out and the pirates _would_ attack again, cancelling the whole event. Event planning was definitely more stressful and tiring than battle. He commed Travis to get an update on the arrivals of the rest of the men.

"Right on, schedule," Travis reported, with his usual confident tone, "No, actually, we're _early_. See? Told you I had it all covered."

"No doubt. I've always had the utmost faith in you, Travis."

Travis snorted, "Not likely, but, it's nice of you to say so, anyway."

"How are the men in the bio-beds?"

"They came in about an hour ago. Karyn came along just in case there were any complications," Rex noticed Travis' voice changed slightly in pitch when he referred to the town's leader and only doctor. "But, everything went smoothly. "We were able to transport them smoothly, with no issues. One of the guys, he's an ARC trooper, did you know that?"

"Yes, I met him yesterday. He worked with Commander Bly."

"He can use his arms, and he's got these cybernetic leg things. Karyn's going to work with him on using his legs again. He just kind of gave up on them but he can actually walk if he uses those things. They're in his gear bag. Karyn took a look at them and they survived the crash just fine. He just gave up on using them at some point. Karyn said she will keep after him."

Rex noticed again that Travis' voice took on great enthusiasm when he spoke about Karyn.

"Good to hear. Oh, meant to tell you, I met up with a research scientist when I visited Hok, works on a medical vessel, based out of Andoville. Said some of her research could possibly be of benefit to us."

"That is an interesting turn of events," Travis said, clearly intrigued, "anything for hearing loss, by any chance?"

"Not sure," Rex said, "but, Hok can partially hear out of one ear now. They're not sure why, though. Might have more to do with his getting sucked down underwater rapidly—all the pressure on his ears."

"He can hear again?"

"He said it cuts in and out, but yes."

"First, you with the leg, which they said was irreversible, and now Hok, who was told he would never hear again… What is with this place?" Travis was in absolute disbelief.

"Yeah, well, my leg still feels like it's half-asleep all the time, and Hok is so chewed up he can barely move. So, it's not as glamorous as it sounds, Travis," Rex amended.

"I need to talk to Hok," Travis said, with the conviction of a man on a mission.

"Later," Rex said firmly, "how many more men do we still have to transport in?"

"I'm just headed back out now with a speeder, and can take in another four. Three other speeders are headed out with me—this should be our last run."

"Excellent, Travis. You _are_ ahead of schedule. Well done. OK, well, I'm just in the kitchen at the Fisherman's Hall helping with the menu. I'll see you over here when you get done."

"You're in the _kitchen_?"

Rex hissed in annoyance, "I can't exactly move tables and chairs, can I? And, I'm certainly not just going to stand around and boss people around."

"You always have been hands-on," Travis admitted, grudgingly. Then, he couldn't resist adding in, "of course, now those hands are in the _kitchen_."

"What's wrong with the kitchen? Food preparation is a very honorable-" Rex growled with annoyance, "I can't believe I'm even having this argument with you! Do you need anything else, Travis? I actually have work to get done here."

"No, no, don't let me keep you from your honorable kitchen."

Rex took his helmet back off and sighed, shaking his head.

Several of the women working in the kitchen with him, stopped what they were doing, and turned toward him with concern.

"Is everything alright, Captain?" asked one of the women.

"Huh? Oh, no, it's fine. It's just my second in command, Lieutenant Travis. He's rather amused by the fact that I'm, working in, a, uh, kitchen."

All the women in the kitchen stopped, and looked at Rex, "You've never cooked before, Captain?"

Rex shook his head, "Before today? No."

This caused a flurry of attention, "Oh, well, it's wonderful that you're pitching in to help now, especially considering that you're _injured_."

"Are you sure you don't need to sit down? Do you want me to get you a stool to sit down on?"

Someone rushed forward to present him with a place to sit down while he worked. Rex waved them off. He'd strategically placed himself in a corner where could lean while worked, plus still see out in the assembly hall itself and keep an eye on the troopers still working there setting up tables and chairs.

"Uh, no, thank you. I'm fine here. Since it's my men that are being fed tonight, I wanted to pitch in with the food preparation." Rex continued chopping vegetables and adding them to the large stack he'd made already.

His statement was met with a bunch of "oooooh's" by the women in the kitchen, and other pleased sentiments.

One of the ladies, Rex thought she might have been called, Imola, came over and wrapped an arm around him, "Well, I just wanted to personally thank you. We aren't used to men helping out this much." She planted a long, slow lingering kiss on his cheek and then went back to what she was doing.

Rex was taken aback, and then blushed furiously. This wasn't how they said thank you in the GAR. He wasn't used to being thanked at all for something he saw as his duty. He could see that being around civilians was going to take some adjusting to. He wasn't sure at all how to respond, but he wanted to slam his helmet back on.

"Uhh," Rex looked around at the kitchen full of women, most of which were smiling at him. He felt completely at a loss for words, "uhhh…" he looked down at the pile of vegetables he'd been chopping, "are these, uh, rations, sized, to, uh, adequate, proportions?"

Several of the women chuckled, and Rex cocked his head to the side, wondering what was so amusing. One of the women came over, and pressed herself right up against him. Rex wondered why she needed to get _so_ close. She put her hand right over his, and began chopping the vegetables with him, her body practically entwined with his.

"Yours are still a bit big, Captain," she said, her voice a bit husky, "now, some like it _big_," several of the other women twittered at this comment, and Rex looked up puzzled, wondering again what was so amusing. But, then the women sighed, and looked back down at the vegetables. She continued to chop, guiding Rex's hand up and down, methodically, "but, for the purposes of our seafood stew, smaller pieces of vegetables work better. See? Just like this."

She pressed her body a little bit closer to Rex. Seemingly against his will, Rex's lower body began to respond to all of her closeness and wriggling. _Kriff. Travis was right. His body was just as much Jango as the rest of them. No, that wasn't it. It just had been way too long since he'd seen Ahsoka, and when he had they'd always been interrupted before they could- No! Don't think about now! Not helping the situation!_

Mortified, he began to quickly untangle himself from her tangled embrace, "Uh, thank you, I think I have it now." He used his hands to push himself down the counter a few steps away from the curvaceous woman and her wiggling hips. "Thank you, uh…" Rex struggled to remember her name, "…Se'bee, for your, uh, help." Rex reached for his cutting board and slid it down closer to himself.

Se'bee pouted and sidled closer to Rex again. "Oh, come on Captain, you know, what they say about teamwork? It would be faster if we worked together, you know…" she purred, pressing herself up against him again.

Rex puts his hands on the counter, and pushed himself down a few more steps. He was rapidly running out of counter. "Well, there's so much to do. I don't want to take you away from what you were doing," Rex said, quickly. He turned his face away from the aggressive woman, hoping she could take a hint.

"Oh, come on, Captain. Why are you so shy? I'm just trying to help…" she started to slide toward him again.

"Se'bee! Leave him alone!" chastised a voice from the doorway.

Rex looked up with relief to see Karyn standing in the doorway, looking absolute irate. Right behind her was Travis, grinning from ear-to-ear, having obviously witnessed at least part of the pursuit.

Se'bee looked suitably chastised and slid back to where she had been working, head down. "Sorry, Karyn."

Karyn proceeded to chew out the kitchen staff in a tone worthy of the sternest GAR field officer, "The rest of you, get back to work! You volunteered for a work detail, yet all I see is the whole lot of you harassing the Captain! He is a guest in our town, and shall be treated as such! Now, keep your mitts off and him and get back to work! You all have 500 Andosians and 100 very hungry soldiers to feed! Get chopping!"

Every women in the kitchen immediately turned around and the room was filled with the sounds of knives pounding against cutting boards.

Rex met Travis' eyes, figuring this would be a good time to make a strategic withdrawal from the kitchen. Travis immediately took the hint.

"Captain, I've completed every item on the work details you ordered. Would you please inspect my completed work?"

Rex cleared his throat, "Very good, Lieutenant Travis, lead the way." Rex was about to take a step, and suddenly realized he was way down counter from his crutches.

Immediately spotting his dilemma, Travis swept into the kitchen, smoothly saying: "Smells delicious ladies, can't wait to try it."

He stepped over to the corner where Rex had left his crutches and picked them both up. With perfect clone precision, he tossed them both to Rex who smoothly caught them. Rex nodded, and they donned their helmets and exited, followed by Karyn.

Rex switched to internal comms, "Thanks Travis. I owe you one."

"Yes, you do," Travis said, "and, rest assured I will be gloating over it every moment until you pay up."

# # #

Rex's men had done an excellent job with the table arrangements, managing to maximize the space, yet still have the hall look orderly and efficient. The chairs were in perfectly neat rows, and despite some of the tables being different sizes, they also had a clean look of precision in their layout. Even the plastine tableware had a crisp look in the neatness in which it had been set out at each and every spot. As Karyn, Travis and Rex did a final inspection around the hall, Karyn shook her head in wonder, "Absolutely amazing," Karyn said, looking at row after row of orderly perfection, "well, if your men decide to give up soldiering, they would do very well in the restaurant business."

Travis chuckled, and put his hands on his hips as he looked around. For him, it had been a most satisfying day. All this attention-to-detail was what he did best.

To Rex, though, Karyn's comment hit home. Give up soldiering? What were his men going to do now that they were on Ando? Well, one day at a time, they all survived yesterday, which was a miracle in itself. All of his men would be well fed tonight, and have a safe, warm place to sleep. Come tomorrow, they'd work on figuring out what they all were going to do for the rest of their lives…

Rex turned his attention back to the conversation. Karyn was explaining to Travis about the main course that was going to be served—a traditional Andosian seafood stew in a spicy vegetable broth. Originally, the meal was going to be a potluck, but then when Karyn learned the men had been eating very little for days, she thought a heavy meal might be too much. The desserts would still be potluck, since the women in town excelled in creating confections. She'd also discovered through Rex that the troopers had a real sweet tooth.

Travis was explaining to Karyn some of the thought process behind his layout for the room. He pulled up a diagram on his wrist gauntlet and projected it in the air, showing her a 3-D projection of the room, and then pointing out very aspects behind his plan. Rex rolled his eyes. The way Travis was going through the whole thing, he could have been planning an attack. Rex could see that Karyn was very impressed, though. She was thoroughly engaged in her conversation with Travis, and Travis seemed to be totally in his element as well.

"Now, you can see that I located the bio-beds here near the kitchen. It's a bit noisy, but it's also the warmest place in the hall," Travis pointed out, "There's a portable bed there for Hok, and then also for Torch. Our two medics have offered to take turns sittings with him, to monitor his head injury, so I have put seating for them here," Travis pointed with the diagram, "along with a small table here, should they wish to take their meal here. But, I have also arranged seating for them elsewhere in the hall. Now, with regards to the other men who need special seating arrangements, I have placed…"

Rex's mind began to drift as Travis continued to brief Karyn on the details for the evening. Could he just get his dinner to go and then sleep for a really long time and not have anyone bother him? Rex snorted. Hah! What were the odds of that happening? But, then again, the last time he had the chance to sleep a long time without anyone bothering him he was at ArmyMed and he absolutely hated it. It was the most miserable time in his absolute life. So, given the choice, he'd rather be sleep-deprived, over-worked, and have too many responsibilities all the time. It was a much better life. This was who he was, and who he wanted to be until he died. The only thing missing was Ahsoka.

Rex half-tuned in to the conversation between Karyn and Travis again. The two were deep in discussion about who was going to be sitting where. They worked very well together, as they both seemed to thrive on working things out to the tiniest detail. Rex was totally bored with the conversation already. So, he did what he always did when a strategic discussion was mind-numbingly dull—he thought about Ahsoka.

His gut was aching with worry over her and where she might be right now. They still seemed to have a connection, which Rex grudgingly had to admit was an actual Force connection, much as he kept trying to deny having any such access to it. Right now, it could be the only thing that could save Ahsoka's life. And, if he could find Ahsoka, then the rest of the 501st should be there, too. How was he going to get there? What was he going to do once he got there? He was just one man, and as of now, he still couldn't even walk. And, he still had no idea of where Ahsoka even was. But, he was going to find her, even if it took the rest of his life-

"Rex, does that work for you?"

"Uh…"

Both Karyn and Travis were looking at him expectantly. He'd completely tuned them out. Normally, when he zoned out during briefings, he still at least kept half an ear listening so he could come up with some kind of intelligible response. This time, he'd been so focused on his worry for Ahsoka that he had no idea about what had just been discussed. Well, it was probably just some mundane detail and Travis had probably handled it with his usual efficiency.

Rex cleared his throat, and said in his deep baritone, "Uh, yes, that's fine."

Karyn smiled brightly, "Excellent! We all look forward to hearing you speak!"

"Speak?" Rex repeated.

Travis cut in on his private comlink, "You weren't paying attention to a word we said, were you?"

"What did I just agree to?"

"You are giving a speech after dinner."

Rex moaned.

Travis laughed, "What? You address the men all the time."

"That's different. These are civilians! I have no idea to say to a bunch of civvies!"

Travis continued to laugh heartily.

"Stop laughing in my ear!" Rex barked.

"Want me to draft you some speaking notes?" Travis offered. "_I_ actually enjoy public speaking."

"Figures you do," Rex grumbled, "then why don't _you_ do it?"

"Oh no," Travis said, still chuckling, enjoying the moment, "she asked _you_. You are the Captain, after all."

Karyn walked away to go take care of another detail, and Rex took advantage of the opportunity to smack Travis hard in the chest plates. The noise made a resounding 'clack' that echoed in the hall. Travis doubled over. Karyn turned around, puzzled, to see what the sound was. Travis quickly straightened up, and they both waved. Karyn turned back around again, and Travis smacked Rex on his uninjured shoulder, the thwacking resounding loudly. Rex began to stumble backwards from the blow. Karyn turned back around again, just as Travis quickly grabbed Rex and steadied him. They both waved to her again.

"You're a lot more fun to hit when you're not injured," Travis grumbled.

"Noted," Rex said, "so, you'll write my kriffin' speech?"

Travis laughed, "Already have the whole thing composed in my brilliant head."

"Just send it to me, OK?"

"So, you can pass the work off as your own like you did when we were cadets?"

"That's not fair, Travis. I helped you just as many times as you helped me. We got each other through Command School. Come on, the speech, please?"

"Did you just say, _please_?"

"Travis!"

"So, what were you thinking about that had you so distracted?"

Rex hesitated, unwilling to answer.

Travis scrutinized him for a long moment, "Hang on, does this go back to what we were discussing last night around the campfire? When you were stuck on that planet-"

"No," Rex said immediately. "Don't you have work to do?"

Travis laughed, "Actually, yes I do. I need to write _your_ speech. Then, I need to transport over our guys in the bio-beds, who are at Karyn's at the moment, and Hok, and the others, and then…" he checked his chrono, "I think it will be dinnertime."

Rex glanced down at his chrono, not surprisingly, they were precisely on schedule. He looked back at the kitchen, where the women were still busy with the final food preparation.

"So, you going back in there?" Travis asked, noticing his glance.

"Never," Rex said, shaking his head, "come on, I'm going with you. Between you and me, those women are some of the more terrifying beings I've ever had to encounter in my eleven years, and I've seen some strange things in my time with Skywalker."

"Yeah?" Travis asked, as they made their way out of the hall, "tell me about it."

"Ever hear of Asaj Ventress? She was crazy like them. Although, it seems to me that those women in the kitchen here were even more aggressive…"

# # #

Much to Rex's relief, the evening was already halfway over. These types of events were totally not his thing. He was already completely bored of making small talk, and his face ached from smiling politely and _not _yawning. Now that he'd downed three helpings of seafood stew, he just wanted to rest his head down on the table and go to sleep. Would it be rude if he put his helmet back on? He could sleep sitting up. He'd done it plenty of times before. That way, he could look like he was paying attention and doing this whole banquet thing, but in reality, he could be sleeping, which was what he really wanted to be doing. Unfortunately, Karyn kept talking to him, so he kept having to come up with appropriate responses. The small talk was prevented him from napping, and, he figured it was probably rude to engage in such dinnertime conversation with your helmet on. Rex had never dealt with civilians for any length of time before. Who knew it could be so complex, and so absolutely _exhausting_?

Rex's gaze swept around the hall, checking on all of his troopers. Karyn and Travis had decided to intersperse the clones with the townspeople, rather than simply seat them together in one big group. Karyn suggested seating the troopers at the same tables as their host families, wherever possible, so they could get to know each other. Many of the troopers were shy at first, staring down at their empty soup bowls as their waited for the meal to begin. Other troopers were making an effort to engage in conversation. As the evening went on, more and more laughter began to ring out throughout the hall. Rex's gaze fell upon the troopers, such as Det, who had been injured the day before, and already spent a night in the village. He was ignoring everything going on around him, and had eyes only for the woman seated directly across from him. He'd introduced the woman earlier to Rex, a shy but becoming woman, named Mira. Rex recognized the heated looks and intensity between Det and Mira. He felt a deep pang of heartache as he intensely missed Ahsoka. This event would be so much more tolerable if Ahsoka were here sharing the meal with him-

"Ah, that's it, then, time for our speeches," Karyn said, checking her chrono.

Rex looked down at his chrono. She was just like Travis, punctual down to the second. He nodded, the sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could leave.

Karyn stood up, and called for attention in that same loud, no-nonsense voice that she'd used to chastise the kitchen crew earlier in the day. Conversation quietly ceased in the hall, and all eyes turned to the front table.

Karyn cleared her throat, "As anyone here in Ando can tell you, I'm a doctor first and not much of a politician. So, you'll never here a long speech coming out of me."

Rex breathed a silent sigh of relief at that. He'd heard enough long speeches from the Jedi to last him a lifetime.

Karyn extended her hands graciously, "On behalf of all Andosians, well, all 500 or so of us," this prompted laughter from the townspeople assembled, "I just wanted to officially welcome you to Ando." There was a hearty round of applause, and the townspeople at the tables smiled and shook hands with their guests officially welcoming them to Ando. Several people walked over to the corner where the men in the bio-beds were to shake their hands, and welcome them to Ando. She shook hands with Rex, and then gave him a hug. Rex felt that she held onto the hug for just a lingering moment too long. Karyn held up her hands calling for quiet, and the hall immediately quieted. "As I told your Captain this morning, I hope we can establish a lasting friendship between us, and that you might decide to stay here on Ando."

This announcement caused an excited gasp of surprise amongst the men, and several pleased smiles from those who'd already spent the night in the village.

Karyn looked around the hall, making eye contact with all of the troopers there. "Most importantly, I wanted to thank each and everyone of you for saving us from the pirates yesterday, and, for the future contributions I know that all of you will make to our town as most valued and welcomed members of our community." This statement was met with thunderous applause by everyone there. Karyn waited until the applause died down, and ended with, "I'd like you to make yourselves at home, and invite you to enjoy the hospitality of Andoville," she turned to Rex, "Captain?"

Rex pushed up from the table, and balanced on his good leg, "Yes. , Thank you, Karyn," he could feel the heat of Travis' gaze on him, mentally pushing him not to screw this up. He gave Karyn a gracious nod, and focused on remembering the comments Travis had written for him. "On behalf of Lieutenant Travis, and myself," Rex nodded respectfully toward Travis, who nodded back, "and the rest of the men of the Ando Independent Legion," the men immediately cheered upon hearing that name said out loud. Rex put one hand signaling for quiet, and the men instantly silenced. "It was our honor to be able to help yesterday. But, we didn't win that battle alone." Rex turned to face Karyn, remembering Travis' choreography notes, "your women warriors were right by our side. We won that battle together."

His men began cheering, applauding the sentiment, and then all his men that were able to get to their feet did so, applauding the women warriors of Ando. After a moment, Rex signaled for them to be seated, which they all did with perfect synchronicity.

"So, we thank you for your hospitality, and," Rex then swept his gaze around the room searching out the eyes of all of his men, with a warning look, "hope we can prove to be model guests."

Rex nodded back at Karyn, "That is all. Thank you." Rex resumed his seat.

Rex stole a glance over at Travis, who nodded at him, and then smiled.

"OK, then," Karyn clapped her hands together, signaling to the people in the kitchen, "let's have dessert!"

There was a great cheer from Rex's men at the mention of sweets, which prompted laughter from the women of Ando. It was a good icebreaker, and helped get the conversation flowing again at all the tables. Rex went to go seek out Mako, and make sure he got some cake.

# # #

Mako was still sitting with Torch, who had regained consciousness from his head injury the evening before, but couldn't sit upright for any length of time. One of the other troopers brought a spare chair over for Rex, and he sat down next to Torch and Mako.

Rex talked with Torch for a long time, catching him up on everything that had happened while he'd been unconsciousness. Torch eventually tired out and fell asleep.

"He still sleeps a lot," Mako said, "Lance said that's normal with a head injury like his. The town doctor, Karyn, said she wants him to stay with her tonight at her clinic. She wants to monitor him from now on. She seems like a very good doctor."

"She is," Rex said, "I can vouch for that. Hey Mako, did you go and sit with your host family at all?"

Mako shrugged, "For a few minutes." He looked down and sighed, "But, I felt really awkward." He looked at Rex, pleading for understanding, "talking to women, it's really hard." He looked around at the hall where some of the men were laughing, and obviously very much enjoying the company of the women of Ando. "I'm not very good at it."

Rex laughed sympathetically, "Well, if it's any consolation, Mako. I've been trying to dodge the women of Ando all day myself." Rex decided to leave out the finer details behind that statement.

"Really, sir?" Mako said, brightening up.

Rex nodded, "Yes, I found it all to be very, ah, overwhelming. Just not used to being around this many women after life in the GAR."

Mako hooked a thumb over to where Hok was telling his story, surrounded by his fellow scouts, and several others who'd come over to hear the tale, "Hok and the others don't seem to mind it."

"But, you're not Hok. You need to follow your own path. Just like you did when you realized becoming a medic was right for you. Everything at your own pace, Mako. Don't feel you have to do everything like these guys," Rex nodded his head toward where Hok was holding court, "just to fit in. You're doing great just being Mako."

"Is that how you've succeeded all this time, sir?" Mako asked, earnestly, "always just doing your own thing?"

Rex thought about it the question, giving it serious thought, then nodded, "Yes, Mako. I have."

Mako looked very thoughtful, "Thank you, sir. That helps a great deal."

Rex clapped him on the shoulder, as he thought of something else, "Having good friends to watch your back makes all the difference, too."

Mako cocked his head to the side, and looked at Rex's hand on his shoulder, "Are we friends, sir?"

Rex nodded, "I'd like it if we were, Mako. I came over to make sure you got cake."

Mako's eyes widened, and he smiled, "I did hear mention of dessert. I was hoping there would be cake."

"Many different kinds, I hear. Something of a specialty in this town."

Mako nodded his head thoughtfully, "I guess I could grow to like it here then."

# # #

After sampling several different types of cake with Mako, Rex worked his way back over to the head table. Karyn seemed to be impatiently awaiting his return. She held up a large piece of cake, and presented it to him, proudly, "I saved this piece especially for you."

Rex was about to refuse. He didn't think it was possible, but he'd actually reached his capacity of sweet things for the evening.

"I made it myself, and I can't wait to see what you think of it," Karyn looked at him expectantly.

"Uh, OK," Rex said, resigned, accepting the large slice of cake, "it looks, uh, very, uh, nice."

Karyn leaned in toward him and began pointing out the various layers of the cake, explaining what was in them. It was getting very noisy in the hall, so she leaned in she could be heard. "So, do you like it?" she asked, her face pressed close to Rex as he chewed.

"Yes, it's, uh… flavorful," Rex said, wishing he could covertly consult Travis and come up with more witty commentary. He just wasn't much good at this sort of event. Wasn't it time to leave yet?

"Wait, you have a little piece stuck on your lip here," Karyn said, reaching her fingers up, to wipe the piece off. Her fingers lingered on his lips.

_OK, getting into my personal space again_, Rex thought. _Totally wouldn't mind if you backed off a bit._

But, he didn't want to be rude, so he just tolerated her touch, and again wished the evening could be over. To Rex's relief, she finally removed her fingertips.

"So, Captain," Karyn said, "I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work in helping pull this event off. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Uh, that's OK," Rex said, hoping the conversation would soon be over, "but, really, the thanks should go to Travis. He was the one who handled the implementation of the logistics. I just drew up the initial plan. Travis is much better with this sort of thing than I am," Rex tried to glance over at Travis, but someone was currently standing up and blocking his view.

Karyn placed her hand on Rex's arm, and smiled sweetly at him, "No, I mean it, Rex. You've been working hard all day, ever since you woke up. You were injured yesterday. I should have insisted you rest some. You really are amazing."

OK, Rex really didn't like the way this conversation was going. "No. I'm not. Not amazing at all. And, I'm fine. Don't need rest. Really I'm just fine," Rex said, even though he was exhausted. He just wanted the conversation to be over.

Karyn laughed, "You seem to think you're indestructible, Captain! But, I know, better!" she wagged a finger at him, "I'm your doctor!" she whispered to him, teasingly, "I've seen under your armor, you know."

Rex turned bright red. _Kriff, this conversation just keeps getting worse. _He suddenly had the strong sense someone was staring at him. He quickly turned his head to the side. The view was unobstructed now, and Travis was giving him a hard glare that could have frozen the seas of Kamino.

_Travis, what's wrong with you? _Rex thought with confusion.

"So, Captain, have you tried this Andoan sweetfruit?" Karyn asked, turning Rex's head toward her and pressing something up to Rex's lips.

"What?" Rex said with confusion, his attention still on Travis.

"It's very sweet. Try it," Karyn coaxed, pressing the fruit against his lips again.

Rex turned his head toward her and snapped, "No, thank you, ma'am. I'm not hungry."

He turned his head back toward Travis, but to his surprise, Travis' seat was empty. He looked toward the entrance of the hall, and saw the quickly retreating back of his second-in-command.

"Travis! Shab! What the-"

Rex stood up to go chase after Travis. Karyn pulled on his arm, "Captain, can you stay? I wanted to introduce you to some more of the townspeople. They were interested in hearing about some of the skillsets your men might have. You mentioned you had engineers, mechanics and other technical skillsets within your group?"

Rex silently let off a long stream of curses as he stared at the door where Travis had just disappeared. Clenching and unclenching his hands with frustration, he slowly sat back down and turned his attention back to Karyn.

# # #


	57. Chapter 57 Gift

_Revised: April 29, 2013. Thank you to CaptainRexisBest for finding an error in this chapter. Great catch!_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 57**

Travis ran several blocks through the deserted streets, not really paying attention to where he was going. He ended up at a long wooden fishing pier, staring out a modest fleet of battered, wooden fishing boats. Travis slowed his pace, and walked carefully out on the pier. He didn't know if the wood was icy, and he didn't want to end up in the water like Hok did. He walked all the way to the edge of the pier, and considered sitting down on the edge. But, then, remembering the story Hok had told earlier in the evening about his battle with the huge sea reptile, he re-considered the idea. How big had Hok said the creature was that he'd battled? 50 feet? 60 feet? The way Hok told the tale, it was quite a heroic struggle against impossible odds. Although, the story seemed to get a bit better, and bigger, each time Hok told it to another group of troopers.

Still, just to be on the safe side, Travis retreated back from the edge of the pier, and ensured the proximity sensors on his helmet were set to maximum sensitivity. He kept his hand curled lightly on his blaster, just in case. Suitably armed against any lurking sea beasties, Travis took a deep breath and looked out. It was a beautiful night, with the moon reflecting off of the water. The whole planet had a sort of serene, rustic beauty to it.

_Shab, any planet seems peaceful when there isn't a war going on. Hard to believe this whole place was ripped apart by war just a few years ago. It seems so quiet now._

Travis wasn't able to maintain his peaceful thoughts. Visions of the doctor kept filling his mind—scooting closer to Rex, smiling sweetly at him, placing her fingers on his lips, feeding him that fruit…

Travis gritted his teeth in frustration. He'd been thrilled when he'd had an opportunity to work with the doctor all afternoon. He'd never met someone that he'd had so much in common with, and that was saying a lot for a clone. She laughed at his jokes, and she seemed to completely appreciate the detail he put into his work. But, apparently, that still wasn't good enough to compete with Rex. Rex! Why was it always Rex?

Travis didn't feel like sticking around any longer, and wondered how long it would take to jog back to the ship at night. He sighed. No, he couldn't do it. Rex would have a fit if he went off on his own at night. Travis really didn't have any idea what kind of nighttime wildlife there was on this planet. But, he'd make a point of finding out that specific piece of intel tomorrow. In the meantime, he was stuck staying in the town for the night. He'd already met his host, an overly friendly woman named Morgana. She kept sidling up him, and Travis didn't appreciate her affections. She seemed to prattle on incessantly about topics that held little interest to him. Were all civilians like that?! He'd taken to taking of his helmet and turning his head so he could tune her out. He didn't think she'd clued in to the fact that he was deaf yet. He would just nod his head occasionally. She seemed satisfied he was actually listening.

He shook his head in frustration. Karyn was so much more _interesting._

Why had Rex been assigned to stay with the doctor, and he'd been assigned to this annoying Morgana? Who made up the housing assignments anyway?

A cold wind came off the sea, and blew over the dock. Even through his armor, Travis could feel the chill. It had been much warmer inland the previous evening. Right here on the ocean, in Andoville, it was considerably colder and windier. He turned up the heating in his bodysuit to the maximum, trying to ward off the chill. His regular armor could not tolerate wind chill temperatures like this for long. Travis sighed, and tucked his hands under his armpits to keep them from freezing. He gave the night sea one last glance, and turned around to head back to the Fisherman's Hall.

# # #

To Rex's relief, Travis reappeared as dessert was ending. Karyn brought by a never-ending parade of people for Rex to meet and greet. Rex never had a chance to break away and ask Travis what was going on. By the time Rex had spoken to all of the townspeople, the evening was over. Most of his men had already left with their host families for the evening, including Travis. Rex sighed and checked his chrono. It was already late. He'd track Travis down tomorrow, and find out what was going on. Karyn appeared at his elbow, fresh from checking on clean-up efforts in the kitchen. Rex would have offered to help clean up, but he was both exhausted and downright afraid of those women in the kitchen.

"You ready to get out of here?" Karyn asked brightly.

Rex nodded. The seemingly endless evening was finally over, and he could go to bed. He went to push up from the table.

"Here, let me help you," Karyn said, grabbing his arm. Rex pulled his arm away, and shot her a look.

"Sorry," Karyn apologized, "forgot how independent you are, Captain."

Rex shook his head, muttering, "My apologies, that was rude."

Karyn laughed, "No. No. If we're going to live together, I need to remember not to do things like that."

_Live together? _ For some reason, those words hit Rex like a punch in the gut. Rex grabbed his crutches from where they were leaning up against the wall, and they headed out of the hall.

"So, you looking forward to getting rid of those?" Karyn said, gesturing toward his crutches.

"Hmmmm?" Rex said, not following her.

Karyn shrugged, her breath blowing white around her in the cold night air, "Once you get your new knee, it won't be long before you're up and walking. We can schedule the surgery as soon as you're ready."

"Ah, yes, right," Rex said. He'd totally forgotten about the possibility of the knee replacement in the flurry of work he'd been bogged down with all day, "first I need to discuss it with Travis."

Karyn gave him a puzzled look, "Travis? Why? Do you talk over all your medical decisions with him?"

Rex let out a slightly annoyed hiss between his teeth, trying to be patient, "No, it's not about a medical decision. He's my second-in-command. If I'm going to be laid up, he needs to take charge of the men... What's the recovery time for something like this anyway?"

Karyn pursed her lips, "Well, if we integrate the latest research technologies provided by Xyra, it should speed up the healing considerably. Best case scenario—maybe six weeks or less."

Rex stopped walking and stared at her, aghast, "Six weeks!" All he could think of was Ahsoka in her prison cell. "No, there must be a faster way…"

Karyn gave him a puzzled look, and then drew her coat more tightly around her as a cold breeze swept down the street, "What's your hurry?"

Rex looked down and away, "I, uh," he struggled to think of an explanation, "uh," the wind blew through again, and he shivered within his armor, "I can't… it's hard to…" he hissed again with frustration.

"Uh huh," Karyn gave him a skeptical look, "well, then, I think you can wait six weeks, because," she gazed down at his bad leg, "without this, you aren't walking again. Prior to this, the recovery time for something like this was _six months_."

Rex closed his eyes with exhaustion and resignation, a pang going through him again as he thought of Ahsoka. Then, his whole frame shook as another cold gust blew down the street. "We better keep walking. My armor is having difficulties keeping up with the temperatures."

Karyn stared at him, and then she tugged him by the arm to get him walking again, "I had no idea! We need to get you a long coat! All your men will need long coats!"

"Probably just if we'll be out at night. Or, in temperatures below freezing. Our armor seems to be coping well enough during the day."

Karyn laughed, "Oh, you'll definitely be needing coats then. It gets down below freezing a lot around here. You should have said something!"

"It wasn't that cold where we crashed."

"That's because your ship crashed _inland_. There's a completely different microclimate here right on the coast with the breezes blowing in off the sea. We live on the water because we make our living off of the ocean, but it's not a very warm to place to live."

"Yes, I'm beginning to notice that."

Karyn laughed. Rex looked at her strangely, as she appeared to laugh just a little bit too long at his joke. It wasn't _that_ funny. She told him more about the details of a knee replacement surgery until they arrived back at her house.

"Come Captain, join me for a drink," Karyn said, leading the way into the kitchen.

"Uh, no, thank you. I think I'll go to bed," Rex said.

"Oh, just one, we'll make it quick," Karyn said, grabbing two glasses out of a cabinet. Rex sighed. _OK, this evening is just never going to end, is it?_

Karyn pulled out a long necked bottle filled with an amber liquid. "We brew this ourselves, here on Ando. It's got quite a kick to it." She poured a generous portion of the brew into each of the glasses and brought it over to the table. She sank into a chair, and gestured for Rex to do the same. With some reluctance, Rex sat down.

"So, I think this evening went well, don't you?" Karyn said, swishing her drink around in her glass a bit, before taking a long sip.

Rex stared down into his drink, then took an experimental sip. Karyn wasn't exaggerating. He could tell just from the taste that it was a potent elixir. "Uh, yes, the whole event ran very smoothly."

Karyn took another long sip, "I think your men enjoyed themselves."

Rex took another sip, as well, and did feel that the alcohol was warming him up somewhat. He knew he had Jango Fett's tolerance for alcohol, and did not get drunk easily. "Yes," he agreed, "it appears they did."

"Well, everyone I spoke to thinks very highly of your men. Commented how polite they are, and spoke to what an outstanding job they did setting up the event."

"Thank you," Rex said. _OK, enough pleasantries, am I done now? Can I go to bed?_

Karyn tossed back the rest of her drink, and then came around to stand behind Rex. Rex looked up at her. _Oh no, what now?_

"You know, Captain," Karyn said, she began to knead the muscles in his neck, "if we are going to live together, we need to get more comfortable with each other. You seem very tense around me. Would you allow me to rub your neck?"

A medicinal neck massage? Rex's neck did feel very stiff, considering how banged up he'd gotten in the past few days. This seemed like the best suggestion he'd heard all evening. "Uh, OK."

"I'll be very careful of your shoulder burn," Karyn said.

"Right," Rex said. He'd completely forgotten about that. That whole incident with the pirates seemed like ages ago. He felt Karyn remove his one remaining spaulder, and then begin to dig in on his neck muscles. He had to admit that she really had gotten skilled at removing armor. He closed his eyes, and focused on relaxing.

"How does that feel?" Karyn asked.

"Helpful," Rex admitted.

Karyn chuckled, and continued to work on massaging his muscles. She was very good at this, and Rex found himself completely relaxing under her hands. He was so tired, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

He was startled awake by the unusual sensation of a pair of lips on his ear.

"Captain," Karyn whispered softly, "did you fall asleep on me?"

"What?" he asked, staring up at her in confusion.

"Does that feel good?" Karyn purred, her lips still on his ear. Rex noticed her hands were now _inside _his bodysuit.

"Why are your lips on my ear?" Rex asked, confused.

Karyn laughed, withdrawing her hands and facing him full on, "OK, Captain, I can see that subtly does _not_ work with you. So, I'm going to be blunt. Would you like to kiss me?"

Rex stared at the attractive woman standing right in front of him. Karyn wanted him to kiss her? Rex thought of the heated way Det and Mira had been looking into each other's eyes all evening long. He thought of how quickly his body had responded to the wiggling of Se'bee in the kitchen. Certainly, Karyn was more desirable and attractive to him than the frightening Se'bee. He felt his lower body twitch in response as he suddenly realized what was being offered up to him here. He and Ahsoka had never had a chance to consummate anything. Every time they'd tried to be together, it seemed it had always ended in frustration. Rex's body did feel like it was filled with pent-up demand. He stared at Karyn, and she smiled at him, giving him a smile full of promise.

"You're a leader of your people, Rex," Karyn said, "I'm a leader of my people. I think we would be very good together. There's a core strength in you—a sort of steely resolve- that I find very appealing."

Rex had tried all day to tap in to the connection he shared with Ahsoka, but he had no success at all. He felt like he was reaching out to a complete blankness— like a void or emptiness. Would he ever even find Ahsoka? Would he be on this planet for the rest of his life? Did he need to stop living in his past, and start creating a future for himself?

Rex continued to stare at Karyn, as thoughts swirled anxiously through his mind. She smiled at him, patiently waiting.

Ahsoka's face filled Rex's mind, and suddenly he couldn't see anything else. All he could think of was Ahsoka, and he swept up in a tidal wave of memories of Ahsoka. He saw her face when she was laughing, when she was teasing him, and when she was bent over him with her eyes full of concern. He saw her poised in her shien stance, muscles taught, lightsaber lit, about to leap into battle. She was absolutely incredibly magnificent no matter how he looked at her.

Rex shook his head, and looked away from Karyn, "No." To make sure there was no misunderstanding, he cleared his throat, looked back at Karyn, and firmly said, "I don't want to kiss you."

Karyn's eyes widened, and he could see the hurt in her expression. It pained him to know that he had hurt her feelings. Without saying anything, she gathered up their glasses and took them to sink.

Rex wondered what he should do- leave the room quietly? Say something? He wished he could ask Travis… then, he remembered with a pang the abrupt way Travis had left the hall earlier in the evening. While Rex was still trying to puzzle out this latest relationship complexity, Karyn turned around and faced him from the sink.

She took a deep breath, and said: "OK, I guess I owe you an apology, then." She walked back over to the kitchen table, and slumped down into her chair, facing him. "I got really mad at those women today in the Fisherman's Hall for throwing themselves at you, and then I did the exact same thing. You seem to be something of an item in demand in this town, Captain. I guess you can't help it if you're sexy, huh?" she laughed lightly at her own joke.

Rex just stared at her, trying to absorb what she was saying. _Women were throwing themselves at him because they thought he was sexy? Huh?_

Karyn studied him thoughtfully: "All of this is new to you, huh?"

Rex nodded. This was the first thing she'd said in a long time that made any sense to him, "Yes. There are no women in the GAR."

"GAR?"

"Grand Army of the Republic."

"Ah, well, that explains a lot, then. So, you are completely surrounded by men, then?"

"Well…" Rex hesitated, "there are, uh, female Jedi."

"Interesting," Karyn said, noticing his hesitation.

"OK, answer me this, are you not attracted to me, or is there someone else?"

Rex shook his head, "You are a very beautiful woman," Rex admitted, "but…" Rex was suddenly at a loss for words, and all he could think of was Ahsoka. He knew then that even if it meant spending the rest of his life alone, he would never stop looking for her.

"I know that look, Captain," Karyn said, shaking her head with a heartfelt sigh, "and, whoever it is, she's a very lucky woman. Very lucky, indeed." She stood up, and looked out the kitchen window. A few blocks down, the lights of the fishing pier were reflecting off of the ocean. Karyn stared down toward the ocean, lost in memories, and murmured, "It is a very great gift to love someone like that."

# # #


	58. Chapter 58 Understanding

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 58**

Ahsoka was deep in meditation, her breathing calm and steady. Her mind was completely focused on the Force collar. She was making good progress in exploring its inner workings. Drawing upon some of the technical knowledge she'd acquired from fixing starships alongside her Master, Ahsoka was able to breakdown the collar's characteristics in terms of voltage, current, waveform/frequency, pulse rate and duration.

_Hmmmm…. that's all very well and good, she thought, as she continued to explore inside _the device, _but how do I get around the guts of this blasted thing?_

She was startled out of her meditation by the unwelcome sound of the cell door scraping open. Four of the thickly muscled Kaz'harian guards entered the cell, and surveyed the two prisoners, staring them down. Once again, Ahsoka got the impression that despite their huge build, and vague similarity to Gamorreans, these creatures were keenly intelligent. After some discussion between themselves in a language unfamiliar to the padawan, two of the guards came to stand over the clone commander.

Without being asked, Appo struggled to his feet. He swayed momentarily, and then caught his balance.

Ahsoka shot up to her feet in alarm, "Appo!"

The clone commander's eyes locked with hers, and for a moment, Ahsoka was totally confused. She wasn't seeing Appo at all, but the man she had loved and lost. His eyes were so much like Rex's, and they were pleading with her to not say or do anything to bring the Kaz'harians down upon herself. It was exactly what Rex would have done in that situation. Ahsoka froze where she was; paralyzed by her emotions.

Then, the commander stumbled and the Kaz'harian guards grabbed him on either side.

"Let go!" he said, angrily. "I'm going! You don't need to drag me!"

His voice penetrated Ahsoka's fog, and she blinked, suddenly seeing who it was before her. The guards released Appo, and he straightened up of his power. He met Ahsoka's gaze again, as he walked toward the door. She wondered then if she would ever see the brave commander again. A tear slipped down her cheek, as she watched him reach the door of their cell. He gave her a small sad smile, then left the cell. He was gone.

Ahsoka was completely alone.

# # #

Rex had sunk immediately into an exhausted sleep in the comfortable guest room Karyn had assigned to him. He'd never actually had such a large room, all to himself. When he woke up early the next morning, and glanced about the room, he did think it was odd set-up. Did civilians truly devote such large spaces for a single person to sleep? The bed was extremely large as well, easily big enough to accommodate two people. Odd. Rex neatly made up the bed, tightening the sheets to an even crisper perfection than they'd been when he'd arrived the night before. _Civilians don't know much about properly making a bed. I won't point that out to Karyn, though. Would be impolite. Perhaps I'll just remake the other beds when she's busily occupied with something else. _

It was still dark, and below freezing, when Rex went to step outside and call Travis. Of course, he could contact Travis from anywhere in the house thanks to the privacy of his helmet. But, considering the conversation he wanted to have with Travis, Rex didn't want any distractions. Before he could make it out the door, Karyn appeared. She stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"You're an early riser, Captain, I see. Just like myself. Headed out?" Despite the early hour, she was already neatly dressed, with her hair in place.

Rex nodded toward the door, "Just wanted to make a comm call to Travis. Have some things to discuss."

"Ah," Karyn nodded, "your work day starts early, too, I see. We have much in common." She blushed uncomfortably, and shifted, still remembering their conversation from last night.

"I'm going to go-" Rex said, wanting to escape another awkward conversation.

"Wait one moment, please. I have something for you," Karyn put up one finger, signaling he was to stay right where he was. She disappeared into the interior of the house. Rex did as she asked, but he let out a little huff of annoyance. Being housed by civilians did have its' drawbacks. He wondered if his men were having any issues. Well, obviously, Det was getting along _very_ well with his host-

Karyn re-emerged at that moment, cutting into his thoughts. She was carrying a long, thick coat in a well-seasoned, dark tan color. Rex's eyes widened in surprise. "It's a fisherman's coat, designed especially for the cold climate here on Ando. Completely waterproof. Can withstand sub-freezing temperatures." Karyn shook her head, slightly, and then handed it over, "I have no need of it anymore. It's yours to keep, if you would like it."

Rex looked the coat over as she handed it to him. It reminded him of the cold weather gear that he'd been assigned in the GAR, except this had a more aged quality to it. This coat felt like it had a history to it, almost a legacy. It was a beautiful coat, right down to the color.

"Thank you," Rex said, feeling a bit awkward, "I'm not sure what to say." No one had ever given him anything before. He just stared down at the coat.

"Well, take it," the doctor said, still holding it out to him.

"Are you sure you want to give this to me?" Rex thought of the hurt look on her face last night when he'd rejected her.

Karyn shook her head, "I promised you a coat. You're staying with me, so that makes you my responsibility. Look, this has been hanging unused in a closet for five years now… " She pursued her lips, looked thoughtful, and then finally said, "It's time." Rex got the feeling she was referring to more than just a coat.

"OK," Rex accepted the coat, "well, thank you. Again." He knew this well-made coat must have belonged to her late husband, the one she still gazed out toward the sea for late at night. He set his crutches aside, and shrugged into the coat. "It fits," Rex said, with surprise, "even with my armor on."

Karyn smiled, knowingly, "I thought it might." She took a step back to admire how the Captain looked in the coat, and then looked out the dark window toward the harbor, "My husband was very well-built, as all men who work at sea are. But," she turned back again, "that's all in the past now. Go on. I'm keeping you from wherever it was you were headed." She turned, and disappeared back into the house.

Rex sat down on the front steps, grateful for the warmth of the long coat. He held out one of the long sleeves, and admired the look of it. He'd never actually owned anything beyond his armor and his weapons. He rolled his shoulders back and forth in his coat, watching it splay across his shoulders. His shoulders looked huge in it with is pauldron on. He wondered idly for a moment how Ahsoka would think he looked in it… He closed his eyes for a moment, and briefly wondered what it would be like to have Ahsoka here with him, in this town. What would it be like if she was here with him, at this very moment? What would she be wearing? Would she be bundled up in a fur-lined jacket like she'd worn on Pluto Otonia? Or, would he have to wrap his coat around her, gathering her close to his chest to keep her warm…

The sun was just now starting to peak above the horizon, but the temperature was still well below freezing. He blew out a breath, enjoying the feeling of the cold air on his face. He didn't mind the cold climate here. There was certain freshness to the place that was so opposite the sterile air of Coruscant. At the moment, the salty tang drifting off the ocean was wafting into his nostrils, and he could hear the reassuring sounds of the bells off the harbor. He was struck with the thought that despite the cold, Ahsoka would like this place as well.

Ahsoka. He needed to find Ahsoka. His entire future rested on that one goal. Although, if everything he saw in his vision still held true, he'd also find the 501st and General Skywalker. Just what would he do then? Beyond the rescuing part? He was de-commissioned, and no longer part of the GAR. Painful as the realization was, he was no longer even part of the 501st. Ando needed to remain a secret to protect all of these men from being sent back to Kamino. At this point, he knew they would fight to the death rather than go. Rex shook his head, imagining the awful scene of brother against brother, fought out right here on Ando. Just what Ando needed, another war. No. The secret of Ando had to be protected at all costs. Rex pressed the tips of his fingers into his eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache.

But first things first. He wasn't going anywhere at the moment without a ship, without a destination, and without being able to walk. And, he had to get his troopers sorted here on Ando… starting with Travis. Rex slipped his helmet over his head, and sealed it.

"Travis, this is Rex. Come in."

The response was immediate, "Travis here."

Rex was relieved to hear Travis' voice. "Morning. Not getting you up too early, I hope?" Rex winced. _OK, that was much too cheerful, especially for me._

"Rex, it's already oh five thirty," Travis' voice was acidic.

"Yes, but it was a late night…" As soon as Rex said it, he wished he could take the words back. _ Shab, that came out sounding all wrong._

"Oh, I'm _sure_ it was," Travis responded, his words clipped and tart.

"Kriff, Travis! What's gotten into you?"

"Me? I'm surprised you're even up this early after your late night activities with Karyn!"

Rex sat there shocked into silence. How could Travis possibly have known about the drinks, the back rub, and all that other awkwardness last night between him and Karyn?

"I see you're not trying to deny it," Travis' voice revealed his emotional pain.

Understanding suddenly hit Rex. Rex groaned, knowing Ahsoka would have pointed this out to him right away- Travis was attracted to the doctor. _Why I am so slow with these women things?_ It certainly explained his odd behavior. Rex quickly did a mental recap of the doctor's behavior around the two officers. Rex winced inwardly as he realized how everything must have appeared to Travis.

"Travis—it's not what you think," Rex began a recap, much like he was doing a situation report," we left the Fisherman's Hall at twenty-three hundred. After discussing some logistics on the way home, we arrived at her residence at twenty-three ten. Karyn poured us some intoxicant. After consuming the intoxicant, the doctor said I would benefit from medicinal massage. I agreed. At some point during this massage, I seemed to have succumbed to fatigue," Rex's voice faltered a bit, "Uh… the doctor's hands deviated to the interior of my bodysuit…and her lips-"

"Rex! Would you shut up? The last thing I want to hear are the details of your sexual escapades! Did you need something? Or, did you just want to gloat over your conquests?"

"Travis! I'm trying to explain-"

"I'm cutting this comm in three seconds, unless you have operational matters to discuss, _sir_. Three, two-"

Rex growled in irritation. This was definitely _not_ over. But, they did have work to do. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he released his tension.

"-one."

"Yes, operational matters," Rex said calmly, switching gears from a frustrated friend back into Captain mode, "Despite the seemingly placid nature of our current living situation, I want to keep the men in a state of constant battle readiness. So, starting today, and everyday, I'd like to do a series of drills in the morning. There is a large field behind the Fisherman's Hall, called, logically enough, Fisherman's Field."

Travis snorted, and Rex was glad to see at least a little of his friend's humor was still intact.

"Yes. Highly original. I know. It's a town where everything is dependent on the sea, so, well, we'll have to get used to the naming scheme. Sort of like everything with us begins with clone or trooper, I suppose. Anyway, Karyn said we are welcome to use it for our training purposes." _Was it Rex's imagination, or did he feel once again a bristle of annoyance from Travis when he mentioned Karyn? Odd. _Rex shrugged off the strange feeling of _connection _he was starting to get around Travis, and continued on, "I want all of our troopers who are physically-able, by any means, to report at oh eight hundred. We will drill until we are finished, however long that will take. The men will report in full gear, with full weaponry, is that clear?"

"Fine, yes, I'll make it happen, as always. Some of our gear is still back at the ship. I'll need to borrow a speeder to go get it, but I'll handle it. Anything else?"

"No. Look, I can ask Karyn for her speeder-"

"_No_, Rex, I said _I'll_ handle it. Travis out." The comm was abruptly cut before Rex could sign off.

Rex remained outside to watch the sunrise, deep in thought.

# # #

Rex considered spending the remaining early part of his morning visiting his troops wounded in the initial incursion with the pirates. But, he reconsidered the idea. He'd done that the previous day, before visiting Hok, and starting on all the preparations for the big dinner. Strangely, he'd almost gotten the impression that his visits weren't quite _appreciated_ in some cases. Now, having gained new insight with this Det/Myra relationship, the request from Quinn, and what was going on with Travis, Rex understood why they might not want their Captain around in the early mornings. It was a bit unsettling as visiting his men when they were injured had always been part of his duties as a Captain. Instead, Rex spent the morning sitting at the kitchen table, planning out drills on his datapad. But, the morning was not as busy as he would have liked, and it made him feel… well, underutilized. Karyn had left him breakfast, and headed out with her medical bag, and some other equipment, shortly after sunrise.

Rex was already on the field by oh seven thirty. He studied the area thoughtfully and compared it to the diagrams he'd already sketched out on his datapad. Not surprisingly, Travis showed up extra early as well, dropping down bags of extra gear. He walked over and stood next to Rex, automatically taking the datapad from him. Rex waited while Travis looked over his work, and then started adding to it. Travis sketched on the datapad for several minutes, drawing diagrams and writing notes, and then handed it back.

Rex raised up an eyebrow, "Impressive."

Travis shrugged, non-commitally.

Rex looked over at where the rest of the men were arriving and assembling, then back over at his second-in-command. "Look, Travis, we need to talk-"

"No, we don't," Travis said abruptly, "there's nothing to be said between us." He then removed his helmet, and clipped it to his belt. He turned his back on Rex, effectively shutting him out entirely.

"For a guy who made it through command school, your communications skills leave something to be desired," Rex griped, even though he knew Travis couldn't hear him.

The tension hung in the air between them. Rex missed the usual banter that characterized their relationship.

His men turned out in large numbers, even those still too injured from the recent battle came just out to watch the practice. Just as they when they'd battled the pirates, the two officers worked out ways to make the most of their troopers. By now, thanks to Travis' exacting detail, Rex knew the nature of each troopers' injury. The drills were designed to maximize potential while focused on the goal of defending Ando.

Travis' tapped his chrono. Rex smiled behind his helmet. _Oh eight hundred on the dot. That's Travis. On time down the second._ Rex nodded to Travis. Travis bellowed, calling the men to order, and immediately getting them started with some warm-up exercises. As Rex supervised all of this, he became increasingly aware of having an audience. Along with his troopers had come a large number of smiling women who were now gazing upon his men with looks that could only be described as hopeless adoration. Rex walked over to his second-in-command, who was just showing a small group of one-armed troopers instructions in how to do a modified push-up. He cut into Travis' private comm.

"Travis, who are all these women?" Rex asked, he gave a slight head nod back to the women who had happily settled themselves in the stands around Fisherman's Field.

Travis' helmet head tilted slightly toward the stands, and then looked back at his men, "If I were to guess, I'd have to say these women must be the hosts to our troopers." He shrugged, and then muttered darkly, "Guess you're not the only whose live-in situation is going well."

"It's not what you think," Rex stated firmly again.

"Then, why is _she _here?" Travis inclined his head slightly toward one corner of the stands.

Rex followed his brother's gaze, with a sinking feeling in his gut. Sure enough, Karyn was just settling down, medical bag slung over one shoulder, trying to find a space in the bleachers. It was becoming more crowded by the minute, as more townspeople were arriving, caf cups and sweet rolls in hand, drawn by the goings on in Fisherman's Field.

Rex groaned, "Don't these people have anything better to do?"

"Apparently not," Travis shot back in a caustic tone. He glanced down at his chrono in annoyance, "We're now two minutes off schedule. Do you want to actually get some work done today, or continue to talk about your success with women?"

Rex hissed with annoyance, "Let's do this. But, as soon as we're done-"

Travis interrupted him, calling the men into the next series of drills.

Almost as soon as the practice began, it became clear that their audience was going to become an issue. Certain women kept smiling and waving at his men, and even worse, some of his men were smiling and waving _back_. Travis and Rex exchanged a look, and henceforth, every errant smile or wave was immediately punished by a harsh set of extra calisthenics. With each additional infraction, the exercises increased in intensity and duration. Within minutes, all of the men were focused back on Rex and Travis and completely ignoring their audience. The two officers exchanged a look of satisfaction, and then divided off into teams.

Rex found it satisfying to be out in full gear again working the skills he'd been drilled on his whole life. It also seemed good for the morale of the men, who seemed to be in the same high spirits as when they'd defeated the pirates.

_Although,_ Rex considered, casting a sidelong glance back toward the completely full crowd in the stands, _there could be other reasons for the good spirits of the men today, as well. _

Well, regardless of the reason, Rex was pleased with how well his newly appointed legion was performing. His men had exceptional coordination and did very well compensating around their injuries. Ando would be well defended.

As they were nearing the end of two hours, Travis got Rex's attention, and tapped his chrono. Rex nodded, and called an end to the drills. Travis lined the men up in formation, and then turned things over to the Captain.

Rex made his way down the line, inspecting the troops, as he addressed the men, "In a place as peaceful as this, it might be tempting to forget the galaxy is still at war. However, just as we dropped out of the sky, another ship could drop out at anytime and drag us back into it. We have been invited to stay here in this community, so that means we now have homes to defend. We will be training here, on this field, each and every morning. Now, outside of your training, Travis and I will be working with each of you to find you suitable employment here in Andoville. We'd like this work to be matched up to both your interests _and _your skill sets. So, if your GAR specialty is in one particular area, say detonations, yet you have always been interested in…" Rex paused as he thought of an example, then remembered the 501st member lost at Teth, who loved to sing the funny songs in the showers, "…say music, well, now would be the time to expand beyond detonations. So, please bring this to the attention of the lieutenant or myself."

This caused a murmur of excitement amongst the men - choice was not something the clones were accustomed to getting.

"I did not mean right now!" Rex shouted. "You are still at attention!" The men were immediately silent.

Rex continued, "Since there are 100 of you, and only two of us, we expect this process to take a several days, perhaps even a week or more. So, until then, outside of this morning field training, your are all officially now on a leave of absence."

A cheer went up from the men. Rex put up a hand for silence. "This means you are free to enjoy the village, and it's…" Rex paused for a moment as he searched for suitable wording, "…hospitality."

There was a titter of giggling from the ladies in the audience. Rex snapped his helmet over toward the women and gave them a steely glare through his t-visor. The one look was all it took; there was immediate silence again.

"Lieutenant Travis? You had a few words for the men on the topic of behavior and discipline during their leave of absence?"

Rex stood back, and let Travis take over. Travis cut a fine figure as he began pacing in front of the men. His deafness hadn't affected his speech at all; he had a loud clear voice as he addressed the men: "During your leave of absence, you will be expected to behave with the utmost honor, respect and decorum."

He walked slowly down the line, taking the time to glare into the visor of each and every man, "If I hear even the slightest hint of misbehavior, I will deal with your personally. And, I am _not_ a patient man. And, when I get through with you, I will turn you over to Captain Rex. And, Captain Rex is-" Travis paused for emotional effect, and shook his head sadly, "-well, there is just no telling what he'll do to you after all he's been through with the 501st, and General Skywalker, all his many battles, and all the men he's lost, well, he's just liable to take you and-"

"OK, OK, Travis," Rex cut in, "I think they get the picture."

"Right, then," Travis said, continuing on down the line, and glaring at each and every man, "best behavior or there will be severe, severe consequences from both Captain Rex and I." He walked back over to stand next to Rex and then nodded.

Rex dismissed the men, "That is all. I expect to see you all here tomorrow, and everyday, full gear, full weapons. 0800. Enjoy your leave. Dismissed."

A cheer went up from the men, and Rex had to smile underneath his helmet. He turned to Travis, who was already turning to leave.

"Travis, will you stay?"

Travis turned back, "Why?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Travis," Rex growled.

"What?" Travis growled back.

"You disappeared for a while last night during the dinner."

"I went for a walk. Is that against regs?"

Rex decided to be blunt, "You left because I was talking to Karyn."

Travis sputtered, and then his shoulders dropped, defeated, he shook his head, muttering, "Yeah, well, maybe I just didn't want to have to watch you _score _for the rest of the evening." He shook his head and looked at the backs of the retreating men, "You and every other trooper." His fists were rapidly clenching and flexing, in a move exactly like what Rex did when he was frustrated.

"Captain! Lieutenant Travis! Just the two I wanted to talk to!" Karyn called brightly, walking rapidly across the field to intercept them.

Rex groaned, her timing couldn't have been worse.

"I'll just leave you two alone," Travis hissed, turning away.

Rex grabbed his arm, "No, you and I are not done."

"_Yes_, we are." Travis said, yanking his arm away.

Rex grabbed his arm again, "Travis, I've had about enough! We're settling this!"

"And, I've way too much of you, Rex. Let me go!" Travis yanked his arm back, and starting leaving.

Rex grabbed him again, pulling him back.

Travis pulled himself forcefully free and swung at Rex. Rex dodged it easily, threw his crutches down, and ploughed helmet first into Travis' chest throwing him down to the ground.

"You want to fight me, Travis?" Rex threw one arm into Travis' neck, cutting off his air supply, and threw his good leg into Travis' groin, effectively pinning him.

Travis nodded, glaring daggers back at Rex.

"Fine!" Rex ground out, "but, we do it on the ground, because we're on equal footing here."

Travis couldn't speak because Rex had cut off his air supply, but he nodded. Rex released him. Travis coughed and sprang into a defensive crouch. He glanced quickly over at Karyn, who was watching the whole thing wide-eyed. She stood back, looking concerned, but didn't interfere.

"Eyes over here, Travis," Rex growled.

"Don't want me looking at her?" Travis hissed.

"Take your bucket off."

"Why?" Travis asked, looking surprised.

"So, I can bash some sense into your bantha brain."

"Fine," Travis agreed, eager now for a chance to fight Rex. He popped the seal on his helmet and tossed it aside, "It'll give me a chance to mess that pretty face."

Rex barked out a laugh at that, "It's your face, too, Travis."

Travis shook his head, "Yeah, but everyone seems to like Jango's face better on you."

"Just shut up and fight," Rex said, "I'm tired of your whining."

The comment had the expected effect. Travis sprang at Rex with an annoyed shout of fury, and the two went down, plastoid armor clacking against each. The two fought hard for supremacy on the ground. Karyn stood back, nervously watching, as the two wrestled hard in the snow, sinewy muscles straining. Rex didn't seem hampered at all, by his leg injury.

"You've gotten stronger," Travis grunted, as they grappled.

"Supporting your entire body weight on your arms will make you a lot stronger," Rex ground out, "…something I do for every waking hour now."

A couple of times, Travis managed to throw Rex off through sheer flexibility and outmaneuvering him. But, eventually, through sheer, brute upper-body strength, Rex had Travis pinned again.

"Now, shut up and listen," Rex said, not speaking aloud, but just letting Travis read his lips, "nothing happened last night between Karyn and me."

Travis' eyes darted over to Karyn where she was watching the whole match, her eyes wide and concerned.

"But, you said…" Travis whispered back, his voice still winded and breathless.

Rex placed a threatening elbow over Travis' windpipe, "I said just listen. OK?"

Travis coughed, as he tried to get air, and then nodded. Rex released his elbow.

Rex continued to speak so that only Travis could hear him, "For some reason, the women of this town are, ah, very, uh, _inclined_, toward us clones."

Travis rolled his eyes.

"But, it didn't work on me, OK?" Rex shook his head once with frustration, as he grappled with how much to tell Travis, "….you were right about… what happened to me when I was on that planet…"

Travis' eyes grew wide as he realized what Rex was telling him.

Rex finished with saying, "So, that means I'm not interested in Karyn, or any other woman here. You got that?"

Travis mouthed the words, "Jedi?"

"Yes," Rex breathed silently, feeling strangely relieved to be sharing this with Travis.

Travis whispered, "I knew it!"

"No, you didn't," Rex corrected him, "or, we wouldn't currently be rolling around in the snow."

Travis scowled, "Yeah, I concede your point."

"OK, now, I'm going to hit you because she," Rex rolled his eyes toward Karyn, "seems to like fussing over people."

"Make it good," Travis whispered, his eyes darting quickly over to Karyn, and then back at Rex.

"Face?"

"Fine, just make it count. None of those light taps like you usually hit me with."

Rex rolled his eyes at that comment, and then mouthed, "You should hit me first, so I don't look like a complete di'kut."

"Nope," Travis whispered, "that's _exactly_ how I want you to look."

"OK," Rex conceded, and without warning, he drew back and delivered a huge punishing blow to Travis' nose. The 'crack' of Travis' nose was clearly audible, and blood immediately began running down his face.

"Nice," Travis whispered, trying to avoid the blood around his mouth. "Now get off me."

Karyn gasped, and rushed over, "Rex! I can't believe you just did that!"

Rex rolled off of Travis and got to his feet. He shook his hand, which was still tingling from the blow he'd delivered to Travis.

She knelt down next to Travis, and helped him sit up. She began pulling gauze out of a medical kit slung over one shoulder. "I need to get you over to my clinic! She glared at Rex, as she worked to stem the bleeding. "Here, hold this," she said, bringing Travis' hand up to his face.

Rex was watching all this with an amused smile. When he caught Karyn looking at him, he immediately fixed his face into an appropriate look of penance and concern. "Sorry," he mumbled, putting his head down. Karyn continued to glare at him. Rex gestured in the direction of the harbor. "I'm going to take a long walk to clear my head. Think about my actions."

Travis caught his eye, unseen by Karyn, and mouthed, "Funny."

Rex retrieved his helmet from where he'd tossed it down into the snow. He handed Travis his helmet. Travis accepted it back, but made a show of not even making eye contact with his Captain. Rex left silently, giving Karyn and Travis alone time.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Karyn asked Travis, as she helped him up.

"It's a little… uh, uncomfortable," Travis admitted, adjusting the packing on his face as it started to bleed more vigorously again.

"Here- hold it like this," Karyn instructed, guiding her hand on top of his. She gripped his gloved hand, and held it in place. Their eyes met, and Travis noticed she didn't let go immediately.

"Thanks," he said, his voice slightly muffled.

She smiled, and released her hand, "Well, I'll get the bone set, and then ice it down. We have some Andoan sea remedies with excellent properties to reduce inflammation, take away the pain, and greatly speed healing. Just this morning, one of our smaller boats brought in a batch of Andoan ocean cone snails. They're particularly potent when fresh."

"Sounds fascinating. Bring on the snail. I'm game. Rex said you're an outstanding doctor."

"I appreciate your faith in my abilities. Not everyone is so open-minded about natural remedies, but we've had great success with them here in Andoville," Karyn said, as they walked along the street, "We've had to since we've been cut off from the outside world now for five years. It's the reason why everyone was so excited when your ship showed up."

"Yes, noticed a bit of that excitement," Travis intoned, remembering the incident in the Fisherman's Hall kitchen, "as did Rex."

Karyn turned red, and looked uncomfortable, "Yes, that was a bit awkward. Seems our women here haven't been behaving themselves around him."

Travis shot her a questioning look, but she quickly changed the subject, "Lieutenant Travis, I have to ask, why did the Captain just hit you like that?"

Travis paused a few beats, as they walked along, and finally answered, "Ah, well, it's ah, just sort of, a clone thing."

Karyn scowled again, "You're going to have to explain that one to me."

Travis laughed, then winced from the movement, "Uh, well, yes, the Captain and I have quite a colorful history together."

"Perhaps you could share some of that history while I work to undo some of the damage you two insist on continually inflicting on each other," Karyn said, while they walked toward her house, "It might make it easier in dealing with the two of you."

"Sure," Travis readily agreed, "although, I've known Rex quite a long time. Might take a while if you want to hear some of the more, uh, colorful stories." He chuckled, then winced from the movement.

Karyn put a hand up to his face, "That's really swelling up. He can sure pack a punch."

"He better. I'm the one who taught him how to hit properly," Travis' voice had a hint of pride in it.

Karyn shook her head again, "I'm not even going to begin to try to understand the two of you. But, I'll probably enjoy all of these stories, all the same. Perhaps you can stay for lunch? Nothing fancy. I just brought home from leftover soup from last night. I've got a bit of bread to go with it."

Travis' eyes lit up, "Yes!"

"By the way, I didn't get a chance to properly thank you for the work you did yesterday. Rex tells me you have a natural talent for strategy and planning, and I can clearly see that is true... I'm completely overwhelmed with some of the planning work I've been doing for Andoville… I've been pulling double-duty working as both the town doctor, and having taken over leading the town after our general council was killed six years ago." She gave Travis a long, considering look, as she open the gate to her house, "So, perhaps, over lunch, you could look over some of these plans with me? I would value your strategic input."

Travis nodded eagerly. He gestured graciously for her to step into the house, and then followed her in, "Where are the plans? Can I see them right away?"

# # #


	59. Chapter 59 Clones

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 59**

_A/N: Thank you to Sachariah for patiently looking these chapters over for me. Couldn't do this without you! _

_OK, in this week's episode, they call Appo a "Sergeant" and that's just a year before ROTS. For now, I'm just going to go with that idiot Krell getting the details wrong again, like when he called Rex "CT" rather than "CC" about ten times in a row. Why would Appo go from a Sergeant to a Commander in such a short time? No matter, he's a Commander now. Go with that. Why? Well, I want him to be in charge of the 501__st__ at the moment, and outrank Rex. That way, if he survives his fever, and Rex makes it back, he and Rex can butt heads. Appo is showing some signs of being attracted to Ahsoka, and as a Commander, he would outrank Rex. Good enough reason not to demote him. Sorry, Krell. You're still an idiot._

Ahsoka woke up with a start at the grating noise of her cell door being opened. The guards tossed a single form through the door, and then left again. The still figure on the floor didn't move. Ahsoka crawled over anxiously and peered at the prone form.

"Appo?" she nudged him gently with her knee. He didn't respond. "Commander Appo? It's Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano. Can you hear me?"

There was a long pause, and finally the Commander opened his eyes. Ahsoka was startled by his change in appearance. His face was even more gaunt than when he'd left, and his eyes were bright with fever. He looked deathly ill.

"Commander Tano," he breathed weakly, "good to see you again."

Ahsoka let out a huge sigh of relief, "And, you as well. I didn't think to see you again." Appo looked terrible. She bit her lip once again in frustration, cursing the bindings that she'd still been unsuccessful at removing. "How are you?" she asked tentatively.

Appo rolled from his side to his back, so he could see her more clearly. "I… I've… been better, Commander."

"Why… why did they bring you back?"

Appo shook his head, and then looked at her with bright, feverish eyes, "Said… too sick…"

Ahsoka felt cold with fear, but also a pang of guilt, knowing he'd sustained many of his injuries protecting her. She would never see it as 'just doing my job' no matter how many times a clone said those words to her. She instinctively moved a little closer to him, wishing there was something she could do to lend comfort.

"What happened to you there?" she whispered.

Appo shook his head, and closed his eyes briefly. Ahsoka thought he wasn't going to answer. He finally opened his eyes, and said: "Lab."

Ahsoka looked at him, confused, "Lab? You were in a lab?"

Appo nodded, "Yes."

"The others… did you see-"

"Yes. The Generals… others… there."

Ahsoka could tell the Commander was having difficulties staying conscious. She knew she should let him rest, but she was desperate to get some information. "What are they trying to do? The lab… what's the purpose of it? Why did they take us prisoner? When-"

Appo raised up one hand weakly to forestall Ahsoka's torrent of questions, "Clones," he said, and then closed his eyes again.

Ahsoka stared at him, puzzled. He didn't move. She gently nudged him with her knee. "Commander Appo?" He was unresponsive. She nudged him again. He moaned, and opened his eyes. "Commander Appo, please. I'm sorry. I know you're not feeling well. Please, I have to know. What do you mean?"

"Clones."

Ahsoka was about to start in with another torrent of questions, when Appo put up a hand, forestalling her torrent of questions. He took a shaky breath, and then said weakly, "The lab. Making… clones."

Ahsoka stared at Appo in shock as his words sunk in, "They're cloning the clones?"

Appo nodded, "Yes," and then added, "Jedi."

"They're cloning the Jedi?"

"…Trying."

"Why haven't they tried to clone me?"

Appo closed his eyes, then gave a small smile, "General Skywalker… he… told them… you were…" He started drifting off again.

Ahsoka nudged him again, feeling guilty for doing so. But, she had gone so long without knowing anything. "He told them I was what?"

"Convinced them… you were… only a…. half-Jedi."

"A half Jedi?" Ahsoka looked indignant. "What is a half-Jedi?"

"The Generals had a… good laugh… about it… at night… when everyone gone… "

Ahsoka let out a little "Oh," as she realized her Master had figured out a way to protect her, even from a distance. She had so many more questions. "Why are they cloning the clones?"

"Own army…"

"But, they already have a fighting force. They captured our forces at Kaz'haria, working with the Separatists…."

"Generals think… Kaz'harians don't want…. to just… work with… Separatists…"

"Then, what?"

"Want to… control… Separatists."

"Using their own army of clones?" She followed through the train of thinking, from the Kaz'harians point-of-view. Take over the Separatists. Win the war. Take control of the galaxy. _They are either unaware of the Sith threat, or think they can overcome it with enough cloned Jedi._

Ahsoka's jaw dropped in revulsion, thinking of the Kaz'harian army of cloned clones fighting the GAR Republic forces. Psychologically, it would be horrifying. "Cloned Jedi…" Ahsoka murmured, in disbelief, "is such a thing even possible?"

"Don't know," Appo mumbled, "but, they… keep… trying…."

"They have to be stopped!"

But, Appo had passed out again, and despite repeated attempts, Ahsoka could not rouse his fevered form anymore. For the first time since her capture, Ahsoka gave in to despair. She sank her face down onto her knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

# # #

After his 'fight' with Travis, Rex had decided to "take a long walk to clear his head" and "think about his actions."

Making good on his promise, he'd made his way down to the docks to watch Ando's fishing fleet. He found an inviting-looking bench and sat down. At the moment, he didn't have much else to do. He supposed he could have begun the process of interviewing the men for their career preferences. But, he wanted to involve Travis in the process. OK, more accurately, he _needed_ Travis to tackle the daunting task of readjusting one hundred battle-hardened soldiers into civilian lives.

Rex set his helmet next to him on the bench, and absent-mindedly rubbed the back of his head. It was odd having free time, and reminded him rather uncomfortably of his time at ArmyMed. Rex had never much cared for going on leave, except as an opportunity to catch up on sleep. Once he was rested, he invariably got restless.

While on leave, there was no chance he would run into Ahsoka. He was sent to the barracks, and she was sent to the Temple. No opportunity to see her at mealtimes, or work alongside during the day. Long before they'd ever admitted their feelings for each other, Rex had realized he missed the upbeat padawan during these forced separations. Just like he was missing her now, except it was so _different_ now…

Rex groaned in frustration. He turned his attention back toward the docks, trying to take his mind off the physical ache he felt when he thought of Ahsoka. The fleet was maintained entirely by women, much like the warriors who'd battled the pirates after their arrival on Ando. As Rex looked more closely, he realized several of the workers _were _actually from Karyn's pack of homeland warriors.

_Well_, Rex mused, _that explains why they're in such good shape. These are some labor-intensive tasks they are doing._

But, the women all seemed proficient at their work, and in good spirits. Several of the women noticed him watching and waved cheerily to him from time-to-time. He waved back, hoping he wasn't encouraging any type of interest on their part by doing so. Perhaps Karyn could send out a comm on his behalf that he'd didn't want to pursue any, uh, attachments with women in the village. Did civilians post such messages?

Rex raised up his hand as yet another woman on the docks waved at him. _Yes, yes, hello again. That's about the fifth time you've waved to me now. Is all of this waving really necessary? Can we create a cut-off point here at which we are done waving and don't do this anymore?_

After the eight round of waves, Rex was completely 'waved' out. He put his helmet back on, tilted his head slightly back, and pretended to be asleep. But, with all the advanced viewing angles his helmet afforded, he could still easily observe everything going on around him. Thankfully, his ruse worked beautifully and the deluge of waving stopped. The women still glanced over at him from time-to-time, but just gave him disappointed looks.

As Rex watched one boat being loaded up with supplies, and another boat being unloaded with haul full of fish, he was struck by the peaceful rhythm of the place. This was a _good_ place, and if the men chose to stay, they could do well here. With a pang, Rex almost wished he could stay. What a different life it would be from the constant warfare and training he'd always known. Rex immediately pushed the thought away.

_This life is not for me_, Rex said to himself, firmly. _I must go. I must find Ahsoka._

Rex suddenly had a flash connection to Ahsoka so strong it almost knocked him off the bench. He saw Ahsoka in a prison cell, asleep, leaning up against the the wall of her cell. Lying on the dirt floor, prone, was an unmoving clone in 501st blue armor. Was he dead? Rex focused intently, trying to make out which of his brothers was lying there so close to Ahsoka. He studied the detail on the armor… command striping… Appo!

Appo looked dead, but perhaps it was just the poor lighting in the cell. Most prisons disposed of the dead quickly, due to the smell. He was likely alive, and just very ill. Not good.

Ahsoka looked tired, worn and very thin. It pained Rex to see her in such condition. His whole being cried out for her… _Ahsoka!_

Ahsoka looked up suddenly, and began to look around.

Then, the connection was lost as quickly as it had begun.

_Frak!_ Rex's head snapped up, and he looked around. He cursed in frustration. That vision told him nothing that could help him locate her! It only served to worry him further! Rex pounded his fist against the bench. What did it matter? He still had no way off the planet.

# # #

Hours later, Rex had given up on getting anything more out of constantly re-analyzing the frustratingly brief glimpse he'd gotten of Ahsoka. Why was it so hard to communicate with her now? Was it the distance? Was it because she thought he was dead?

He blew out a long breath, and banged the back of his helmeted head against the bench a few times. He was still no closer to figuring out where she was, or where all the rest of the 501st were. Rex sighed, suddenly feeling out-of-place sitting on a bench in a fishing village into _out there_ with the 501st and Ahsoka. He also felt somehow _alone_, which was an unsettling feeling for a clone considering you're generally always surrounded by brothers.

He finally raised up by his head, risking himself to be exposed to the 'waving ritual' again. But, to his relief, most of the women appeared to have either gone home or were out on the boats. There were no wavers in sight. Rex turned his attention back toward the center of the town, and observed how things functioned and flowed there.

As time passed, he saw a number of his troopers casually walking along, checking out the village. A great majority of them were accompanied by women of Ando, and he could see the way his men lit up as they laughed, talked and paid attention to their female companions. In return, he could see the looks the women were giving to his men.

Several of his men noticed him and waved. Ah, so much for getting away with not waving. Well, it was good to see everyone making the most of their leave.

Rex's stomach growled. It was probably mid-afternoon by now, and he hadn't eaten anything since the breakfast he'd shared with Karyn before sunrise. He wondered just how long he should hang out here. Killing time was very difficult work. He rested his head against the back of the bench again, and stared up at the sky.

"There you are," he heard a familiar voice coming up behind him. He turned around and saw Karyn. She came and sat down on the bench next to him. "Are you hiding out, by any chance?"

"Uh…" Rex wasn't sure how to respond to that question.

"Travis is fine. He was sleeping when I left. I gave him a sedative, and then reset the bone. It should heal nicely. He can head back to his host house when he wakes up."

"Oh, uh, that's, uh," Rex tried to think of an appropriate response, "good news." He was sure Travis would have liked to have stayed longer. Maybe he should have hit him harder.

"So, I don't suppose you want to talk about what is going on between the two of you?" Karyn prodded.

Rex shook his head.

Karyn sighed, "I didn't think so. Travis wouldn't talk about it either. He just said there is a lot of old history between the two of you." She turned to Rex, "We did agree you were you were a total idiot to suckerpunch him."

Rex turned the sound off on his helmet so he could laugh in private.

Karyn turned toward Rex, "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Rex had to stop laughing so that he could respond. This almost reminded him of some of the times when he and his brothers would be laughing at something really hard behind their helmets, and would then have to come up with a straight response to their Jedi Generals. "Say?" Rex cocked his head to the side, not sure what sort of response was required here. Civilians seemed to be most inefficient in their communications.

"Would you please take off that helmet? It's hard to have a conversation with you, just staring into that-" she pointed to his dark shaded eyes.

"It's called a visor."

"Yes, fine, well, it's a bit intimidating."

Rex popped the seal on his helmet, and set it aside on the bench. "Will that suffice?"

"Thank you," Karyn said, with a sigh of relief. She shook her head, "I've decided you're a very different person from Travis."

Rex let out a snort of laughter, "There's an understatement."

She pulled out a wrapped bundle from behind her back, "Well, you missed lunch, so I brought you a sandwich."

Rex's eyes widened in surprise, as he accepted the small bundle, "Thank you." He unwrapped the contents to reveal a tempting looking sandwich, piled high with meat and vegetables. "I, am, uh, actually very hungry," Rex admitted. He took a huge bite of the sandwich, and closed his eyes, savoring the taste.

Karyn smiled at him, and shook her head, "I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to Travis. I'm sure you have your own rules in the military, but while you are in my town, I expect there to be some civility." She fixed Rex with a stern warning look, "The rules apply to you as well, Captain, highest ranking officer, or not. I'm willing to let this one incident go, since Travis seems strangely unbothered by the whole thing. But, I trust you will not make a habit of routinely beating Travis, or any of your other men?"

Rex coughed on the bite of sandwich he was eating.

_Karyn actually thought he routinely beat his men? _

He coughed hard to clear the food from his lungs, and then swallowed, his eyes tearing from choking.

"You, OK?"

Rex nodded, thinking Travis of the delight Travis would have when he heard this story.

"Take smaller bites."

Rex nodded, and had to turn his face away for a moment to compose himself. She had to give him a warning not to beat his men? Travis certainly owed him one now!

"It will not happen again," he said, with the utmost solemnity.

Too hungry to engage in any more conversation, they were silent while Rex finished the sandwich. Karyn took the wrapper back from him. "Why don't you come back with me and visit with Travis? Might be a nice way for you two to make amends," Karyn suggested.

Rex was more inclined to stay away a while longer to give Travis some more alone time with Karyn, but since she now was of the mindset that he beat his men, it was probably better that he went back.

"Fine," Rex agreed.

While they walked back, Karyn kept asking questions about Travis. Rex finally acquiesced and shared one humorous incident back from when they were just young cadets. As they walked through the door into the clinic, Karyn was laughing so hard, she placed her hands on Rex's arm, "Great story! Thanks!"

Travis looked up from his bed, and glared at Rex.

_Oh, shab, Travis, not what it looked like_, Rex thought. _OK, that's it, from now on, no more helping brothers with women. This is another area that is much more stressful than battle. I need to get back to combat, where life is so much simpler._

"So, Travis, I brought you a visitor," Karyn said, brightly.

"Great," Travis said, unenthusiastically.

"Travis, stop being such a di'kut," Rex walked over to Travis' bedside and prepared to give him a characteristic smack in the shoulder plates. Karyn suddenly planted herself between them with all the protectiveness of a mother Krayyt dragon.

"Hold up, Captain!" she poked a finger into Rex's armored chest, "Didn't you come here to _apologize_ to Travis?"

Rex's jaw dropped.

Behind Karyn, unseen, Travis' expression was priceless. He broke out into a huge grin and a silent fit of laughter, then grimaced from the strain on his newly broken nose. He finally composed himself and managed to say, "Yes, Rex, I think an apology would be nice."

Rex folded his arms across his chest, with a stormy expression on his face. He glared at Travis, turning his body slightly so Karyn couldn't see and mouthed: "Later."

Travis was still smiling, totally in his element, awaiting expectantly for his 'apology.'

Rex looked back at Karyn, who now had her arms firmly folded across her chest.

Rex cleared his throat, "Well, Travis, about my… uh… behavior earlier today…"

"Yes, Rex?" Travis said, sweetly from the bed, milking the moment.

Rex turned slightly red, then scowled, and plunged on, "… it was…not… uh… appropriate…" the Captain struggled for words that Karyn would find acceptable, yet that Travis wouldn't taunt him with mercilessly later on, "and… uh…" Rex was completely out of apologetic words. He was not used to apologizing to people. He turned his body slightly so Karyn couldn't see and mouthed, "I'm only sorry I didn't hit you harder, di'kut."

Travis chuckled, then winced and put a hand to his aching nose.

Karyn moved to his side, "Are you in pain, Travis?"

"Uh," Travis looked at Rex, then at Karyn, he put a hand up to his nose, "well, uh…yes… it is still painful. He hits _very_ hard."

Karyn shot Rex a look, shaking her head. She moved in to examine Travis' nose again. Behind Karyn, out of her eyesight, Rex made some very unseemly hand gestures toward Travis.

The doctor straightened up again, and turned toward Rex, who tucked his hands away just in time, "Yes, well, I've already had a talk with the Captain about his behavior."

Travis brightened up, "You did?"

"Yes, I made him promise he wouldn't do it again. And, the Captain agreed, didn't he?"

"Yes," Rex muttered.

Travis grinned, then winced. Rex could still see he was enjoying all of this immensely.

"Look, I'm going to get you some ice to keep that swelling down. I'll get you some food while I'm at it," Karyn said, "hey, have you two had a chance to discuss Rex's knee replacement?"

Travis' look immediately changed. "His what?"

Rex shook his head, "No. With everything that's happened, I haven't even had a chance to bring it up."

Karyn left her room, "I'll let you two talk."

Rex took the seat next to Travis' bedside.

"So, di'kut. You have something to tell me?"

"Shut up, Travis. I'm the one who should be mad here. The good doctor here has put me through the ringer because of you."

"You broke my nose!"

"I did you a favor! A favor that has cost me very heavily I might add!" Rex switched to speaking with no volume, since Travis was just lip-reading anyway, "Let that go for the moment, how are things going between you and her?"

Travis smiled, "Pretty good, I think. We talked a lot. So, yeah, breaking my nose _was _a good idea. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Travis switched tracks, "So, what's this about a knee replacement?"

Rex shrugged, "Karyn has access to a cybernetic knee that would fit me."

"And?"

"I didn't want to do anything until I spoke to you."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, Travis, seriously. I'd be laid up for a while and I'd want you to be in command during that time. So, I didn't want to agree to this before I checked with you first."

"And, this could fix your knee?"

"Probably, yes."

"So, you could walk again?"

"That's my understanding."

"You've got to do it! I'll break your other knee if you don't," Travis cocked his head to the side, "this is really good news, Rex."

Karyn returned carrying a small platter with assorted strips of dried meat, some crackers, and some sliced fruit. She also had an ice pack for Travis. Both of the men eyed the platter hungrily.

Karyn laughed, "I see the two of you seem to have gotten your appetites back."

She handed the platter to Rex, "Here, you can share this with Travis."

"Thanks," Rex said, smiling, but being very careful not to smile too long, lest the look be misconstrued by Travis. He quickly turned away, and turned back to Travis. "Here, Travis, food." Rex said to cover the awkwardness of how quickly he'd turned away from Karyn.

"Yeah, I can see that, thanks," Travis said sarcastically. Travis pushed himself up to his elbows, and grabbed a piece of the dried meat. He popped it into his mouth, and then winced, putting a hand up to his nose.

"Here, wait, try this," Karyn propped him up on pillows and handed him the ice pack for his nose. Travis gave her a grateful smile. "Now, you can eat using your other hand. So, you two have a chance to talk?" Karyn prompted.

"Yes," Travis answered, around a mouthful of meat, he pointed a finger at Rex, "schedule him. He's getting a new knee." He pointed to himself, and grinned, despite the pain it caused his broken nose, "and, _I'll_ be in charge for once."

Rex just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

# # #

"Travis, you're back!" Karyn said, turning in surprise to greet the commander as he knocked on her door. "Did you need me to check your nose?"

Travis briefly touched the tape covering the upper portion of his nose. He shook his head, "Uh, no. I heal quick. It seems fine, thank you. I actually came to visit with Torch, if that's OK. I had a chance to talk with him a little when I was in the clinic yesterday getting my nose fixed. Just wanted to check up on him again and see how he's doing."

"You're very thoughtful."

Travis shrugged, "Uh, well, we've all been concerned about him. He took quite a hard hit to the head when we crashed."

"So, I heard. Seems he and Rex took the brunt of the landing."

Travis nodded, "The two of them made sure several of our other brothers were safe, almost at the expense of their own lives."

Karyn shook her head, "Judging from what I've come to learn about your Captain, somehow I'm not surprised by that."

"Yes, it's almost annoyingly in-character for him," Travis said, with a half-scowl. He didn't particularly want to discuss Rex any longer with Karyn, so he changed the topic. He nodded his head toward the clinic, "So, how's Torch doing anyway?"

"Well, he was sleeping last time I checked in on him, which isn't unusual with head injuries like his. Considering he has a fractured skull, and a severe concussion, he's doing remarkably well. Thankfully, his brain swelling seems to be resolving itself."

Travis nodded, "I'm glad he's doing better. Well, I guess I'll come back later… I don't want to disturb him. Thank you." He nodded. "Good bye." He pivoted, and started back down the step.

Karyn caught his arm. Travis looked back at her in surprise, mid-step.

"You don't have to go," Karyn said, she opened the door wider and indicated that Travis should come in. "I already ate breakfast with Rex, but there's still plenty of caf and sweet rolls. Are you hungry?"

Travis raised up his eyebrows at the mention of food. "Rex actually left some food?"

Karyn laughed, "I've learned to stock larger quantities of everything now that there are troopers around. Come in." She playfully tugged on his arm, pulling him into the kitchen. Their shoulders collided, as his armor bumped into her as he passed through the doorframe. Their eyes met and locked for a moment, before Karyn looked away.

"Ah, anyway," Karyn quickly continued, "I was just getting ready to do some work in the garden. If you're not busy right now, perhaps you'd like to join me? I was going to tug some stubborn weeds, tackle this tree root that has been plaguing me forever, and then work on my herb garden. Perhaps I could teach you a thing or two about medicinal herbs."

Travis leaned up against the counter, as if weighing her offer very carefully, "You know, when I woke up this morning, I was just thinking that I wanted to tug weeds, tackle tree roots, and learn more about medicinal herbs."

"Sure you were wise guy," Karyn approached him and smacked him hard on his armor, then rubbed her hand. "Ow. Not fair. That hurts. I think at some point we also need to find you something else to wear."

Travis looked down at his armor, "What? This isn't a good look for me?"

Karyn handed him the basket of sweet rolls, and looked him up and down, "Uh no. That's not the problem at all, actually. It's quite a good look on you."

Travis selected a roll, and settled in at the kitchen table. He mused over the compliment, '_a good look on you_.' As Karyn set a cup of caf in front of him, he realized he could grow to like gardening.

# # #

Karyn laughed in the sunshine, and looked over at the ruggedly handsome man working next to her. They were trying to extricate a portion of a trunk, left behind when lighting had split a particularly stubborn tree

apart. The day had warmed up, and Travis had removed the top half of his armor and bodysuit. Sweat glistened off of his chest muscles as he wrestled with the large root. Like all the clones she'd treated, Karyn noticed Travis had bronzed skin, and chest muscles that were perfectly toned and articulated. She'd never treated any men on Ando that were so perfect in their musculature. It was like seeing living works of art.

But, there was something about the way the energetic Lieutenant moved that was a little different than the others. There was a certain spark about him, a certain confidence that set him apart. With his helmet off, she could see that there were actually two streaks of dark red set into his ebony hair. His hair was absolutely fascinating, the contrast of the two colors reminding her of lava and obsidian. Somehow, this seemed perfectly in fitting to Travis' personality with his fiery wit, and organized pragmatism.

Before she could help herself, she reached out her hands, still clad in gardening gloves, and brushed her fingertips up against the dark red streaks. Travis startled back in surprise from her touch, bits of dirt off her gloves fell into his eyes and he blinked rapidly to clear it away.

"I'm sorry!" she said.

"It's OK," he cocked his head to the side and studied her, bringing up the back of one garden gloved hand to wipe dirt out of his eyes. He gazed at her curiously, trying to figure out what this was all about.

"Didn't mean to do that," Karyn blushed, furiously, tugging off her gloves. She stared down at her feet.

Travis looked at her in surprise and confusion, "OK… fill me in here. What's going on?"

Karyn blushed again, and then looked up at him, curiously shy. "Your hair? May I touch it?"

Travis broke out into a smile, then, and Karyn felt as if that smile was for her and her alone. Her stomach did strange things at that moment, and goose bumps rose up on her arms. He inclined his head down slightly, "Go ahead."

"So, why red?" Karyn asked, fingers lightly exploring his silky dark hair. She traced the two stripes dyed right into his hair, right above one of his ears.

Travis puffed up to his full height and stuck out his chest, "Marine Corps pride." He removed his gloves, setting his hands over hers, tracing the stripes, "They're burgundy, actually," he clarified, "not red."

He blushed then at the feeling of his hand touching hers, and quickly released her hand. "21st Nova Corps, 4th Sector Army," he leaned down to point out the matching stripes on his leg armor, muscles rippling on his bare chest as he bent over to do so. "Torch is a Marine, too, and, so, is Lance. Different battalions, though."

Karyn smiled, "Marines, huh? Very nice. Aren't you guys like the best of the best, or something?"

A strange expression flitted across Travis' face, and he looked away. "Yeah, you'd think so, but, uh… " he looked back at Karyn, and sighed, "… others lay claim to that title, too."

"Seems to me you're a very talented bunch," Karyn said, putting a hand on his forearm. Her arm lingered there for a moment, her bare hand against the uncovered flesh of his forearm. Travis resisted the temptation of looking down at her hand, lest she thinking he was rejecting her touch. He reveled in the sensation of a woman willingly wanted to press her skin up against his own. All too soon, she drew her hand back, and retrieved her gardening gloves from the ground.

"Say, I'm going to need some help in the garden again tomorrow. Are you free?"

Travis studied her, and looked thoughtful, "Hmmm… I don't know." He made a show of looking toward her neighbors' houses, and then down the street and back again. "You know, there are a _lot_ of people wanting me to pull weeds in _their_ yards. I might be totally booked up." He folded his muscular biceps across his chest, and then grinned at Karyn. "But, I think I can make myself available."

# # #

It was lightly snowing the next morning when Travis arrived, bright and early. Very early. The sun wasn't even up yet, but Karyn was used to the early hours now that the clones kept since Rex was always up early. The Captain had already eaten breakfast, and left the house. He hadn't said where he was going, and Karyn hadn't asked. But, she assumed he was going to visit some of his wounded men.

Travis had a fine trail of snow stuck to his helmet, and his armor, as if he'd been outside for a while. When he removed his helmet, she noticed his face was red and he was winded, as if he'd been run all the away over to her house.

"You, OK?" she asked, "you look out of breath."

She lead the way to the kitchen table, and offered him a cup of caf.

"Fine, fine," Travis said, brushing off her concerns. "I, uh, like to, uh, go for a bit of a run in the mornings. Could I get a tall glass of water?"

Karyn filled a glass of water for him for the sink, and watched as he quickly gulped it down. "You sure you're OK?"

"Fine. No worries. Just thirsty from my run. You mentioned something about caf?"

"Don't you have training at 0800? Isn't that enough running for you?" Karyn asked, checking her chrono. It was just past 0600.

"Oh, well, yes, but, uh, just getting a little extra run in," Travis said quickly, and then tossed in, "Mmmm… that caf smells good."

Karyn still looked dubious as she looked pointedly outside, "You still go running when it's dark _and_ snowing?"

Travis gave his characteristic shrug and hooked a thumb toward the dark window, "Trust me, being in the Marine Corps, we've slogged through a lot worse than this."

Karyn decided to drop it for the moment. She poured two cups of caf, and set one in front of Travis. As she leaned down right next to him, and studied his red cheeks, she frowned, "Do you even have a coat?" She reached a hand up to feel his skin temperature, touching his face, and then touching his gloved hands. "Rex said that your armor doesn't keep you warm once the temperature drops below certain-"

Travis scowled and gave an exasperated sigh, "Rex doesn't know everything. I'm fine. My armor's holding out."

Karyn 'hmmped' at him, and then asked, "Did you see the coat I gave Rex?"

"No. He's only been wearing his armor when I've seen him."

Karyn nodded thoughtfully.

Travis took another sip of his caf, then added, "Well, Rex did say something about all of us getting coats because the temperature here was going to drop below what our armor could handle. I've seen some of the guys wearing them. But, uh, no, I don't haven't one."

"That's strange. Everyone was supposed to be offered one by their host family, if they had one. I was sure I'd spoken with your host already. She said-"

"Uh, she's been busy," Travis said very quickly. "Didn't want to bother her."

Karyn studied Travis thoughtfully, as if trying to piece together a mystery that just didn't quite make sense. Travis looked away from her scrutiny, and stared down into his caf cup.

"Have you eaten today?" Karyn asked, after a moment.

Travis looked up at the mention of food. "Well, sort of. I had a rations bar."

"A rations bar? Why didn't-"

"She was busy, as I said. Didn't want to be a bother."

Karyn got up and grabbed a basket of sweetbread off the counter and handed it to Travis. He smiled gratefully, and immediately dug two pieces of bread out of the basket. She watched him wolf down the two pieces, and then nodded to him, "There's plenty. You might as well have some more."

Travis gave her a grateful smile, and selected another two pieces. Karyn continued to study him thoughtfully while she watched him eat. Travis paused mid-bite, and then pushed the basket back toward her.

"Did you eat?"

She smiled at his concern, "I'm good. I ate with Rex."

"Ah, Rex. Of course. He's off on his rounds already. Visiting Hok, then Sabre, Razor and the quadriplegics." Travis said it as a statement, not a question.

Karyn look at him, in surprise, "You spoke to him already this morning?"

Travis just shrugged, "No. I don't know. Somehow I just know. It's weird. It's getting like that between Rex and me now. Weird, I know. Maybe it's because those are the rounds he did yesterday. But, I am absolutely certain that is where he is going right now."

Karyn gave him a long, considering look, "That _is _unusual. Do you think it's just because you know Rex so well?"

"I actually know him even better than you think." He didn't elaborate on the statement, and just left it hanging in the air. Karyn looked at him, puzzled, hoping he would explain himself. When he didn't, she decided just to be patient. She'd learned that prying didn't work at all with the troopers. Travis nodded toward the caf machine, "OK if I pour myself another cup?"

Karyn gestured for him to help himself. Travis refilled his cup, and then brought the pot over and refilled Karyn's cup as well. The doctor was beginning to note that for professional soldiers, the clones were surprisingly considerate of others. _With the exception of Travis and Rex constantly trying to pound on each other, _Karyn thought.

"OK. Back to you not freezing," Karyn said, she put a finger up to cut off Travis' protestations when he was about to object again, "how about we look and see what I have here in my closets at the house?" Her voice grew quiet for a moment, before she said, "I, uh, have to confess I hung on to… a lot of things."

Travis looked puzzled for a moment, and then realized she was referring to her late husband. Rex had mentioned she'd lost a husband in the war. Travis wasn't sure what to say, so he stared down into his caf cup, feeling awkward.

Karyn cleared her throat, wondering why this conversation had suddenly turned so awkward between them. "I'm not sure why I've never been able to get rid of Janos' clothes. But, uh, they're all still there. I gave Rex the leather coat, but he had more than one coat. And, we talked about getting you some gardening clothes yesterday… " She gave Travis an appraising look again, and he returned her look with an upraised eyebrow. "Do you have any other clothes? Casual clothes?"

Travis shrugged, "Fatigues. One pair," his lips curled into a smile, "and, they are _burgundy_, not red. We all have a pair. They're just not very warm, and don't fit under our armor. Haven't used them much since the war began, except for at the barracks." Travis shook his head, lost in thought for a moment, "Been deployed so much, didn't actually spend much in the barracks over the past year.."

Karyn reached across the table, and placed her hand on top of his. Travis came back to the present, and he looked down at their joined hands. Then, he looked up at Karyn. "It's OK," she said, softly, "you're in a good place, now."

"I can protect you," Travis said, repositioning his hands so that he could grip her hands and wrap his own around them.

Karyn's eyes sparkled, and she tugged her hands free. She placed her hands back on top of Travis', "I'm a warrior, _Travis_. I don't need protecting. You've seen me. Do I look like I need protecting?"

Travis frowned, pulled his hands free, "But, it's what I do! I'm a soldier!"

Karyn shook her head, "You're so much more than that. I saw you organize a dinner for 500 with ease, knowing exactly how to pull-together multiple elements and time them perfectly. The advice you gave me yesterday on the town's plans was nothing short of brilliant. You're a natural born leader."

Travis looked at his ranking marks, "I'm a lieutenant. I would've made _Captain_ eventually."

Karyn shook her head, "There are ways to lead, _other_ than just in the military."

"It's all I've ever known."

"You don't have to give it up. Look at me," Karyn laughed, "I wear many different hats in this village. Too many. But, I could really use your help with the strategic planning. I'm overwhelmed."

Part of Travis was thrilled, and part of him was terrified. It felt like a big step away from the familiar, and it was discomfiting. It was exactly like he'd told Karyn, a soldier's life _was_ all he'd ever known. Right now, being in Ando still felt like an adventure – a mission – something you did for a time before going on to another assignment. The reality of not being in the 21st Nova Corps hadn't sunk in yet. He wondered if it was going to be like this for every trooper they tried to help reassign to a new job within Ando. Rex couldn't do all that reassigning by himself…

"Rex and I have a tremendous amount to do, right now, finding jobs for-"

Karyn cut him off, with a gentle hand on his arm. "Relax, Travis. I didn't mean to push. Just think about it, OK? Come on, let's go take a look at those clothes."

As Travis followed Karyn upstairs, he cursed himself. _I've been going out of my way to spend time with Karyn, and get her attention. Now, she offers me the perfect way to spend more time together, and I try to talk her out of it! I must be brain-damaged! Does this mean Rex has to hit me again? No, no, I can fix this…_

# # #

Selecting the clothes was more awkward than Travis had anticipated. The clothes were in Karyn's bedroom, evidenced by the fact there was a huge _bed _in the middle of the room. Travis gave it a nervous glance as Karyn led the way to an equally large closet that spanned one wall of the room.

Karyn sighed as she slid open the right hand door of the large closet revealing all men's clothing. She gave a long sigh, and stood back, staring inside, "I hardly ever open up this side of the closet." Travis stared inside with her, gaping at the neatly hung men's work shirts, sturdy pants, several good pairs of boots, a good thick coat, and couple of nice dress clothes.

Travis instantly felt the presence of the one she referred to as 'Janos,' her former husband, as he looked inside the closet. He expected the man to burst through the door at any moment and demand he leave.

Karyn's voice startled him from his thoughts, "It's just like it was the day he left," she said quietly. She stepped fully into the closet, and reached up to a thick flannel shirt. She rubbed the material between her fingertips as she spoke, lost in memory, "I just kept thinking that he was coming back. I couldn't get rid of all of this… he was going to miraculously turn up, and he would need his all of this again…" her voice trailed off to a broken whisper, and when she turned to Travis she had tears in her eyes. Travis stepped into the closet, and pulled her into his arms. He held her tight against his chest. Karyn sobbed into the armor of his chestplate. Travis tightened his hold, and tucked his chin down on top of her head.

"I've lost many brothers," Travis whispered softly against the top of her head, "but, it never gets any easier."

Karyn turned her head, and looked up at him, eyes glistening. She reached one hand up to trace the dark red stripes in his hair. He closed his eyes, enjoying the simple touch. She reached a second hand up and ran both of her hands through his hair. Travis carefully shifted his hold, running his hands lightly down her sides, skimming her ribs. Karyn shivered in response. She reached one hand down to lightly trace his cheekbone, noticing a scar that ran from his ear to under his jawline.

"What's this from?" Karyn whispered, teasing the scar with her fingertips.

"Busted helmet. Battle of Aargonar. Saved my head, though," Travis said, barely able to concentrate from the sensation of her fingertips against his skin.

Karyn thrust both hands up back up into hair, and murmured huskily, "Good helmet. I'd like to see all your scars."

Travis pulled her tightly against his body, and growled back, "I think that could be arranged." His mouth was just about to descend upon Karyn's when his wrist comlink blinked brightly to life. Travis had left his helmet downstairs, so he was receiving a text.

"TRAVIS. THIS IS REX. DO YOU COPY?"

"Of course, it is," Travis groaned.

The text repeated.

Karyn chuckled, moving away, the mood broken. "You better take care of that."

Travis swore, "I'm going to kill him." Karyn chuckled again, and stepped out of the closet.

"Travis here."

"WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? WHY DID I HAVE TO TEXT YOU?"

"Nothing, Rex. Actually, _nothing_ is going on," Travis said with an annoyed huff, he walked out the closet, and headed back downstairs to retrieve his helmet, "is this about today's drill schedule?"

"YES. IS THIS A BAD TIME?"

"Hah! _Now_ you ask that? Well, I give you credit, Rex, you're getting better at this stuff. No, Rex, now's a _great_ time. Let's talk. We have work to do. Hang on. I'm switching from my wristlink to my helmet, so you can use audio and let the helmet handle the text transcription. The GAR is not completely user-friendly to clones with disabilities, but, then again, why would they be, eh? Alright, hang on, switching over…" Travis slid his helmet over his head, and sealed it up. "OK, talk to me, brother."

"So, where are you?" Rex asked, directly.

"Your place."

"Ah." Rex remained silent for a long moment.

"Quit it. You broke my nose to give me this opportunity, remember? Now, shut it and let's get some work done."

"Are you ordering me around, Travis?"

Travis laughed, thinking back to his earlier discussions with Karyn about leadership.

"No, Captain. I await your orders, as always, _sir_." Travis said, trying to sound duly respectful.

"Wow. Very nice. That almost sounded sincere."

"Can we just get on with it? You're getting unnaturally cheery, Rex, and I don't like it."

Rex chuckled, "This is almost as much fun as breaking your nose. OK, OK,

I'm sending you an uplink of drills I've devised for our practice today at oh-eight hundred. Not sure about the second drill, though, and could use your feedback…"

# # #


	60. Chapter 60 Progress

A/N: A huge thank you to Sachariah for his patient beta-reading.

Here's some very cool- sketches of Travis, done by fangirlscreams. Now, since ffn cuts off all links, I'm going to try this by just cutting out the spaces. Otherwise, it's on deviantart, under the username gloryblaz, and these are called her Travis Concept Sketches. http : / gloryblaz . deviantart . com / art / Travis – Concept - Sketches - 266708623

"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?

Chapter 60

Ahsoka gave in to her despair. There was absolutely no hope. She'd been unsuccessful in removing her bindings, or figuring out the Force collar. Her Master had been taken away and not returned. Commander Appo had not woken up again since their initial conversation. If the Kaz'harians cloned the clones, and cloned the Jedi, then surely they would take over the Republic. An army of Jedi and clones would be devastating. There would be no stopping them. Everything she'd ever worked for would be lost. There was no hope. No hope at all…

Without warning, a familiar presence reached out to her. Ahsoka's eyes shot open and she gasped in shock. She would know the familiar feel of that presence anywhere.

But, it was impossible! He was gone.

_Ahsoka!_ Rex's voice called out in her mind, and she could feel his comforting strength through the unique bond they shared. But, before she could respond, the bond was severed and his presence was gone. She was left reeling in shock.

Rex was alive!

# # #

Rex exhaled nervously, his eyes darting around the brightly lit room. At the moment, it reminded him uncomfortably of the cold, sterile environment of ArmyMed.

"OK, Captain, I want you to just relax, and think happy thoughts. When you wake up, you'll have a new knee."

Rex nodded at the doctor, and tried to squelch his nervousness. He wasn't adverse to pain, but Karyn had warned him the knee replacement would initially cause severe discomfort. The nerves in his leg were already over-sensitive, and still hadn't stopped with the constant 'pins and needles' sensation. But, he wasn't willing to delay the procedure at all. He had to get this done as soon as possible. He needed to get back on his feet, and find Ahsoka.

"Do you want me to hold your hand, Rex, while you go to sleep?"

"Travis, you are _not_ my happy thought."

Travis laughed, "Aw, come on. I must rank up there somewhere in your happiness scale."

Rex just glared at Travis, but his brother wasn't to be deterred in his efforts to cheer him up, "Ah! I know who your happy thought is… No, don't worry. I won't say it. Your secret is safe with me… But, just focus on your Je… mystery person… that's it… close your eyes… relax… breathe out…"

Karyn came over and began administering a series of injections to Rex. He tensed up again and opened his eyes looking around in alarm.

"Easy brother," Travis said, he reached out and grabbed Rex's arm. Rex didn't pull away. He seemed comforted by Travis' touch. "Remember, happy place."

Rex's eyes begin to drift shut, and his whole body went slack.

# # #

"OK, Captain, you're all done. Can you hear me? I need you to wake up now."

Rex blinked groggily. Sounds seemed much too loud. He groaned, and shook his head in protest.

"M….n….." he mumbled, his tongue feeling thick and clumsy.

"No, Captain, you can do better than that. Time to wake up."

Rex managed to open one eye, but just as quickly it slid shut again.

"Come on, you can do it," he heard the doctor's voice encouraging him, and felt someone gently shaking his shoulder.

"M- n-…." he began to drift off again.

"Rex! Up! Now!"

Rex's eyes snapped open, just as he felt a not-so-gentle slap on his bicep.

"Tr'vis? Wha- 's it?" He slurred out, his tongue felt clumsy and uncoordinated. He licked his lips. "'re the men 'K?" He coughed, and noticed his mouth felt horribly dry. He tried to remember what was going on, but couldn't seem to focus. His eyes slid closed again, but he murmured, "Tr'vis, give me a sit'rep."

"Situation report? You had your knee replacement done. We're trying to wake you up. How much of that stuff did you give him?"

Rex finally tore his eyes open, and blearily turned his focus on Travis, and then Karyn, " Not her… fault…I some..times react funny to meds."

Karyn came over and shined a light in his eyes, checking his pupil reaction. Rex reared back from the light.

The doctor frowned, "React funny? Ah, that probably would have been good to know _before_ the surgery, Captain. You see, it's actually a good thing to share medical information with your doctor."

"Uh…" Rex grunted out, his eyes sliding shut as he began to fall back asleep.

"No. Stay with us," Karyn shook him back awake.

Rex peered one eye and gave her an annoyed look. "Tired," he complained, his eyes sliding shut again.

"Rex! Up!" Travis commanded.

Rex's eyes opened again and he focused on Travis, "OK. OK."

"Yes, well, we need to see how you are responding to the prosthetic." She tugged back the blanket, and touched his toes with a sharp probe. "Can you feel that?"

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Rex responded, wincing, "You done good. Now, go away."

Karyn shot him an annoyed look, "But, I need to run more tests."

"No."

Travis burst out laughing at Rex's obstinance.

"Not helping," Karyn hissed to Travis.

Travis shrugged, "It's just so rare to see Mr. Perfect in a mood like this. I'm enjoying this while I can."

Karyn rolled her eyes, "Seems I am fighting a losing battle here, and getting no help from _this one_." She subtly gave Travis a kick in the shins. He winced and retreated back a step. But, he was still smiling.

"OK. Captain, you win. Back to sleep, you go."

"I _am _asleep," Rex insisted, turning his head to the side, and burying it deeper into his pillow.

This statement just set Travis to laughing even harder. Karyn shot him another annoyed look, and went back to checking Rex's vital functions.

"Well?" Travis asked.

Karyn nodded with satisfaction, "Everything's normal. His body is responding well to the prosthetic."

"That's great!" Travis peered down at Rex, poking him in the chest a few times. "Other than the part where he's totally stoned out… and passed out."

Karyn shook her head, "That's not fair, Travis. It would have helped if Rex would have been more forthcoming with relevant medical data prior to his surgery."

Travis shook his head, ""Uh, yeah. I'll talk to him about that." He studied his sleeping comrade another moment, and then noticed Karyn still looked put out. He came around behind her, and began rubbing her shoulders, "Relax. I was just teasing you, OK? I was just treating you like one of us. It's how we show affection."

"More like torment each other," Karyn murmured, she gave a pleasured sigh as her muscles began to relax. "You're good at this."

"Huh?" He had to peer around toward her face. "Sorry. I didn't catch that."

Karyn turned so Travis could read her lips, "Thank you," she looked down, studying Rex, and then back at Travis, "you're much more hands-on than Rex is."

He scoffed, "Yeah, he's pretty tightly wound."

Karyn looked toward Travis again, "Was he always like this?"

Travis could tell Karyn was intrigued by Rex. He sighed, "No. Back when we were growing up on Kamino, he was… different. More… arrogant. Even more annoying, if you can believe that. Always sure that he knew everything about everything, even though none of us had any practical field experience. Didn't matter, though. He still always had the answers. Most annoying fellow imaginable."

"Yet you were still friends with him."

"Friends? If you could call it that. We're brothers."

"You have many brothers, Travis. You choose to spend your free time with Rex."

Travis scowled. Karyn just happened to be turned toward him when he did it, and she laughed. "You look just like Rex when you do that! I don't think the two of you look anything alike anymore, but just when you made that face, you looked just like him!"

Travis' jaw dropped, "You don't think Rex and I look anything alike, even though we're clones?"

Karyn shook her head. "No. The two of you are so totally different-"

Travis cut her off mid-sentence by spinning her around, and crushing his lips down on hers. Karyn was caught totally off-guard and froze. When she didn't respond to his kiss, Travis pulled back from her and cursed.

"Travis, wait!"

"No. Trust me. I get it. I'm so stupid," Travis said, stepping away from her and staring down at the unconscious man in the bed, "It's him. Isn't it?" He cursed again, "I'm a fool for thinking I even had a chance with you." He turned and quickly exited the room.

"Travis, wait! No! It's not like that-"

But, Travis couldn't hear her because he had his back turned toward her. She heard his footsteps quickly retreating down the stairs, and then the door close to the kitchen as Travis left the house.

# # #

Travis was just at the end of the driveway, when he felt an arm grab him from behind and spin him around.

"Travis, stop and listen," Karyn said, breathless, "I've been shouting at you all the way down the driveway."

"Yeah, well, I've deaf, remember? One of my many flaws, in addition to not being Rex," Travis said, his jaw tightly clenched.

"Well, then, I guess I'm just going to have to learn to live with your many imperfections," Karyn said.

Travis' eyes widened. "Wait…. What? Are you sure?" he whispered, to her. Karyn nodded, and smiled at him.

Travis picked her up in his arms and spun her around. He slowly slid her down his body until they were face-to-face, and in a deep voice asked, "May I kiss you now?"

Karyn felt her heart beating rapidly. She wasn't sure she'd ever anticipated a kiss so much before.

Travis leaned tentatively in and brushed his lips up against hers. This was his first kiss. However, he'd devoted a great deal of hours to _thinking_ about things like this. Karyn reached a hand up behind his neck and pulled him down toward her. Travis remembered thinking her lips were soft, and tasted a little like the sweet breakfast pastries she served him in the mornings. He pressed his lips down harder and felt her respond back, moving her lips against his own. He moaned then, and pulled her body more tightly up against him. She responded by pushing her tongue lightly between their pressed lips.

Karyn could feel her whole body responding to his, and she wanted more of him. She felt how easily this could spiral out-of-control, but part of her was aware that they were still standing in the middle of her driveway.

"So, just how long can we expect the good Captain to be sleeping?" Travis murmured, moving his lips to Karyn's neck.

"Several hours," Karyn gasped out, she looked toward her neighbors' windows. "Uh, Travis, I think perhaps we should move this inside."

Travis gave her a suggestive look, glancing back toward the house, "The bedroom closet?" he murmured, hopefully.

Karyn laughed, "Perhaps. I was thinking maybe we could start with a shower."

Travis' eyes widened as he immediately worked out all the scenarios. "Oh, yes. The shower. And, _then_, the closet."

# # #

Rex woke up to hear Travis moaning.

Ignoring the pain in his knee, he pushed himself up to one elbow, "Travis?" his voice came out as a harsh croak.

Then, he heard Karyn moaning.

"Karyn?" he said, worriedly, his voice still coming out as a ragged whisper from his parched throat.

Rex heard a thump against the wall, and then Karyn cried out. Were they under attack? Rex looked around the room in a panic, trying to figure out where his armor and blasters were. He quickly pushed himself up to a seated position, ignoring the sharp burst of pain from his knee. Then, he heard all the squeaking of the bed mattress. Eeee- eeee. Eeeee- eeee. Eeeee- eeeeee.

Huh?

Rex froze in position as a horrified feeling solidified in his gut, and he began to figure out what was occurring in the room directly next to his.

"Oh, Travis…."

"You like that, ad'ika? What if I kiss you right here…"

Another moan shortly followed, punctuated by more squeaking of the bed mattress.

Ahhhhhhhh! Rex put his hands over his ears. It was too much to take, groggy and nauseated as he was. He closed his eyes, and slowly eased himself back down into a lying down position, hissing even that slight movement. His knee was throbbing. He peered around to see if Karyn had left him some painkillers on the side table. Nothing. A glass of water, maybe? Rex let out a sigh of disappointment. No water either. The side table was empty.

Rex swallowed, trying to get some saliva in his throat. But, he felt like he was choking on his tongue. His mouth was so dry and cottony. Uggggh.

Maybe she hadn't expected him to wake up this soon. He felt positively miserable.

Rex raised his head up again, trying to see if his utility belt was within reach. If he could just get to one of the pouches of water in his belt, and the painkillers he kept there, or maybe even some stims. Something. Anything had to be better than this. But, he couldn't see any signs of his armor. Shab.

OK, he just needed to think of his happy place.

Happy place. Happy place… Come to think of it, I haven't actually been to that many 'happy' places. But, I do know one happy person. And, I know how she makes me feel when I'm around her…

He closed his eyes and pictured Ahsoka, starting with the first time he was introduced to her on Christophsis. She was brash and cocky, and much too young to be in a war zone. But, even then, she had a certain spark and confidence that appealed to him. From that point on, his days always got that much more interesting.

As he ignored the throbbing pain in his knee, he mentally recounted all the missions and battles he'd gone on with Ahsoka. Finally, he remembered everything that had happened on TriLuna, and he even managed to find a little bit of humor in the image of his tough little Jedi determinedly carrying him to that cave after he'd been shot. She'd never given up on him, and he wondered how many other Jedi would have gone so far to save the life of an injured clone.

His knee had been burning with pain then, too, but Ahsoka had been there. She had taken care of his every need. She had bathed him constantly when he'd had a fever. She had kissed him, and caressed him. If not for that untimely commcall from General Skywalker, he would have taken her right there on the cave floor.

Rex sighed miserably. He shifted uncomfortably. Uggh. His leg was on fire. It hadn't hurt this much since before he'd gone into the bacta. So much for going into his happy place. His happy place sucked.

At least the squeaky mattress noises next door had stopped. He was certainly happy for Travis. Since crashlanding on Ando, it seemed a great number of the men had found some romantic entanglements of one kind or another. And, it wasn't like Rex hadn't actually helped this particular 'entanglement' along.

Arrrgh! Rex squirmed uncomfortably as a spasm ran through his leg. He pulled himself to a sitting position, and put both hands above his knee putting some pressure on his thigh… that seemed to ease the pain somewhat. He stayed in that position for a while, gritting his teeth down to deal with the fiery ache burning in his knee.

Karyn and Travis came through the door, both freshly showered, and with a red, rosy glow to their cheeks.

Karyn started, and then looked upset, "You shouldn't be sitting up yet, Rex."

"Hurts," Rex gasped out, not looking up from where he was putting pressure on his leg.

Karyn looked guilty, and threw Travis a look. Travis also looked upset, but handled it better, "She's right. Lay down, you idiot."

"I'll get you a painkiller right away," Karyn grabbed her medical bag off the floor, and pulled out a pre-filled syringe. She pried Rex's hands away from his leg, and injected him right above the knee. Rex grimaced from the injection, but then began to relax.

"Better," he said, after a moment.

Karyn peeled back the bandages, and examined his knee. "It's swelling up. Let's get some ice on it."

"I'll get it," Travis offered, disappearing out the door.

"Other than the swelling, it still looks pretty good. How long have you been awake?"

"A while," Rex said, neutrally, watching her work.

Karyn looked up at him, devastated, "I'm so sorry. I should have been here sooner. This is totally unlike me."

Rex shrugged, "I'll survive. I'd appreciate getting my armor and gear back, though. There's things in there I could use."

Karyn nodded, "OK. Lesson number one, then, don't separate a clone from his armor."

Rex gave her a small smile, "You're learning, doctor."

Travis reappeared in the doorway, ice in hand, "Oh, I'd say she learns very quickly." He gave a cocky grin.

Karyn rolled her eyes, "Travis, the ice?"

Travis sauntered in, still grinning, and putting a possessive arm around Karyn's shoulders.

The doctor gave a tight-lipped smile, and pulled his arm off of her shoulders, "Let's focus on Rex, now, OK?"

Travis looked stung. He took a step back, still holding the ice. "Yeah, fine. Rex."

"Alright, let's lay you back down," Karyn said, sliding a hand under Rex. Without being asked, Travis moved to Rex's other side, and they worked together to ease Rex into a comfortable position on the bed. Rex gasped when his knee was moved just a little too quickly.

"Easy, Travis!" Karyn said, her voice coming out harsher than she'd intended.

"Not his fault," Rex said wearily, eyes closed, lying prone on the bed, "I shouldn't have been up."

Karyn put a hand on his shoulder, "Well, you're right about that part." She put a hand to his cheek and said tenderly, "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up, but you need to stay flat on your back for a while."

"How long is a while?" Rex asked, hoarsely, still not opening his eyes.

"Until I say you can get up. But, several days, at least."

Rex just 'hmmmped' at that, yawned hugely, and made a vague gesture toward the two of them, "congratulations, anyway, on your," he gestured again, "whatever you call it. Although," Rex reached back to touch the wall behind his head, "some soundproofing might be in order if this is going to be a regular thing."

Travis burst out laughing, but Karyn looked mortified.

"I'll just give you a heads-up and you can put your bucket on to filter out the noise," Travis said, chuckling.

Rex shrugged, "OK. That would work."

"You could hear us?" Karyn whispered, mortified, not finding the conversation amusing, at all.

Travis grinned, "Clones have unusually good hearing, ad'ika," he crossed his arms across his chest, "we're bred to be genetically superior in many ways. Right, brother?"

Rex rolled his eyes, "I'm sure she's discovered all of your many fine attributes already, Travis. There's no need to brag."

Travis laughed, but Karyn just looked back and forth between the two, not finding their humor nearly as entertaining as they did. She looked embarrassed and uncomfortable at the moment.

"Rex, you want to take this before it freezes my fingers off?" Travis held out the ice pack.

Karyn shook her head and took the ice pack from him, carefully positioning it on Rex's knee. Rex sighed with relief as his knee went numb from the ice.

"Keep the ice packs coming, along with those painkillers, and I'll be just fine."

Travis slipped to the other side of Karyn so he could put his arm around Karyn again. Karyn looked a bit uncomfortable about being embraced in front of a 'patient.' After a moment, she slipped out from under Travis' embrace. Travis frowned. Karyn began taking Rex's vitals. Travis went and sat down, watching everything. Karyn asked Rex a few questions about how he was feeling, and once again prodded his toes with a probe.

"Ow, ow, and ow, again," Rex said, "thanks you for jabbing me with your sharp pointy object."

Karyn shot him a look, "Hey, it's the price for getting a new knee. Deal with it."

"Sorry, not at my best," Rex said, actually looking sorry, "could I get water?"

"I'll get it," Travis offered. He gave Karyn a questioning look, "He can have it, right?"

Karyn nodded, and Travis headed off. Karyn continued prodding Rex's toes, much to his annoyance, until Travis returned with the water.  
"If you think this is uncomfortable, just wait until you begin the physical therapy," Karyn said.

"Can't wait," Rex said, although there was a bit of humor in his voice. He reached for the glass Travis was holding, but his hands were shaking. Travis pulled it back.

Travis gave Karyn a questioning look, "OK if I handle this one?"

Karyn stepped back and raised up her hands, "Better you than me. Be my guest."

Travis sat right down on the mattress next to Rex, and lifted up his head, "OK, you know the drill on this one. Same as on the battlefield. Small sips or you'll get sick."

"Uh huh," Rex said, dismissively, still grabbing from the glass. He began to gulp down the water.

Travis pulled the cup back. "No! Rex!"

"I'm thirsty, Travis!" Rex complained.

"Yes, but you just had surgery. You're miserable enough as it is, Rex, and I'm not just talking about your personality here." Rex glared up at Travis. "Alright, we're going to try this again… Hey! Look at that! You can follow simple instructions. You're not such a dumb clone, after all."

Karyn had to chuckle at the usual banter between the two brothers. Travis definitely had a way with Rex, and could manage him better than she could. Rex seemed to listen better to Travis.

"Tired," Rex complained, after he finished the water.

"Me, too," Travis said, with a grin, and Rex rolled his eyes at him.

Karyn finished taking Rex's temperature, and then nodded with satisfaction. "OK, everything looks good. Captain, are you hungry at all?"

"No. Just want to sleep."

"OK, Travis. Let's go."

Travis grinned at Rex, "Duty calls."

Rex rolled his eyes at Travis, before his eyes slide shut.

Karyn grabbed Travis and tugged him out the door.

# # #

Travis followed Karyn down to the kitchen. She heated up some nerf slices and made a fresh pot of caf.

"You want some help?" Travis asked, coming up to stand behind Karyn. He slid his arms around her waist. "I'm actually very good in the kitchen," he murmured, leaning down to plant a kiss on her neck.

Karyn shook him off, "Not now, Travis. I'm cooking."

Travis frowned, but backed off. He went to where he knew Karyn stored her plates and serving utensils and set the table. He'd spent enough time in her kitchen over the past week to know his way around comfortably. As he set up for their meal, he gazed at her back as she cooked, giving her a troubled glance.

Maybe she's hungry? Over-tired? Maybe she gets like this after she does surgery? Travis' mind raced with possibilities, hoping it was not him that had put her in an off-mood.

Karyn served the nerf strips and sat down on that table next to Travis. "So, how long have you known Rex?"

Travis cocked his head to the side, and gave her an odd look. She wants to talk about Rex now? After what just happened between her and me?... Well, I guess he is living in her house.

Travis gave a small laugh, "Well, Rex and I go wayyyy back."

"So, you've both said a few times. What exactly does that mean, anyway?"

Travis looked upstairs to where Rex was sleeping, as if debating whether to reveal a particularly sensitive piece of information. "Well…" he looked at Karyn, then down at his hands, "er… Rex and I are… uh… hatchmates."

Karyn stopped mid-bite, and stared, "Hatchmates?"

Travis nodded, nervously, and looked upstairs, as if expecting Rex to come charging down at any moment, "Yes."

"What does that mean exactly?" Karyn asked.

"We were hatched from the same vat."

Karyn tried to process the implications of this. OK, she knew they were all clones with the same father from the same cloning facility, "So, is this unusual, Travis?"

Travis nodded, "Yes. Normally, clones are hatched one per vat."

Karyn paused, as she tried to figure out what it was Travis was telling her. She wished she knew more about the cloning process. "OK, then…" she said, talking aloud, hoping Travis would fill in the rest, "so, if all of you are clones, which makes you biologically identical, then that makes you and Rex like… twins?"

"Yes, you could call us that. But, technically, we're hatchmates, not twins."

"Fine. OK, why are whispering?"

"Rex doesn't like to talk about it."

"And, why is that?"

"It makes us different from the other clones."  
"And, different is bad when you are a clone?" Karyn asked confused, thinking of all the different haircuts and tattoos she had seen."

"There are different kinds of different," Travis said, as if that should have been totally obvious.

"So, being a twin is a bad kind of different."

"Well, it's unusual enough to make you stand out," Travis said, with a characteristic shrug, "brothers usually like to blend in with other brothers."

"So, you never tell anyone you're twins?"

Travis both nodded, and shook his head, "Hatchmates."

"But, you're still clones."

"Of course," Travis instantly agreed, looking as if she'd almost insulted him.

"But, does that make you and Rex even more identical to each than the other clones?" Karyn asked, still trying to figure out the implications of what Travis had just revealed.

"To be honest, we have no idea why they did something different with us. As far as we know, we are two of only 200 that were created this way."

Karyn was thoroughly intrigued at this point. She leaned in toward Travis, "And, the 200 of you… are you somehow _different_ from the other clones?"

Travis' voice dropped, and he looked upstairs nervously again, before looking back at Karyn, "Uh…. yes, well, we did notice some differences."

"Like what?"

Travis' voice had dropped to a whisper at this point, "For one, we _all_ seemed to make it into Command School. We were already into our second year of command training, when Rex and I happened to stumble across our records. When we figured this stuff out, Rex was furious."

Karyn looked puzzled, "Why?"

Travis gave her a look like it should have been totally obvious, "Because he thought he'd been chosen based totally on merit. And, now it seemed he'd been given an unfair genetic advantage. It shook the very foundations of everything he believed in himself."

"What happened?"

"Well, after he finished being mad, he actually got depressed."

"Rex did? Really?"

"Yes. Most unsettling coming from him."

"What'd you do?" Karyn was completely intrigued by the story, and hanging on every word.

"Well, I convinced him that he made it Command School because of the merits of who he truly was, otherwise he would have died in training like the others." Travis threw his hands up, and shrugged, as if giving a story with a very happy ending, "and, it worked! After that, he went back to being his insufferable self, and believing in himself."

"Wait, wait! _Who_ died in training?"

Travis shrugged, "Nothing more than the usual attrition rate, really. But, what I meant was, we calculated there were about 200 hatchmates originally total, right? However, only about half that number actual survived until age eight."

"Age eight?"

"That's the age when Rex and I entered command school, and started our officer training."

"Isn't that a little young?"

Travis looked confused, "No. All eligible clones start specialized training then since the body has reached full maturation by that age."

Karyn was visibly startled, "Full maturation?"

"Of course," Travis' brow furrowed, "Rex never mentioned our accelerated aging?"

Karyn's eyes grew wide, as she felt like she was about to hear something she definitely would not like, "Uh….No. He's not overly forthcoming in our conversations. Let's hear it."

Travis looked down for a moment ago, now less sure of himself. He looked at Karyn, uncertainly, as if trying to figure out how to deliver this piece of news, "Well, in manufacturing clones, it's more efficient if they mature faster."

Karyn felt her stomach drop, as she suddenly realized where this was going.

Travis took a deep breath and continued, speaking rapidly, "It makes sense if you are creating an Army to, uh, do so as quickly as possible. Our aging has been accelerated since birth so that we would be, uh, delivered in a timely manner to the end clients… the Jedi."

Karyn had turned pale, and was now rubbing at her temple as if warding off a headache. She exhaled, and then said quietly, "Travis, how old are you?"

"I'm… uh.. well…", Travis hesitated, "mind you, the years don't translate because they're accelerated-"  
"Travis," Karyn said in a warning tone that brokered no disagreement, "just answer the question."

Travis gave up, defeated, "I'm 11. 11 ½ actually. But, I'll turn 12 the week of the Festival of Life…" Travis' voice trailed off when he saw Karyn's reaction.

Karyn had put a hand up to her mouth, and was biting down on it. She turned her body away from Travis.

"Uh oh," Travis mumbled.

She abruptly stood up, grabbed her caf cup, and exited the house.

"Shab," Travis pushed his plate of partially unfinished food away, "that went well…"

# # #

Karyn sat down on her front step, and then stared out into the town of Ando. She wondered how many of her friends in town knew just how young their hunky new men were. She wondered if they would care at this point. Well, she cared.

Eleven!

Both of her sons had been older than that when they'd died. She had just slept with a man that was younger than her twin sons.

Karyn buried her head in her hands as images of her sons swam through her head. Some days she did so well at not thinking about them. She thought again of the very last day she'd seen them, when she'd begged them not to go. But, they had such conviction in their eyes, such fire, and they swore they were doing the right thing. For Ando. They were so very brave.

In so many ways, just like these men that had crash-landed here on Ando.

Karyn ground the knuckles of one hand into her eyes.

_Ahhhhh! What am I doing? Am I friggin' insane?_

She glanced back toward the kitchen, where Travis still sat at the table. Sleeping with Travis had been… amazing. Her pulse began racing just remembering how they'd ended up in her master bathroom, peeling each other's clothes with a fervor unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. She'd turned the water on in the shower, and they both climbed in.

She remembered the water running over both of them, but not much actually showering had gotten done. Travis had pushed her up against the wall of the shower and his mouth was all over her.

She just remembered she had stopped thinking, and was just feeling. At some points, she could tell he was a virgin, because he would hesitate as if unsure it was OK to continue. She found all she needed to do was provide him with a little bit of guidance, and he learned quickly. Very quickly. Amazingly quickly.

He was also remarkably strong. The positions he could maintain, and his endurance, were truly extraordinary. Karyn had never been one to 'kiss and tell,' but she almost found herself wanting to compare notes with the other women in the village. Being with someone who was young and incredibly physical fit certainly had its' advantages.

Karyn groaned, set her caf aside, and buried her face in her hands. At the time, she'd had no idea just how young Travis and Rex were.

After an incredible climax up against the wall of the shower, unlike any other she'd experienced before, they'd moved to her bed. Travis was all confidence now, knowing how much he'd pleased her in the shower. His lovemaking style in the bed was… fast-paced, bold and imaginative. Karyn was just enthralled by his energy, enthusiasm and stamina.

She'd been married for many years before she'd lost her husband. Much as she'd loved Janos, she did have to admit that her marital bed had never been anything quite like this. Or, at least nothing in recent memory could possibly compare to this experience. She'd never thought to be having sex like this again. Not at her age.

Her age… she turned 40 this year. Her face was starting to mature, with the first of the questionably named laugh lines having appeared around her eyes. Her hair wasn't showing any signs of grey, but with the hours she worked and the stress of running the town, defending the town, and being a doctor, it was probably only a matter of time.

But, there was more than just the age issue. While she'd been selfishly experiencing this most amazing sex, she'd been neglecting Rex who was in the next room over. Never before had she neglected a patient. Seeing the look on Rex's face when she'd come into his room had been positively devastating.

She was infuriated at herself for indulging in pleasure when she should have been tending to a patient. What had she been thinking? How could Rex ever forgive her for such an obvious violation of trust and-

"Karyn?"

Travis poked his head out the door, "Are you OK?"

Karyn shook her head, not ready to talk yet. Travis knelt down behind her and began rubbing her shoulders.

"Not now, Travis," she said, curtly. He didn't hear what she said, since he was directly behind her. She shook him off more forcefully.

"Travis!"

Stung, he came around and gave her a puzzled look.

"I said, not now," Karyn said, then looked away.

"Sorry if my deafness is getting tiresome," Travis' voice was quiet and sullen.

He stood up, walked down the steps, and stuck his hands in his pockets. He was just wearing his civilian clothes, the ones Karyn had given him, and no jacket. He quickly noticed that civilian clothes didn't provide nearly the same warmth that his bodysuit and armor did.

Karyn looked up at him, then, noticing how young and vulnerable he looked. "Travis…" she said, blowing out a breath, not sure how to continue.

"Are you having… regrets about what we did?"

"No, Travis. That's not what this is," Karyn hesitated, unsure how to adequately explain the complex emotions she was experiencing right now.

Travis waited for a long moment for her to say something more. When she didn't, he ran a hand through his hair. He blew out a breath, noticing how it frosted up in the cold air, "Karyn, what's passed between us, I thought it was real… and… I thought that you… " Travis stopped, getting more and more unsure of himself, his insecurities getting the better of him, "Are you thinking it was wrong?... Do you want me to… leave?"

Karyn looked up, feeling his hurt, "No, Travis. It's just…" her voice trailed off, and once again she found herself unable to explain all the complex feelings bombarding her at the moment.

Travis suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach, "Is this about Rex?"

He had a very bad feeling about what was about to come next. Karyn was about to tell him she didn't want to be with him after all. She looked at him with dismay evident in her eyes. She sighed, and nodded, "That's part of it. Yes."

Travis put his head, down, devastated. He whispered, "I knew it."

Because he was looking down, he missed the first part of Karyn's explanation. He caught what she said halfway through, "I've never neglected a patient before. Not in all my years of practice. Coming in today and seeing Rex in serious pain like that… I should have been in there for him way before he got to that point. Instead I was with…"

"Me," Travis said, glumly, "yeah, I get it."

Karyn shook her head. She put her head down in her hands, and a small sob escaped her. "I can't believe I did that to Rex. I caused him unnecessary suffering. He's already been through so much, and then I did this to him. Did you see that look on his face when we came in?"

Travis suddenly stood up, "So, this is all about how you feel for him, isn't it? It's always been about that, hasn't it?"

"What, no, Travis, you misunderstand. That's not what I'm saying at all."

"I get it, perfectly. You don't need to say anything more. On some level, I always knew this was coming."

"Travis. That's not it. You misunderstand! It's just because Rex-"

"No, I do get it! It was _him_ you always wanted. I was just a convenient substitute. I've played second bellowsfiddle to Rex my entire life. I don't know why I expected that to change now… "

Travis turned and immediately left, headed down Karyn's driveway. She stared after him stunned.

"No, Travis, wait!"

By the time she got up to go after him, he was gone. He'd changed from walking to running. He was very quick when running at full speed, and was already completely out of sight.

# # #

Travis ran all the way to the edge of town, his mind just racing with images. He stopped, his sides heaving, by a large tree at the edge of town. He felt used, and unwanted. He pictured Karyn pulling away from him as he tried to rub her shoulders. He'd reached for her hand, and she'd pulled back. She'd showed him affection in bed, and then pulled away from him.

He hadn't just wanted sex. Maybe some guys would have considered what he'd gotten 'a good deal' and just moved on. But, he'd wanted Karyn. Not just an afternoon in bed, (and the shower), as amazing as it was. He scowled fiercely, the memory of their passionate sex felt tainted now that he knew it had been meaningless to Karyn.

It hadn't been meaningless to him. Everytime he touched her, he was showing her how he felt about her. He'd thought that things were so amazing between them physically because they were so right for each other.

But, none of that had been true at all. At least, not for Karyn. Rex had been unconscious in the next room, so Karyn must have figured one clone was as good as another while Rex was laid up with his surgery. The whole time she was making love to him she was probably picturing Rex instead. Well, except for the hair, she didn't need to do much to picture him, really.

_Kriff!_

Travis felt boiling hot fury take hold of him. Having no one else to vent his anger on, he took it out the tree.

Before he knew it he had ploughed his fist into the trunk of the tree. He felt the bone in his hand break with an unusually loud crack, and pain lanced up his arm. The pain was so severe that it distracted him from his anger.

He staggered back from the tree, and looked down at his hand, curiously. It looked strangely disjointed and out of place. Huh. That's not good. Travis grunted. OK, yeah, that a stupid thing to do. Somehow, I can't bring myself to care right now.

He tucked his hand under his other arm, temporarily blocking the damage from sight. He'd be hurting later, but at least he'd vented some of his anger. Travis looked at the tree. He hadn't even left a mark. Travis sighed. Just like me. Totally insignificant in the scheme of things.

Unlike Rex. Magnificent friggin' 501st Captain, (the post that I should have gotten instead of being sent to the Marines.) Stupid shabla Rex that everyone seems to love, even though he can't keep all the details straight without me around. What does he have that I don't?

_He doesn't even want her, he wants his Jedi! So, why does she want him? Is that the appeal, then? Wanting what you can't have? OK. Stop thinking about that, or I'm going to end up ploughing my other hand into this tree, and the tree isn't going to care. Who will?_

He had thought Karyn was beginning to care about him…

_Why did I ever even think I had a chance? I'm such an idiot._

Travis blew out a long breath and began walking toward his makeshift home. He'd been living back on the pirate ship ever since the day after the banquet dinner. He'd spent one night in Andoville, and that had been enough for him. He hadn't exactly gotten along with the woman who been assigned as his 'host.' So, he'd made up some excuse about why he had to leave, and had been sleeping at the ship ever since, with no one the wiser.

It was peaceful and quiet in the ship, and he enjoyed the long run in the mornings back to town. He'd been making do with whatever food he could scrounge from the galley, (although the pirates didn't keep a very well-stocked stocked kitchen,) and the meals he was getting at Karyn's house.

He sighed miserably, as he thought of his meals shared with Karyn.

_Guess those are a thing of the past now. Better scrounge through that galley another time and see if there is anything I missed._

A shiver racked through his frame. It was cold, and he'd left his jacket back at Karyn's in his haste to leave.

_That's it. I need to start wearing my armor again. All this civilian stuff is not for me. Stupid idea. I was created to be a soldier, and that's all I'll ever be._

Travis began jogging to keep his body temperature up in Ando's chilly temperatures. It was difficult to establish a good rhythm because it hurt when he swung his right arm. But, he swung it anyway, just ignoring the pain. If he didn't run, it was going to take forever to get back to the ship. He had a first aid kit in his utility belt. He'd wrap his hand, maybe sleep for a few hours, and then just continue on with his little project.

_Yes, OK, well, calling it a little project might be a bit of an understatement…_

He was working on making the pirate ship flight-worthy again, by salvaging the best parts from both downed ships. As he'd reported to Rex on their second day on Ando, the pirate ship was in much better shape than the downed medical transport.

Since the hull was intact, there was a good chance it could be fly again. He just had to repair the battle damage and the crumpled landing gear. Granted, he had none of the proper tools available that one would have at a proper shipyard.

However, he was highly skilled when it came to doing repairs like these, and he enjoyed doing them. He had many skills. As far as clones went, he seemed to be on the upper end of the spectrum with a nearly limitless capacity for learning and picking up new skills. He'd heard that the original clones, the Nulls, had this same ability, but were a bit on the crazy side.

Despite their being hatchmates, Rex's mind seemed to function differently than Travis'. He learned very quickly, like any other clone, but not with the nearly limitless recall that Travis had. Yet, in the end, Rex had still edged him out in command school. His brother had a certain intangible quality that went beyond pure intellect.

As Travis ran, he went through a mental checklist of all the things he still needed to do to repair the ship.

_Why am I even repairing the ship? Most everyone seems content to stay here on Ando? The only one who seems to have any inkling to leave is… Rex. _

Why did it always come back to him? Was he really fixing up the ship just for Rex?

Travis put his head down and just focused on his running.

_OK, perhaps it would be better if I just didn't do any thinking at all…_

# # #

Karyn banged on the door of Imola, hostess to Travis.

"Karyn, what a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to Travis?"

"Travis?" she looked genuinely puzzled, "he's not here."

"Well, do you know when he'll be back? It's really important that I speak with him."

"Karyn, Travis hasn't stayed here since that first night." After she mentioned that first night, Imola looked uncomfortable and then looked away.

"What?"

"He said his Captain gave him Guard Duty… to watch their ship. Just grabbed his bag, and left."

Karyn looked even more puzzled, "He said that?"

Imola nodded, "Is everything OK, Karyn?"

"I'm not sure." She turned away, then paused, looking back over her shoulder, "Uh, thank you, Imola." Just as the door was closing, Karyn jammed her foot in to prevent its' closure. "No, wait! Hang on. Did… something happen that first night… between you and Travis?"

Imola flushed. "Um… I'm embarrassed…"

Karyn turned away, looking furious, "You don't need to say anymore. I get it." She began storming down the steps.

"Wait, Karyn! You misunderstand!" Imola pursued her down the steps. "I tried to make something happen. It didn't. Travis…. He… basically, uh… well… rejected me." Imola began idly plucking at her sleeve, "I walked right into the bathroom when he got out of the shower. All but threw myself right at him. Pretended it was an accident. Then, pretended my robe fell off."

Karyn scoffed in disgust, and wanted to hit Imola.

"Hey! My hormones were raging, OK? It's been a horribly, long dry spell, and the guy is gorgeous. Give me a break! Drop somebody who looks like that in my house, what am I supposed to do? My point is- he totally could've had me. I pulled out my best moves, trying to entice him."

Imola let out a mournful sigh, ""What guy turns down a great package like this?" She gestured to her body, like it was prized merchandise on display. "But, then I thought about it, and just figured he must have had his eye on someone else."

She eyed Karyn thoughtfully, "That someone else is you, isn't it?"

"Yes, and I think I just blew it big time," she shook her head, regretfully, "I've got to go."

"Good luck! Hold on to that one!"

Imola shook her head as she watched Karyn leap back into her speeder. "A whole shipload full of lovely men just falls from the sky, and do I get one? No. Mine ran away."

# # #

Karyn's first stop was back at her house. She grabbed an ice pack, water and pain pills, and sprinted for Rex's room.

"Painkiller?" Karyn asked quickly, shaking the groggy Captain awake.

"Wha… OK."

Karyn quickly injected it. "Water?"

Rex nodded, and accepted the water. After a few sips, he murmured, "You seem in a great hurry. I'm fine. Go."

Karyn shook her head, "You're too perceptive for your own good."

"Comes with being Captain," Rex mumbled.

Karyn turned to leave, then stopped at the door, "Did you order Travis to guard your downed ship?"

Rex looked puzzled, "No….why would I do that?"

Karyn shook her head, "Travis' host accommodations didn't work, and he didn't want to tell anyone. Look, I have to go. Will you be-"

"I'll be sleeping. Go."

"Are you sure-"

"I can sleep on my own," Rex murmured, "Wait!" He suddenly got a puzzled look on his face, "Was Travis upset?"

Karyn looked at Rex, shocked, "Yes. How'd you know?"

Rex shook his head, "Not sure. But… something's not right. You should go."

With an icy fear gripping her stomach, Karyn hurriedly left the room and raced for her speeder.

# # #


	61. Chapter 61 Travis

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 61**

Travis arrived back at the pirate ship, and keyed in the lock. He felt both hot and cold at the same time, and knew he was close to passing out.

_I'm in bad shape. If I'm going to pass out, well, at least have the good sense to do it inside the ship. Mental note, next time we crash, let's do it someplace tropical._

The hatch hissed open, and he stumbled inside. It was hardly any warmer inside the ship, and Travis continued to tremble with cold as he staggered up to the cockpit.

_Kriff. I feel awful._

He sank down into the co-pilot's seat, and allowed himself a moment's rest. But, the moment he closed his eyes, he felt his body shutting down. He started slumping off to the side, falling off the chair. He pushed himself back upright, cursing vehemently as he jarred his injured hand.

_Need to get the heat on or I'll freeze to death. Frakkin' civilian clothes. No warmth at all._

He keyed on the interior lights, but everything seemed too bright. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of light, and nauseating sensations.

_I just want to pass out and not move for a very long time…_

He knew he was getting sluggish from being hypothermic. Steeling himself, he kept himself awake and focused on getting the environmental controls on. Many of the ship's systems were jury-rigged and not easily operated with just one hand. He brought his injured hand up and tried to see if maybe he could still use a few of his fingers. But, he was just rewarded with a burst of bright hot pain that caused bile to rise in his throat. He clutched his right hand back up against his chest, and continued on with just the one hand.

_Yeah, now hitting the tree is not seeming like such a bright idea…_

The environmental controls finally shuddered on, and Travis heaved a sigh of relief. But, he knew it was going to take some time before the sizable ship finally warmed up enough to make a difference. Crew compliment-wise, the pirate marauder could hold roughly the same amount of crew as their crashed medical transport, just with a lot better firepower. It was even older than their destroyed Republic ship, but Travis had to admit the ship had potential.

With a considerable effort, he pushed himself to his feet. He staggered out of the cockpit, and started working his way back to the crew quarters. While there were some tiny private cabins, most of the sleeping quarters consisted of rooms that slept four, or eight. He'd chosen stuffed his gear into one of these rooms, as being surrounded by multiple bunks seemed more comfortingly familiar after a week that was just getting a bit too unsettlingly unfamiliar.

Right now, what he needed was his gear bag and med kit. Then, he just wanted to crash into a bunk for several hours. Right now, he didn't care which of the eight bunks in the room he slept in. Even the floor was looking very appealing right about now… He was getting more and more light-headed, and had to hold onto the wall for support.

_Kriff, this ship is big. Didn't seem this big when we were shooting it down, and then storming it to kill all the baddies._

A small smile tugged at his lips as he remembered that day, and that outstanding moment of victory with his brothers.

_That had to have been one of my all-time favorite battles ever, because we weren't fighting for anybody but ourselves…_

His feet were beginning to feel leaden, so he sustained himself with thoughts of their victory that day as he made the final steps back to his sleeping quarters. With an exhausted sigh, he palmed the door control and stumbled into the room. Calling upon the discipline that had gotten him through years of military training, he forced himself down on his knees next to his gearbag.

_Ugggh. So dizzy. This is all the tree's fault. Stupid tree._

Travis fumbled with the zipper on his gearbag.

_Velcro sure would be nice right about now… That is the problem with the universe today… not the Separatists or General Grevious…. No, wayyyyy too many zippers…._

Travis located his medkit, and tried to get a splint onto his hand. But, he couldn't get the splint fastened properly.

_Gah! Would it kill the Republic to include some of those Velcro strips in these medkits? How much frakkin' money do they spend on the war-effort, and they can't include a few lousy Velcro strips in these kits?_

He stared down in frustration at his injured hand. It was swollen, misshapen, and the incessant throbbing was getting worse. His efforts weren't helping matters at all, as he inadvertently jostled the badly-damaged tissues. Travis' dizziness quickly escalated to full-on nausea.

He cursed and crawled over to the waste container placed near the beds. He just made it on time as the content of his stomach came churning up. He moaned in misery, placing his head on the rim of the container.

_Ugggh. OK, think, Travis, think. How are you going to get out of this one? Right now, your body is telling you it's not doing so good…_

He moaned, and threw up a second time. Suddenly, there was a pair of hands on his shoulders. Travis started, caught completely off-guard, and looked up into a concerned pair of eyes, "Karyn?"

"Travis? What's wrong?"

Travis was unable to fully hold back the shiver that shook his frame. He just stared at Karyn, not speaking.

Karyn put a hand up to his forehead feeling for a fever, "You feel clammy… and your color is awful." She also gave him a distressed look, "I also noticed you left without a jacket. What were you thinking? How did you get all the way out here anyway?"

Travis remained silent, his raspy breathing the only sound in the silent room. He leaned his head back against the bed, behind him, eyeing Karyn warily. She shook her head, and set the waste pail side. Travis looked in dismay at the container.

Karyn looked at the waste pail, then back at Travis, "This? Oh, trust me, I've seen a lot worse than this. Come on, let's get you in bed."

To her surprise, Travis didn't make any wisecracks about her suggestion.

When she tugged on his arm to pull him up, he gasped in pain. He sagged back down to the ground again.

Karyn immediately froze, and went into doctor mode. "OK, what'd you do to yourself?"

"Little accident," Travis murmured, he briefly met her eyes before turning away.

Karyn was hugely relieved that he at least finally spoke to her. But, as soon as she looked down at his hand, she cried out in dismay, "Little? Travis!"

But Travis didn't hear her because he'd turned his face away from her.

"Travis!" Karyn turned his face back toward her. His pallor was getting even worse. "Look at me. You're going into shock. I need you to lie down."

Travis nodded, but his eyes were beginning to look glassy.

Karyn eyed the room, and spied the bunk where Travis had been sleeping. She guided him over, and helped him lie down. Then, she cradled his arm onto her thigh so she could examine it carefully.

"How did this happen?"

"Tree. Evil tree," Travis muttered, before turning his face away again.

Karyn 'hmmmped' but Travis couldn't hear her anyway. She moved a few of his fingers and Travis hissed in pain. She tried to turn his wrist, but Travis yelped. When she tried to move his arm, Travis pulled his arm back protectively.

Karyn turned Travis' face so he was looking at her, "Travis! Listen to me, you have multiple fractures here, including a metacarpal fracture, which affects all your fingers. I can splint it here, but we need to get you back to the clinic. I'm going to need to fixate the fractures, or you'll lose functionality in your dominant hand. Do you understand?"

Travis nodded. After a moment, he exhaled, and then uttered a gruff, "Sorry… Karyn."

Karyn shook her head, "No. Don't apologize." She brought one hand up, and traced the burgundy stripes in his hair. "I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did... I should have made… things clear…"

Travis leaned his head slightly forward, leaning in toward her touch. She could see the vulnerability in his eyes, and how easily he could be crushed. He looked up at her, wide-eyed and confused, "What about-"

"Travis, I want to be with _you_."

Travis still looked very uncertain. He gripped Karyn's hand with his good hand, "I need to know that I'm not your second choice, Karyn. I couldn't live with that," his voice was gruff with emotion.

"I'm here because you have so many amazing qualities that are all uniquely you. I was a fool for not seeing that right away, and not making it clear, sooner."

Travis looked at her, still all seriousness, "I'm completely deaf, Karyn. You'll have to live with that."

"Without your deafness, you wouldn't have ended up here on Ando," her face softened into a smile, "You'll realize it is a blessing, too. It spares you from having to hear me sing in the shower."

A small smile teased the corner of his lips, and Karyn was immensely relieved to see him smiling again.

"Shower?"

Karyn smiled and shook her head, "Well, let's get this hand of yours fixed, and then we can waste some water," she looked around, "I still can't believe you've been sleeping out here, and haven't told anyone."

Travis looked uncomfortable, "Ah…. so you spoke with Imola, then?"

Karyn nodded, taking assorted supplies out of the medical kit and stacking them up. "Oh, we had a most interesting conversation right before I came out here…"

"You did?"

"Mmmm…. she mentioned something about you having been assigned 'special guard duty.'"

Travis squirmed a bit, "Uhhhh…yes, well, about that-"

"-I asked Rex about it."

Travis' eyes grew wide, "Uh oh. How'd he react?"

"To the fact that you lied? Not overly concerned about that, at the moment. Mainly, he was just worried about you," Karyn looked puzzled, "He knew something was wrong."

Travis nodded, as if this connection to Rex made sense to him. Karyn decided not to push, but there was something decidedly unusual in the way Rex and Travis could communicate, whether they realized it or not.

"So," Karyn continued, as she studied Travis' hand, "Imola also mentioned that she walked in on you in the shower."

Travis flushed red, and groaned, "She mentioned _that_?"

Karyn leveled a look at him, "Well, I do know how you like your showers, Travis."

Travis gave her a shocked look, "I had nothing to do with that! She walked in on me!"

Karyn nodded, "Uh huh, I see," she carefully flexed Travis' hand again, but he still winced from the motion. "And, then what happened?"

"She… uh…." Travis looked down, nervously, at where Karyn was holding his broken hand pinned between her two hands, "…well…"

Karyn gave him an imperious look that said: 'Go on.'

"…began taking her clothes off…" Travis admitted in a strained vice, glancing down nervously at the precarious position his hand was in.

The doctor's eyes bore into his, "And, just what did you think she was planning on doing?"

Travis swallowed nervously, "I… uh…" sweat broke out on his brow, "it appeared she was uh... making a move on me," he blurted out quickly.

"And, just how did you react, when she made a move on you?"

"I was flattered at first," Travis admitted. "Hey! Ow! Easy! That hurts!" Travis complained, "but, then, I grew, a bit, well, disgusted, really."

Karyn froze in what she was doing, and looked at him in surprise, "Disgusted, why?"

Travis sighed, and met Karyn's eyes, "Because she wasn't you."

Karyn broke out into a big smile, "Keep up that kind of talk, and my water bill is going to be sky high this month."

Travis raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Well, it's the truth… Ow!" Travis hadn't even realized Karyn was injecting him with a syringe. Normally, shots didn't bother him at all but she'd injected him directly into his injured arm, and the whole area was just a cacophony of pain.

"Sorry," Karyn apologized, "it will get better in a moment. That was a strong painkiller. It will numb everything. I have to move some things around before I can put the splint on, and trust me, you don't want to be feeling that. I need to give you another one."

She gave him a second shot, this one to the neck, "Anti-inflammatory," she explained. "To reduce the swelling." Karyn had Travis' hand on her lap now, and had the splinting supplies arranged around her.

"So, you spoke to Rex?" Travis prompted, "what'd he say?"

Karyn shook her head, "Yes, well, as expected, he said he didn't send you out here. Then, I knocked him up with a painkiller, apologized for my absence, _again_," Karyn said with a sigh, "and, I high-tailed out here to chase you down."

Travis smiled at that, and then murmured, "Right then, so, you did choose me!" He groaned again as she probed the back of his hand experimentally.

Karyn gave him an exasperated look, then focused back on what she was doing.

"Travis," she muttered, as she worked.

"Hey," Travis responded in his defense, "you don't know what it's like having to live up to a brother like that. You have any siblings?"

Karyn decided it was best to keep Travis talking, since what she was about to do next was going to hurt. "No, Travis. Actually, I'm an only child. My parents poured all their resources into me. Probably a strange concept to someone who has as many brothers as you do."

"An only child?" Travis' eyes widened, "That is a strange- Yow!" Travis yelped as Karyn sharply pulled on his hand. Travis felt one of the bones suddenly snap back into place. The sensation jarred his system, and made him feel instantly dizzy and nauseous again. He squeezed his eyes shut, and gasped.

"Travis?" He felt Karyn put a bracing hand on his shoulder.

He shook his head, and began to gag.

Karyn kept his injured hand braced on her lap, but managed to snake her other hand out and grab the pail he'd used earlier. Travis hung his head over the side, while his stomach emptied itself again. When he was done, he was shaking and his breathing was unsteady. The doctor guided him back onto the pillow, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm almost done here. Then, we're going to head back to my house, OK?"

Travis nodded, and then murmured "..Sorry…" indistinctively, apologizing a second time.

Karyn looked up at him, surprised and a little confused, "Why sorry?"

Travis sighed, "For…. everything," and his head began to slump to the side.

Karyn realized he'd reached his limit, and was close to passing out.

"No, no, no! Stay with me!" She put a hand up to his face, and gently shook him, "Travis— stay awake! You're too heavy for me to carry to the speeder, and we have to head back."

"Dizzy," Travis complained, putting his good hand up to his head, "need to sleep." His eyes slid shut.

"No sleeping! You can do that later," Karyn opened up her medical kit, grabbed out a syringe, and quickly injected him in the neck. He didn't react at all to the shot.

What could she say to keep him alert? "Travis!... Uh….have I told you how much more _handsome_ you are than Rex?"

"Wha… huh?" Travis opened his eyes, and began to focus on her.

"You've got much better hair," Karyn said, as she began splinting his hand, working as quickly as she could.

Travis narrowed his eyes, "My hair…. you…. I have better hair?"

"Mmmm hmmmm," Karyn said, her eyes focused on getting the splint on properly, "your hair actually shines when it's in the sun."

Travis squinted at her, as if trying to focus, "Rex's hair doesn't shine?"

"No, not that I've seen. And, of course there's those intriguing red stripes of yours."

Travis automatically reached a hand up to the two streaks in his hair, "Burgundy," he corrected softly.

"Mmmmmm," Karyn murmured, using her teeth to rip off a piece of medical tape and tie off the end of a piece of gauze. "Yes, well, call it what you will. I still like them."

"What… else?" Travis prompted, taking an interest in the conversation.

"Your voice," Karyn said, "it's huskier. Rougher. Sort of gives me shivers."

"Shivers…. those….are good?"

Karyn nodded, then ripped off another piece of tape, "Oh, yes, shivers are _very_ good."

Travis began to look decidedly more alert, "Anything else... about me… that's better?"

Karyn finished tying off the splint, "Well, you have a decidedly different body build. Rex is bulkier, and you are… sleeker."

"Sleeker…" Travis questioned, trying out the word. "…so.. you like a sleek body?"

Karyn pulled him into a sitting up position, "Mmmm…. Definitely….especially when I run my hands up and down it."

"What else?" Travis demanded.

Karyn looked thoughtful, "Well… when you kiss me, all I can think about is no one has ever kissed me like that before. Makes me realize there's nothing else in the galaxy I'd rather be doing."

Travis snorted, half-heartedly, "Now, _other_ parts of me are starting to want attention…"

Karyn laughed, "That will have to wait until later. We have bones to pin back into place. Plus, there's… "

"Rex, yes, I know. We left him behind."

"When I started this day off, I didn't think I'd be doing surgery on both of you today. You two truly are competitive. Come on, pack your stuff. You're not sleeping here anymore."

Travis looked around the ship thoughtfully, then down at his splinted hand. "Karyn," he announced, firmly, "I very much want to sleep with you."

Karyn looked a bit startled at his bold proclamation, "Uh, OK, same here, Travis."

Travis shook his head, "I mean, what you said, about sleeping at your house. That sounds good. But…" he gestured with his good hand toward the ship in general, "I'm not guarding the ship, Karyn." He met her gaze, "I'm _fixing_ the ship… If I stay at your house, I need to keep coming back here. This is important. I need to finish what I started here."

Karyn put both hands on his shoulders, "Travis, I would never stand in your way. Take my speeder. Use my tools. I'll pack you food. Got it? Although, until that hand heals, I think you might want to recruit a few of your brothers to lend a hand… literally."

Travis nodded, and then smiled, "Thanks, Karyn… And, in that case, I accept your offer to take me home, and make me yours."

Karyn rolled her eyes, "What have I gotten myself into?"

While Travis gathered his gear, Karyn dumped the unpleasant contents of the pail. Travis opened his mouth to object, thinking there was no way he was going to let Karyn take care of such an unpleasant duty. But, she'd already had already grabbed the pail and was leaving the room. Travis sighed, and finished stowing his gear. He slung his bag, over his shoulder, and was ready to go by the time Karyn returned. She gripped him by the arm, and they walked out of the ship together. As Travis locked the ship up using the keypad at the airlock, he turned to Karyn, "So, any other qualities of mine worth mentioning?"

Karyn laughed, as she helped him to the speeder, "Well, you're remarkably persistent…"

# # # 

Karyn gently shook Rex awake, "Hey, I'm back."

Rex looked at her groggily, "Travis?"

"I found him."

Something in her expression must have given her away, because Rex was immediately concerned. He pushed himself up to one elbow, "He's injured." It was a statement, not a question. He immediately tried to get up.

"Whoa! No!" Karyn pushed him back down. "You're not supposed to be up at all!"

"But, Travis is _hurt_," Rex tried to get up again. Karyn promptly pushed him back down again. Karyn marveled that for all their outward show of bluster and rivalry, the two brothers deeply cared about each other.

"There's nothing you can do. He has multiple fractures in his hand, which I'm about to fix surgically. I just needed to come check on you first."

"I should be there for him," Rex protested.

"You _can't_," Karyn said, firmly. "OK, look, I'm going to be busy for the next couple of hours. So, what do you need? Something to eat? You haven't eaten all day…" Her voice trailed off as she suddenly thought of something. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner? "Captain, is there one of your men I can call to be here with you while I see to Travis?"

"You mean somebody to make sure that I don't get out of bed?"

Karyn smiled, "Yes, that's the general idea."

Rex looked thoughtful, "Mako."

"He's one of the medics, right? Looked after Torch at the banquet dinner?"

"That's the one. Get me my gear, and I'll call him."

Karyn gave him a suspicious look, "If I hand over your gear, promise me you won't do anything stupid like try to get out of bed?"

Rex gave her a very innocent look, and stayed quiet.

Karyn got right in his face, and used the same authoritative voice she'd used on her warrior women during the initial battle with the pirates, "If you try to get up before I give you the OK, I am taking that prosthetic back of your knee and there goes all your chances of ever walking again. That is the only prosthetic knee to be found on Ando. Am I making myself perfectly clear, Captain Rex?"

Rex blanched, "Perfectly."

"Alright, then. I'll return your armor. You call your medic. And, that was a no on the food?"

Rex shook his head, "No food." As Karyn left the room, Rex mumbled to himself, "Remind me not to mess with _her_."

# # #

Travis had fallen asleep by the time Karyn returned downstairs. He was lying down on one of the beds in the clinic, shirtless, with his arm propped up on several pillows. His arm was packed with ice to keep the swelling down, and she'd given him another painkiller to keep him comfortable. She studied him for a moment. He managed to look both peaceful, and alluringly sexy, just lying there. She caressed the side of his face gently. His eyelids fluttered open.

"How's Rex?" Travis asked, his eyes were heavily lidded from the painkillers.

"Concerned about you," Karyn said, shaking her head. "It was all I could do to keep him in bed. He wanted to come down here and sit with you during your surgery."

Travis gave a satisfied smile, and closed his eyes again, "He's a total idiot, but he really does care."

"Yes, that seems quite obvious now," Karyn said, beginning to removing some of the icepacks from Travis' hand. She carefully removed the splint, and began inspecting his hand again. "You and I are going to have a long talk later about you injuring yourself. Is that understood? This is not going to become a habit."

"OK," Travis nodded, agreeably, eyes still closed.

"Because I can think of better things we can be doing with our time than pinning your bones back together."

Travis' eyes snapped open and he met Karyn's. His lips curled into a sexy smile, "I see your point… So, ah, tell me more about these new sleeping arrangements of ours?"

# # #

A/N: Thank you everyone for your awesome comments. I'm always amazed by how intuitive everyone is, and how they pick up all on all the little clues in the narrative. So, yes, it appears that Rex has his ship now. Guess he just needs a destination, and a crew. And, a little help from Cody never hurts since he seems pretty bound and determined to find his General, too.

In case you missed them, here are some sketches of Travis, done by fangirlscreams. Since ffn cuts out links, I had to add spaces in to the link. In order to make it work, well, yeah, obviously, take the spaces out. http : / gloryblaz . deviantart . com / art / Travis – Concept - Sketches - 266708623


	62. Chapter 62 Mako

_* Revised* March 27, 2013 Made some minor revisions to correct a few things that will tie in to the sequel._

A/N: Hey All- This chapter turned started turning into a 37-page chapter, and I wasn't even done yet. Gheesh. Seems when I get going, there is no stopping me. Anyway, I divided it up into tastier tidbits and will just release as smaller chapters. In this chapter, Rex hits some bumps in his road to recovery, and gets some help from Mako. For some reason, that commercial slogan just ran through my head: "Uh oh. Better get Mako." (OK, different spelling.)

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 62**

# # #

When Rex next awoke, Mako was reclined in a comfortable chair next to the bed. The younger clone was intently studying a datapad, his face aglow with the light of the reader. The datapad was balanced on his knees, and he was shifting through data with his one good hand. His body language and positioning said he'd been in the chair for a while. As Rex began to stir, Mako instantly popped up, clipping the datapad to his belt.

"Hello, Captain!"

"Mako," Rex shook his head, attempting to clear the grogginess, "my favorite second class medic."

Mako cocked his head to the side, "I'm not sure that's saying much, Captain. As far as I know, I'm the only second class medic on this planet."

Rex shifted in the bed, trying to get comfortable, "Doesn't change anything. Still my favorite."

Mako snorted, "Now you're just sucking up because I'm the one with the painkillers." He noticed Rex's movements, "Knee bothering you, sir?"

Rex grimaced, "Only when I breathe, or move, or blink my eyes, or… yes."

Mako reached for a syringe, "Procedure like this is very painful in the early stages of recovery."

Rex rolled his eyes, "You think?"

"Ah, yes, well, I chalk up your extreme irritability due to residual pain from the procedure, which did, after all, involve cutting through both muscle and anchoring the prosthesis to bone."

"You _do_ sound just like a medic, Mako."

Mako grinned, "Been spending my entire week off studying, sir. Reading medic training texts non-stop. Fascinating stuff. As I was waiting for you to wake up, I was just reading everything I could about prosthetic knee replacements. The one you got is really state-of-the-art. I think you'll be quite happy with it, sir."

"That's great, Mako. I'll be _much_ happier once I have that painkiller."

"Right, sir! Sorry!" Mako set the syringe down momentarily, so he could pull the blankets aside and examine Rex's leg. The Captain couldn't hold back a shiver as his body was exposed to the air. He'd felt chilled, and had difficulties maintaining his core body temperature, ever since the surgery.

_Hopefully another side-effect that's temporary. Like being in pain every minute of the day cycle, _Rex grumbled to himself.

"Gah!" Even though Rex knew he was about to receive an injection in the leg, the pain of it still took him by surprise.

"Sorry about that, sir," Mako said, apologetically.

Rex shook his head, "It's OK," he said, through gritted teeth, "everything in that leg seems to overreact a bit."

Mako set down the syringe, and then reached down with his one hand to pull the blanket back up. "Give that a few minutes to work, and you should get some relief."

Rex nodded, "Yeah. Thanks." He blew out a breath, reaching a hand up to scrub his face. _Uggggh. I hate this. I just want to be done with this. Get back on my feet and find Ahsoka._

"Sir? Sir?"

He realized Mako was speaking to him.

"Huh?"

"I was asking if you wanted something to eat. The doctor mentioned you haven't eaten since your surgery."

The painkillers were making Rex nauseous. "Uh, no. Thanks. I think I'm just going to sleep."

Mako frowned and gave him a worried look, but nodded.

# # #

"Fierfek!"

Rex shifted on the mattress again, trying to get comfortable. It was sometime in the middle of the night, about 16 hours after his surgery. He'd slept for about four hours, but as soon as the painkiller had worn off, he'd woken up again.

With a sigh, he reached for his helmet from its' place next to the bed and slipped it on. He checked the time, and then pulled up the spreadsheet he'd started for job placements for his men. He scanned through the list, looking at all the names, ranks, previous postings, assignments and skillsets.

_So much data. I need Travis._

He'd been reluctant to pull Travis in to help on the task over the past seven days, since everyone had been assigned a week's leave. _Everyone… including Travis._

Other than the times he'd seen Travis with Karyn, he actually hadn't seen his Lieutenant very much. He assumed he'd found something to occupy his time. Respecting Travis' privacy, he hadn't pried into what he'd been doing.

_I didn't get a chance to ask Karyn exactly where she 'found' Travis._

Rex heard an alarm go off next door in what he now knew to be Karyn's bedroom. A sleepy doctor padded in, wearing a modest robe over her pajamas.

_Kriff. She still looks pretty good for someone who just woke up,_ Rex observed.

"Can't sleep?" Karyn gave him a bemused smile.

"Huh?"

"Or, do you always sleep with your helmet on?"

"Right. Sorry," Rex reached up and removed his helmet, "Just catching up on a little work."

Karyn scowled, "Hey, when I returned your gear, we agreed-"

Rex put his hands up defensively, "No. Wait. I couldn't sleep!"

Karyn shook her head, impatiently, "That's the first thing I asked you, Rex."

"Oh, right, sorry. Just, uh, lost in thought, I guess."

Karyn took the helmet from him, and replaced it on the table by the bedside. "You're forgiven, considering you just had major surgery. Bound to throw anyone for a loop." She gave him a warning look, "I meant it, though, Captain, about not overdoing it. Do we understand each other?"

"Perfectly," Rex grumbled, giving his helmet a regretful glance.

Karyn gave him a quick, professional smile, and then began checking his vitals. "Vitals look good. You're definitely strong as they come." She removed the bandages on his knee, "You've got a little swelling. We'll have to keep an eye on that. I'll give you an anti-inflammatory for now." Rex flinched when she injected his leg. "Sorry, OK, just one more." She ignored the Captain's scowl, and gave him a second injection. "Hey, you'll like that second one better. It was a painkiller. Should help you get back to sleep."

"Well, thank you for that, then," Rex gave the doctor a thoughtful look, "did you wake up just for me? To check on me?"

Karyn tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and then stretched. Some joint in her back gave way with a noisy pop, "Well, I suppose I could score some points if I said yes to that, but actually I end up doing rounds like this on most nights. Ando doesn't have a hospital anymore," she stood up, and began putting her supplies away, "A lot of things in town closed down after the war. And, as you know, I'm the only doctor in town. So, if I have patients here that require overnight care…" she sighed, and then looked up at the ceiling, "can't tell you the last time I've actually had eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Must have been sometime well before the war I imagine." She gave a short laugh, and then shrugged again, "Yes, well, anyway, so, this is absolutely normal for me, Captain. Hope that doesn't ruin it for you."

Rex smiled, and shook his head, "Ah, no. And, I can relate to not sleeping."

"Yes, figured if anybody could, it would probably be you. No small burden that you carry on your shoulders either. Anyway, right now, here in the clinic, I have you, Torch, and well," her lips quirked into a slight embarrassed smile, "Travis. But, he's ah, sleeping right next to me, so that makes monitoring him a bit easier."

Rex decided not to acknowledge her embarrassment, and not comment on the sleeping arrangements, "How _is_ Travis?"

"Completely passed out. No problems sleeping, it seems."

The Captain scowled, "Could use that trait." He gave the doctor a thoughtful look, as he envisioned his spreadsheet, "You know, doctor, there are two clone medics in town now. Seems to me there might be a fit here…" he shrugged, "Clones are known for their ingenuity." Rex yawned, then, and added, "who knows? Maybe you could even get some sleep?"

"Very tempting thought, Captain. I'm going to go check on Torch, and then catch a few more hours sleep," Karyn walked to the door, then paused and turned back, "Yes, I _have_ experienced some of that clone ingenuity. Handy thing, that." She gave a secret bemused smile, and left.

_OK, I don't want to know what that was all about_, Rex thought. _Although, unless I keep my helmet handy, I'll probably hear some of that 'ingenuity' for myself, the moment Travis is feeling better._

The discomforting pain in his knee had settled down some from the painkiller. He sighed, and settled in to go back to sleep. While he waited for sleep to overtake him, his thoughts inevitability drifted back to the cave and the time he'd spent there with Ahsoka. _I suppose there are some variations of 'ingenuity' that could've been applied in that situation…_

# # #

Rex was relieved to see Mako show up in his room halfway through the next day, "Hey, Captain!"

"Ah, Mako. Come to amuse me for a bit?"

"I'll do my best. Doctor gave me permission to come back and help again this afternoon. So, how are you feeling?"

Rex gave a non-committal shrug, "Ah, well, the knee, ah, burns a bit. Otherwise, can't complain… Well, actually, I _can_ complain with the best of them. But, I'm good."

Mako gave Rex a critical look, "Are you, Captain?"

Rex sighed, "Actually, Mako. I'm bored out of my mind. And, would give anything to get out of here for a few hours. Think you could smuggle me out of the door and past the doctor?"

Mako laughed, "It's only your second day! And, no, can't smuggle you out." He leaned close and confided to Rex, "that doctor scares me a bit."

"You and me both, Mako."

He frowned then, as he examined Rex's knee, "Well, there's that swelling the doctor was talking about. The ice should help with that. How are your pain levels here-"

"Gah!"

"OK, that answers that question. And, here?"

"Mako!"

"Sorry, sir, just double-checking you don't have any areas that you are numb. That would be bad."

"Nothing is numb, at the moment, Mako. It all just _hurts_."

"Right, OK, then. Let me get you a painkiller, and then, we'll get you that ice."

Rex blew out a sigh, "You know, Mako, the doctor told me in advance about having to cut through the muscles and anchor things to bone and whatnot. But, I still wasn't quite expecting _this._"

Mako looked thoughtful for a long moment, "Well, I know you have a high pain tolerance, because I saw what you were like after you broke that rib. We couldn't seem to keep you down." He grinned, "That's how we were first teamed up, actually. You were driving Lance crazy because he was concerned you were pushing it too much."

"Yes, well, that's how I usually am. I'm a quick healer. Mako, I get injured all the time. Being in the 501st is,… well, was, uh…" Rex trailed off as the words '501st' got stuck in his throat. It also hit him very hard that he had to refer to the 501st in the past tense.

Mako quickly stepped in, "I understand what you're saying perfectly, sir. Your battalion was at the forefront of the battle lines, and _you_ were at the front of all of _that_. So, you want to know how come you're not bouncing back from this like you always bounce back from everything else?"

"Yes!" Rex agreed, so grateful for Mako just seemed to intuitively understand, "I can barely move. The doctor just tells me to rest and threatens me with dire consequences if I don't. She told me she'd take the knee back out if she found me moving."

Mako burst out laughing, "She didn't!"

Rex shot Mako an annoyed look, "I did _not_ find it amusing."

A grin still tugged at Mako's lips, "Can't wait to share _that_ one with Lance. I guess you can be reasoned with."

"Still not funny, Mako."

"Sorry, medic humor. Really, it is."

"Still your Captain. Travis and I still have a whole list of job assessments we need to do. We could add your name back on to the list, and find something else for you to do, you know."

"Hey! What happened to being your favorite second class medic?"

"That was when you were on _my_ side. See how this works?"

Mako's grin disappeared completely. His face grew completely serious, "Perfectly. Go on, Captain. You were saying?"

Rex indicated his knee with a nod of his head, "Just saying that," his shoulders slumped, and the bluster went out of him, "this is a harder to take than I'd anticipated… And, I've… uh … already gone through a lot with this knee." He looked away from Mako, staring off at a wall, "More than what I talked about at the campfire that night."

Mako's eyes immediately lit up with interest, "Really, sir? Anything you care to talk about?"

Rex shook his head, "No."

There was no missing the flash of hurt and disappointment that crossed the younger clone's face. There was an awkward silence for a moment, and then Mako's eyes lit up again, "Sir? You were having problems with the nerves in your leg before the surgery, weren't you? Pins and needles, wasn't it?"

Rex nodded, surprised that Mako knew that piece of information. _Ah. Lance. Right. Wonder what else those two talk about when they're together._

The medic began typing into his datapad, chewing on his bottom lip. "I have an idea. First I have to see if the doc will let you have some more visitors. Last I heard she was turning people away."

"What?"

Mako grinned, "Hey, you're a popular guy. Apparently, troopers had been stopping by all morning long to check on you, and on Travis, once word got out that he'd gotten hurt. Some of the lady folk of the town had been coming by, too. Guess you made quite an impression on the people you worked in the kitchen with that night. Anyway, doctor has been turning them all away."

"Why?"

"Said she wanted you two to rest. Something about the moment your buddies got in here there would be no keeping you in bed. So, she told everyone you two were doing fine and sent them on their way."

Rex scowled, "And, I've been sitting here staring at the walls."

"Yes, apparently Travis was quite put out by the news as well."

"Can I go see Travis?"

"The doctor said you'd ask that. She said no. You have to stay in bed for a couple more days. She's making him stay in bed until the swelling in his arm comes down."

"How's _he_ taking it?"

"About as well as you, apparently."

Rex decided he'd comm Travis later, even though he was just on the other side of the wall. Hopefully, he had his wrist link or helmet close by so that they could easily communicate. If nothing else, they could commiserate together. But, if Travis was feeling up to it, they could work on their spreadsheet of job reassignments. It was certainly more interesting than staring at the four walls. For Rex, the worst part of getting injured was the boredom of being confined and constricted during recuperation. He was so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed that Mako had left the room to get ice.

"Ah!" Rex reared back when the cold came into contact with his leg, then cried out from the pain of moving his leg.

"Easy, Captain," Mako's hands steadied him, "the ice will reduce the swelling on your knee. Give it a chance. It should help with the pain as well."

Rex took deep breaths, as his body adjusted to the cold. He nodded to Mako, "I'm OK. Sorry, yeah, everything's just kind of weird with this leg." He shivered and wrapped his blanket more tightly around his upper body.

"Cold, sir?" Mako said, sympathetically.

"I'll adapt," Rex said, letting out an involuntary shiver, and wrapping the blanket more tightly about himself.

Mako laughed, "This isn't a survival course, Captain. Let me see if I can find you another blanket. I've noticed the civvies are much more generous with such items, and keep them around the house in quantities seemingly greater than what is needed." He disappeared out the door, and returned a few minutes later with another blanket, which he expertly tucked around his chilled brother. Rex gave him a grateful nod.

"OK, I have to… confer with a few folks, Captain. I'll stop by and see you again later."

# # #

It was late afternoon, and Rex was sleeping, when he was awakened by a knock on his door. Mako entered Rex's room, smiling as usual.

"Captain, I have visitors for you, if you're up for it."

Rex pushed himself up to his elbows, and tried to peer around Mako, to see who was behind him. "I thought I wasn't _allowed_ visitors."

Mako grinned, "Yes, well, I spoke with the doctor, and she agreed that this visit was in the best interest of your recovery."

"Mako, remember when I told you how I wasn't known for my patience?"

"Right, well, Captain, I have here some visitors that I hope can help with those tingling and burning problems you've been having with the nerves in your knee."

"Mako! They could probably help a whole lot more if you'd actually let them in the door."

"Right! Sorry, Captain." Mako opened up the door fully, and admitted the people behind him.

"Hok!" Rex exclaimed, watching as the scout trooper made his way into the room. "You're looking much better." Hok moved stiffly, and still limped, but looked significantly recovered from his adventure at sea. He was followed by Xyra, who monitored Hok's progress across the room with a critical eye, before turning her attention to the Captain.

"I'm doing _very_ well, sir," Hok made his way over to Rex's bedside. Mako nodded toward the chair next to the bed, and Hok sat. "Thanks to Xyra and her remedies." He looked back over his shoulder, and smiled at the Andoan research scientist. Rex recognized the look that passed between them, and was envious of it for a moment. He put a hand up to touch his head, "I've got partial hearing back now in _both_ ears."

Rex's jaw dropped, "How's that possible?"

Hok grinned, "Seems our irreversible nerve damage is not so irreversible after all." He nodded toward Rex's knee, "Now, I know you started getting some feeling back in your leg on your own, but it was all pins and needles and such, right?"

Rex nodded, and let out a sigh, "Yes."

Hok looked back at Mako and Xyra, "Well, Mako stopped by, and told us what's going on. He thinks the nerve problems you were having _then_ are what's still causing you some problems now." Hok tapped his head, "Based upon my success, he thinks maybe Xyra's remedies might help you, too."

Rex looked pensive, "But, didn't you think maybe it might just have been the water pressure that helped your ears?"

Hok shook his head, "At first, Xyra thought that could've contributed to it. But, then she didn't think it would have continued to improve like it had, or spread to the other ear. She thinks it must be _this_ stuff." Hok reached down into his belt pouch, and carefully pulled out a squeeze bottle full of an unappealing looking black goo.

Rex frowned, and looked at the bottle suspiciously, "What is it?"

Xyra stepped forward and took the bottle from Hok. She held it up proudly, as if it were a rare and precious substance, "Well, we haven't officially named it. But, _this _is the nerve-healing formula I've been using on Hok. It's a combination of Andoan sea urchin and sea cucumber, which accounts for the purplish/black color. Karyn has given the OK to use this on your leg, and on your knee, just not directly on your stitches, at the moment. If this works to relieve some of the nerve problems that you are having, then we'll know that the results with Hok weren't just random."

"We can then try it out on other clones!" Hok said, brightly.

"So, you want to use me as some kind of test subject?" Rex clarified.

Hok nodded, enthusiastically.

Rex looked up at Mako. Mako gave him an encouraging smile, "The decision is yours, Captain. I don't think it will harm you, at all. But, I do think this is can possibly help you. The worst that can happen, I think, is a lot of disappointment on your part because you don't see any improvement."

"And, I've smeared a bunch of black goo on myself for nothing?"

Mako, Karyn and Hok all nodded in confirmation.

Rex reached out for the bottle, "I'm game." He looked up at the clone medic, "Thanks Mako." He nodded to Hok, and Xyra, "Thank you."

"Watch it, Captain. You're in danger of losing your carefully crafted grumpy reputation," Mako teased.

Rex scowled at Mako.

"Ah, yes, well, that's more like it," Mako laughed.

Rex talked with Hok for a while and caught up on the clone's activities. He had just had his stitches removed the day before, and was most excited about 'being a free man again.' He spoke very enthusiastically about Xyra and her research. Rex was just about to ask Hok about his plans for his future, figured perhaps he could start filling in some blanks on his spreadsheet, when Karyn appeared and announced that visiting time was over.

"But, but-" Rex sputtered.

"You need to rest, Captain," Karyn said firmly.

Hok, Mako and Xyra all bid him a quick good bye and left the room, leaving Rex alone again, staring at his walls. Much to Rex's chagrin, she even moved his helmet and comlink out of his reach.

"Rest," she said, imperiously, giving his pillow a little fluff.

Rex scowled up at her, and was about to issue a retort, but couldn't help yawning. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was.

The doctor smiled, and shook her head. "Rest," she said, once again, and slipped from the room. Rex was asleep moments later.

# # #

When Rex awoke the next morning, he removed his knee bandages himself, and applied some of the inky black substance to his leg. He was careful not to get any of it on his stitches, just as he'd been instructed. His leg tingled after it had been applied, but not in an unpleasant way.

Rex realized he didn't mind being used as a test quadrupedal mammalian.* He'd intentionally agreed to it because he thought it might accelerate his healing, and get him to his rescue of Ahsoka faster. But, he realized now that there was probably a higher, more noble purpose to solving these nerve-damage issues. Mako must have realized it immediately. The majority of the clones here on Ando all had nerve-damage issues. If this remedy worked for Rex, then, well, there was a good chance it could work for the other clones as well. Rex felt a shiver run down his back that had nothing to do with the cold climate on the planet. He imagined more of his men seeing improvements in their health, and having chances of getting back some of what they'd lost.

He took the time to study the new scar on his knee. The neat row of black stitches ran vertically from about two inches above his knee to about two inches below his knee. Otherwise, his knee actually looked much as it did before the surgery. Not as radical a change as he would have thought, actually, considering his knee had been "replaced."

Mako returned, placed a fresh dressing on Rex's knee, and then covered it with the ice pack, "There you are, sir, nice and comfy."

"Says the person who doesn't have ice on their nice warm person," Rex grumbled.

Mako shook his head, smiling, "The good doctor left you a few shots as well, anti-inflammatories and what not."

"Can I choose 'not'?" Rex said, as Mako came at with a syringe.

"Good one, Captain," Mako chuckled, deftly reaching in and injecting Rex anyway.

"So, Mako, how is Ando treating you?" Rex asked, rubbing at the spot where he was injected.

"I'm doing well, sir. I've been assigned to live with a nice family toward the edge of town. A widow with a young girl. Nice lady."

Rex raised his eyebrows at Mako curiously.

"Uh, no, Captain. Nothing like that. I'm not one of _those_ clones."

"One of _what_ clones, Mako?"

"You know, sir. All the brothers, chasing around after the women of Ando," Mako made a vague chasing gesture with his hands, "and, all the women of Ando chasing around after our men," Mako made another more vigorous chasing move with both hands. He shook his head, "But, I just can't see myself doing that."

Rex shrugged, "If you say so."

"It's not that I don't like girls."

"Never said you didn't. Not that there's anything wrong with admiring a brother."

"Right, then. Very open-minded of you, Captain. But, I'm more focused on my studies…learning everything I can about being a medic… Lance comes over and meets with me everyday, for as much time as he can spare, to check my progress."

"That's good, Mako. I seem to be benefiting from your diligence."

Mako smiled at the compliment, then added, with a shrug, "Besides, my lady hostess, Aen Skye, only has eyes for one clone anyway. Ever since having a big run in with Dart, he's all she can talk about."

Rex scowled and crossed his arms, "Dart? Really?"

Mako laughed at the expression on Rex's face, "Yeah, the swarmy ARC with the attitude. I know. I thought the same."

The Captain shook his head, remembering Dart as the one who had cursed him out shortly before the ship had come under attack by pirates. "He's an interesting character. Guess there's no accounting for taste."

The second class medic laughed, "He has a bad hip, but even with it, he walks with a swagger. Total attitude."

Rex snorted, "Why would a female ever find _that_ attractive?"

Mako threw up his hands helplessly, "Inexplicable, I know. But, well, from the way Aen tells the story, he was quite the hero. Rescued her daughter, apparently, and that won over the lady's heart."

Rex's curiousity was piqued, "What happened?"

"Aen says she turned her back for just a moment while at the open-air market and little Genna ran right into the path of an oncoming speeder."

Rex's hand tensed into a fist as he listened to the story and pictured a little one in harm's way. His voice dropped to a gravely whisper. "Go on." His mind scanned back for more information about Dart. He knew the ARC had most recently been stationed in the Outer Rim but on his last mission had a near-fatal run-in with a nest of Nexu. His injuries had been so severe that he'd never fully recovered.

"Dart was standing nearby when speeder came down the street talking to some of the other vode in the Legion. He dove headlong across the marketplace and grabbed that little girl into his arms and rolled away from the speeder, just a nano-second before she would run down. It was a very close thing according to everybody who saw it."

Rex whistled, "Impressive."

Mako shrugged glibly, "You know the Advance Recon Commandos. Always showing off like that."

The Captain chuckled, "Don't let any of them hear you saying that or your training regime is going to be doubled, Mako."

The second-class medic shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time my mouth has gotten me into trouble."

Rex shook his head and regarded him, "Probably how you ended up getting assigned to the bomb squad, eh?"

Mako quirked an eyebrow at him, "Ouch."

The Captain laughed, "OK, OK, you volunteered because that was your _first_ choice of duty."

The one-armed clone turned a bit red and admitted, "Actually, you're right. I was assigned bomb squad after getting in trouble one too many times."

Rex laughed and shook his head, "I knew it!" He sobered up a bit, "But, alright, everything is different. We're on Ando. Clean slate. Despite that mouth of yours. Have you given some thoughts to your future?"

Mako gave him a puzzled look, "My future?"

Rex blew out an exasperated sigh, "_Still_ not known for my patience, Mako."

Mako grinned, "Right. Ah... well, yes, I have. Actually, I was perhaps thinking of asking the doctor if maybe I could come work for her."

"That's good, Mako."

"Do you think she'd be open to that?"

"Seems to me you've been doing an outstanding job pitching in already, Mako. She must trust you already, since you're the only one who can easily slip people through her impenetrable security system."

Mako smiled again, "So, you approve then?"

Rex thought back to the doctor's middle-of-the-night rounds checking on him, Torch, and well, Travis, although it was easier to check on someone sleeping right next to you. Rex decided not to dwell on that one too much. "Yes, Mako. Go and talk to the doctor."

"Now?"

"Since you seem to be done stabbing me with sharp pointed objects, yes, now. Go."

"Well, thank you for the support, sir. I appreciate it. Right, then, sir. I guess I'm going to… uh, go, and, uh, then and see about my, uh, future, then." He hesitated a moment longer, shifting from foot to foot.

"Nervous?" the Captain said, with an uplifted brow.

The young medic nodded.

"Just be yourself, Mako," Rex gestured down toward his leg, "look at all you've done for me. You have amazing instincts as a healer. I'm betting the doctor will recognize that in you right away."

Mako's shoulders straightened up, "I do like it much better than blowing things up. Thank you, Captain." He walked toward the door, and paused at the entrance of the room, "and, sir? Thank you for believing in me."

# # #

Karyn was downstairs in the clinic, changing the dressing on Travis' arm. Mako was surprised to even see them down there, as it was the first time he'd even seen Travis outside of his room. The doctor had let him visit with the lieutenant after he'd seen Rex each day, and as far as he'd known, no one else had seen him.

"Well, this incision is healing up beautifully," Karyn said, studying his arm as she carefully cleaned it. "Applying one of Xyra's mixtures definitely sped up the process a bit."

"That slimy goeey stuff?"

"Hey, don't knock it. It's making you heal faster. Although, from what I can see, you're already a fast healer. You'll be in a soft cast for a few more days just so I can make sure there's no infection from the surgery. But, once this incision is fully healed up, we can apply a hard cast."

Travis gave her a slow, secret smile as he watched her work, "And, _then_, I can shower?"

Karyn chuckled, "Ah, yes, definitely."

Travis sighed, regretfully, "A few more days, you say? Mmmm….That does seem an awfully long time to go without a _shower_."

Karyn gave him a seductive smile, "You know, when showering is impossible, there are always sponge baths."

Travis brightened up immediately, "Sponge baths? Tell me about these 'sponge baths'?"

Mako had seen enough of the holonet to know he didn't want to hear anymore of this conversation. It had been intriguing in the beginning from a medical standpoint, but now it was delving into territory that he definitely didn't want to overhear.

He cleared his throat loudly from behind them. Both Karyn and Travis startled.

Before Karyn could even open her mouth to ask about the Captain, Travis immediately demanded, "How's Rex?"

"Oh, let's see, grumbly, surprisingly funny, and bored out of his mind." Mako turned to address Karyn, "He still had that swelling you mentioned. I iced it down, and gave him the shots you left."

"Thank you, Mako," Karyn said, gratefully, "I haven't had a chance to get up there since early this morning. Been busy making my rounds, making breakfast for everyone, and-"

Travis raised up a hand cutting her off, "It's my fault. Tree. And, all that. Really."

Karyn tied began expertly rewrapping his arm, "Actually, Travis, I often have days like this. I'm just pulled in so many different directions at once." She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. "Although," she murmured softly to Travis, "don't think you're getting off lightly regarding the tree. There will be consequences later when you're feeling better."

Travis looked puzzled, wondering what 'consequences' could mean in Karyn's mind.

Mako chuckled.

"Did you need something else, Mako?" the doctor asked.

Mako realized he was just standing there in the doorway. He flushed red. "Uh, yes, actually," he licked his lips nervously, "I, uh, wanted to talk to you, about, an, uh… assignment."

"Assignment?" Karyn's brows furrowed in puzzlement.

Mako realized he had used the wrong term. He struggled to think of what a civilian would call it, "A job?"

"You want a job?"

Mako nodded, "Yes."

"Come help me with this soft cast, would you Mako?"

The young medic slid into place next to Karyn.

"Hold this piece down here. Wrap it around tight, and then tuck under," Karyn instructed.

"This piece that we're currently wrapping. It's called a gauntlet, right?" Mako asked, "just like on our armor. I was reading about those."

"That's right," the doctor said, "OK, grab this piece. Let's see you do this one on your own… "The two worked side-by-side in companionable silence. Karyn nodded with satisfaction, "Well done, Mako. You wrapped that beautifully."

He shrugged, "It's not that much different than wrapping detonation tape. Spent hours in training having to wrap and re-wrap that stuff. No room for error there."

Travis looked down at this new cast, "I'm not liking this analogy."

Mako gave him a look, "Then stop hitting trees, sir."

Karyn burst out laughing. She folded her arms across her chest, "Are you always so plain-spoken?"

Mako nodded, "Afraid so. The Captain has told me it's both my best and worst quality."

"And, you want to work for me?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm a new medic, but Lance says I've got all the makings of being one of the best. Clones learn fast. And, well, you're the only doctor in town. So, it seems to me that you need help."

Karyn studied him for a long moment, and then looked toward Travis. He nodded with approval.

"Alright, well, Captain Rex spoke highly of you the other day. You seem to be able to control _him_, no small feat in itself. And, it seems the Lieutenant here has given you the nod of approval as well," Karyn chewed her lip thoughtfully, as she continued to put the casting supplies away. Travis stared transfixed at her lip. She ran a hand through her thick hair, and shook it out. Travis groaned and shook his head.

The doctor frowned, "Are you OK, Travis?"

"Just really need a shower, right about now," the injured Lieutenant grumbled under his breath.

Karyn 'hmmmped', and turned her attention back to the young medic. "So, ah, Mako? Are you willing to relocate from where you are now? Move in here to the house? I get emergencies at all hours. I really could use some additional help at night."

"Yes, I like _that_ idea," Travis agreed from behind Karyn. He pointed to Mako, "_You_ get the night shift."

Karyn turned and gave Travis a disgruntled look, "Thank you. I think I can handle this."

Travis shrugged, casually, "Just thinking of _other_ things we could be doing at night."

Karyn turned back to Travis again, "Yes, I got that."

Mako laughed quietly while the doctor's back was turned. By the time she'd turned around again, he had a straight, serious face. "Uh, yes, ma'am, no issues with moving. Matter of fact, it would probably be helpful to my host family, as they are… uh… currently… engaged in something of a new relationship themselves."

Travis' eyebrows raised with interest and he made eye contact with Mako, indicating 'you and I are going to talk later.' He obviously wanted to hear the latest news.

Karyn sighed, "I can't deny I could use another pair of hands around here."

Mako laughed and held up his one hand, "Sorry, with me, you get only one."

Karyn flushed red, embarrassed, "I didn't mean any offense-"

"None taken. The fact that you didn't really notice is a compliment actually. This," Mako held up his stump, "…uh, is, _this_ going to be an issue for you?" He asked the question directly, and honestly.

Karyn shook her head, "You're right, Mako. We've worked so well together—you work so well- that I hadn't taken much notice of it. No, it's not an issue. But, if we need to make some accommodations, let me know, OK?"

"Agreed."

"OK, then, Mako. You've got yourself a job. Give me a few minutes to finish up with the nosy Lieutenant here, and then let's you and I sit down in the kitchen over a cup of caf and discuss your salary."

"Salary?" Mako looked puzzled, as if such a thing hadn't occurred to him.

"Yes," the doctor said, then her brow furrowed, "are you look for salary, _plus_ benefits? I can provide a paycheck, a room, and meals. Maybe I can throw in use of the speeder. But, you'd have to share use of it with Rex and Travis. I only have the two speeders, and I need one for use myself. Beyond that, you'd have general use of the house and the grounds, as you see fit. Would that be acceptable? I can also provide you with clothing, both for work, and some casual clothing, if you wish."

Mako's eyes widened, and he was speechless.

"Say yes," Travis prompted, from behind Karyn.

"Uh, yes, ma'am, thank you, doctor," Mako said, giving a polite, enthusiastic nod, "Lieutenant," and then he fled the room, back upstairs to Rex's room.

# # #

"So, you just got the job?" Rex said, with all the approval of a proud father.

"With salary and benefits," Mako said smugly, settling into the chair next to the Captain's bed. "I did it. Just like you said. Thank you, sir!" His excitement was palpable, "I think I might be the first clone in Ando to get an actual job, don't you think Captain?"

Rex shook his head, totally bemused, "I think you might be the first clone in the galaxy to get an actual job, Mako. The Kaminoans would probably snap a vein in their necks or something, if they knew."

Mako grinned, "Oh, that, I wish I could see. Or… could you imagine how the Jedi would react!"

Mako was looking down, focused on what he was doing, and didn't see Rex react to the word 'Jedi.'

"Yes, imagine that," Rex said, neutrally. "So… are you going to share your good news with the rest of the troopers?"

Mako looked excited, "Can I tell them?"

"I don't see why not. Leave inadvertently got extended because Travis and I are both out of commission at the same time. But, hey, they all can't just expect to laze around town and eat for the rest of their lives. At some point, these troopers need to follow your lead and get back to work."

Mako chuckled to himself, "Uh, Captain, you know, that's not _all_ they've been doing."

"Yes, I know, half the houses have been thumping non-stop since our welcome dinner." Rex cast a baleful eye toward the wall behind that separated his room from Travis and Karyn's room. "But, they need to contribute in ways _other_ than that. As proud as I'm sure, Jango is of _all_ of us at this moment."

Mako burst out laughing. "That's not enough of a contribution, sir?"

"You know, Mako, for a brother who is more serious about studying and working, than chasing women, you seem awfully amused by all this… thumping."

Mako's fit of laughter progressed to the point he was having difficulties catching his breath.

"Hey, Mako, did you inject yourself with some of Rex's pain medication?" Travis was leaning up against the doorframe with an amused grin. Hovering protectively behind him was Karyn, looking in on the scene in Rex's room with bewilderment.

"Travis!" Rex immediately pushed himself up onto his elbows, "come join us! We were just talking about-" he stopped, and looked at Karyn, "uh, clone, uh, things."

Karyn rolled her eyes, "So, it's a clone thing, again, is it?"

Travis began walking into the room, "Sure! I'd love to visit-"

Karyn stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Oh no. You are headed back to bed. You're not going to be up and about visiting anyone until the swelling in that hand goes down. Until then, you are staying in bed with that arm properly elevated at all times."

Travis' face fell, and Rex groaned in disappointment.

Karyn turned to Mako, "Would you go get some ice for Travis' arm?"

While Karyn had her back turned, Rex pantomimed to Travis, 'Call me.' Travis nodded eagerly, and was about to make some silent comments about Karyn, when she turned and faced him again. He stopped mid-sentence, and cast his face into an innocent smile. She turned toward Rex, who also schooled his face into an innocent expression.

"What are you two up to?" she asked, suspiciously.

They both shrugged, and said in unison, in their deep voices, "Nothing."

"Come on," Karyn tugged Travis by his good arm and pulled him out of Rex's room. As he was headed out of the door, the lieutenant cast a look back at his Captain and grinned.

"Truly is like having teenagers under the roof again," Karyn muttered to herself, as she separated Travis back to his room. "Except really macho ones."

"Stay," she said, as she got him settled into bed, and carefully elevated his injured arm. "Don't let me catch you sneaking into Rex's room either."

Travis just gave her an even look, but said nothing, blinking his golden-brown eyes innocently.

Karyn sighed, and leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, "Look, I know how energetic all of you guys are, and how difficult it is for you to sit still for any period of time." She gave him a very warm smile, and sat next to him on the bed, "And, I appreciate that energy, believe me, I do."

Travis reached around and grabbed her bottom, eliciting a squeak out of Karyn. From the other side of the wall, Rex shouted: "Hey!"

"We need thicker walls," Karyn murmured.

"Huh?" Travis responded, since he hadn't heard Rex's comment.

Karyn shook her head, "Your Captain has super-sonic hearing."

"He'll just have to get used to it, then," Travis murmured, covering her breast with his good hand, and giving it a squeeze.

"Travis!" Karyn said.

"Yes?" Travis said, innocently.

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."

"You can go ahead and talk," Travis said, "don't mind me." He dipped his hand into the back of her pants and began untucking her shirt.

"I was just saying that you need to rest, and sneaking off behind my back isn't going to ahhhhhhh….." Karyn lost her train of thought as Travis succeeded in getting one hand completely into the back of her pants and grabbed her butt.

"Here's that ice you asked for," Mako said, walking into the room. His eyes' widened as he took in the scene of the bed, and noticed Travis' hand in Karyn's pants. He began laughing, "No, don't get up on my account." Still laughing, he walked right over, handed the ice directly to Travis, turned and left the room. He closed the door on his way out.

Karyn considered the closed door for a moment, "I like him already. He's hired."

She took the icepacks and carefully stacked them on Travis' injured arm. "Yes, alright then, so, now, let's see some of this _multi-tasking_ you clones are so famous for…. Might as well make good use of your time while you are here icing up you arm…" She carefully straddled him, and then leaned down and gave him a long, slow lingering kiss. Travis put his arm around the back of her neck, and held her close to him.

"Yes," Karyn murmured, "perhaps, my wisest strategy with you, is rather than worrying about you getting out of bed, is just making sure you stay _in_ bed…"

# # #

"Morning, sir!"

"Mako!"

"How are you?"

"Still bored beyond belief," Rex gave Mako a hopeful look, "you think perhaps the doctor will allow more visitors today?"

Mako gave Rex a suspicious look, "Why? I'm not good enough company, sir?"

"You're great company, Mako. And, you love jabbing me with sharp pointy things. I just want to get going on the trooper interviews. You know, less thumping, more working."

"Ah, yes, that whole productivity thing, you were talking about. Hmmm… yes, I suppose it could catch on…. well, I did just have a long talk with the doctor, and she seemed to be in an _unusually_ good mood."

Rex cast another baleful look toward the wall behind his bed, "Ah, yes, well, I wonder why _that_ could be."

Mako started laughing, "Travis _has_ been a busy man. I walked in on a bit of that yesterday."

Rex raised his eyebrows, "Ah, well, that would explain why he never called me. We haven't exactly been very productive lately."

Mako chuckled, "Depends upon how you define productive, sir. I'm sure he's been producing-"

"Mako!"

"Why don't I just go get you some ice, sir?" Mako disappeared out the door, while Rex was still grumbling under some his breath about 'Travis' and 'thumping.'

The medic returned with the ice pack, and unwrapped Rex's knee. "Well, it's looking much better yet again, sir. The doctor said you should be able to start your physical therapy soon."

Rex sighed with relief, "That _is_ good news. Can you do the therapy with me, Mako?"

"Me, sir? I've never done anything like that before."

"Then, it's about time you learned, don't you think?"

"I'll talk with Lance, and with the doctor…"

"Fine. Fine. But, I think you'd be very good at it. You're patient, but you also very direct. There's a refreshing bluntness about you, Mako."

"Uh, thank you, sir. I think. Perhaps maybe the bomb squad wore away my softer bits… You still having any problems with extreme sensitivity on your knee?" Mako began gentle pressing on various points around Rex's knee.

Rex gritted his teeth, but didn't have the same extreme reaction he'd had in previous days. He shook his head, "No, feels more like a normal healing knee now. Just the kind of hurt you'd expect now."

"That's excellent!" Mako reached for the icepack and placed it carefully over the newly healing knee. Rex couldn't hold back a shiver. "Still having problems with cold, sir?"

"Well, I don't think it's anything to be concerned about, Mako. I am, after all, getting icepacks dumped on me all day long and we're living on a kriffin' frozen planet now. Well, and I'm wearing lounge pants, not my bodysuit, so you'd expect that I'd be cold-"

Rex's tirade was cut-off mid-sentence when Mako pulled something out of his backpack. He grinned, and thrust a very neatly wrapped, brown package into Rex's hands.

"What's this?" Rex asked, gaping at the package.

"A bomb," Mako said, dead-pan.

Rex continued to stare at the package.

"Why don't you open it, sir?"

Rex quirked an eyebrow up at Mako.

"It's a gift, sir."

"Why?"

Mako shrugged, and looked down at his feet for a moment, "Well, sir, you've been nicer to me than anyone I've ever known. I just wanted to say thank you."

"There's no need for this, Mako. I've just been doing my duty."

Mako looked up from his feet, "It feels like more than that to me, sir. You've been a good friend to me, and I haven't had a friend before."

Rex's voice sounded a bit rough, "I'm honored, Mako."

Mako gestured toward the package, "Well, open it sir."

Rex ripped opened the brown paper, to reveal a warm, fleece top in 501st blue, with white trim. He held it up and stared at it in awe. "This is beautiful."

"I made it… with some help."

"You made this?"

Mako nodded, proudly, "In my spare time, during our leave of absence, I've been doing volunteer work around town. The host family that I live with knew this elderly couple that needed help. Turns out they were _tailors_. Anyway, I've been going over there every single day, and they invite me over for dinner a lot. Ciri, she's the Missus… she's a great cook. Olan, he's the funny old guy… he's the one who showed me how to make this…" Mako nodded toward the fleece. His face fell for a moment and his voice grew subdued, "they lost all their sons in the war."

Rex's eyes met Mako's, "It's a very good thing you're doing Mako… going over there and helping them."

Mako looking thoughtful, "Strange thing is, sir… spending time with them… I think it helps me, just as much as it helps them. Can't really explain it. Does that sound crazy?"

Rex shook his head, "Not at all."

Mako shrugged, "They've been so grateful for my help, they offered to make me anything I wanted. I told them I didn't need anything at all, and I wouldn't accept anything over the past week. But then," Mako shrugged, and looked self-conscious again, "but, a couple of days ago, I noticed you were cold. So, I mentioned it to Ciri and Olan. They still have all their tailoring machines and stuff. I described to them the colors on your armor. We finally all finished this together last night after dinner," Mako smiled, as if remembering a very good memory. "I hope it's OK. I've never… uh… given anyone… uh… anything before."

Rex was speechless. This was the second time in the past week that someone had given him a generous gift. His mouth went dry, and he just stared at Mako.

Mako's face fell, "If you don't like it-"

"No!" Rex said quickly, realizing Mako had misread his silence, "Sorry. Mako. I'm not at all good at any of this sort of stuff. I'm a little rough around the edges. This," he held up the fleece, and his voice grew thick with emotion, "is incredible. Thank you."

The medic's face lit up and he breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, do you want to put it on? Since I just froze you with a bunch of ice again?"

"Yes," he held up the fleece, "let's get this thing on." Since he was still lying prone, he needed Mako's help to slide into the sweater. He sighed with relief as he was encompassed in the warmth of the garment. "This feels good," He held up one arm, and then the other, "but, even better, it feels right to be back in my colors again." He reached over and gave Mako a brotherly punch on the arm, "Hey, you get points for being a compassionate medic."

Mako grinned, "It does beat doing detonations, sir… And, I suppose if I'm a total flop, I could always go into making sweaters."

# # #

A/N: Cody was bumped to the next chapter since this chapter got so long. Hey, but it will be worth the wait. The Cody chapter is a good one. It will be worth the wait.

* quadrupedal mammalian* - Swine/pig. (Wookepedia.) Thought this was a rather funny expression, because it was so clinically descriptive, sounded like the way a clone would describe an animal. So, instead of referring to himself as a "guinea pig," Rex is a "test quadrupedal mammalian."


	63. Chapter 63 Darkknell

_Revised: June 11, 2013._

_A/N: Thank you to NatCat13 who created the character of Catcher and co-wrote portions of this chapter. __I made some minor revisions to Chapter 28, where Catcher's character was originally first introduced. In that scene, I actually had Catcher up and walking about in the ship in his cybernetic braces. He no longer does that. In the beginning, he is completely bedbound. So Chapter 28 is revised, and where Catcher previously appeared, now it's Mako. Catcher's character is now moodier and edgier, (and more fun to write, because his mood swings set him up for some great one-liner._

_There's more cool "Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?" artwork! Check out "gloryblaz" two latest Travis paintings on Deviantart. They are incredibly detailed, and in beautiful color. The links are notoriously hard to put here, since ffn takes out links. But, I'll try. You'll have to take out the spaces:_

_ gloryblaz. deviantart # / d4hmnfw_

_ gloryblaz. Deviantart #/ d4hmvep_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 63**

It was the same nightmare.

ARC Captain Catcher moaned as he once again relived the events that tormented his sleep, and haunted his waking hours... His mind always went back to the very last day he had ever walked.

He saw the enemy... the secret lab ... and, remembered his shock when he realized what they were attempting to do in those labs. This information was vitally important to the Republic... Then, there was that horrifying moment when he realized he'd been discovered... he was running... wildly running through the forest just trying to get away from the lab... he was fast... he was unusually agile, and had done very well in all of his ARC training. But, these large simian creatures were proving to be a most formidable enemy. They were highly intelligent, fiercely strong, and now, kriff, they were pissed... He had to keep going... run faster... they were gaining... about to catch him...

"Catcher, breakfast."

The dream was always so vivid... so real... it was always that same sense of urgency... he had to get away... they were gaining on him... he had to get away... no! no! no! Have to get this information back to the Republic!...

"Catcher. Your breakfast is ready."

Catcher woke up with a start, as he felt someone tap his shoulder gently. His ARC reflexes took over and he immediately bolted up, gripped the wrist and pulled without thinking, flipping his attacker over. He ignored the shriek of protest, pinning the body underneath his, bringing his elbow up to the windpipe-

"Catcher!"

The body squirming underneath his was decidedly _soft, _in all the right places,and _not _armored, or metallic. Despite the fact that Catcher couldn't feel anything from the legs down, some part of his brain immediately woke up and his eyes shot open. He looked down into a startled part of green eyes.

For a moment, he just stared, stunned into speechlessness as he tried to comprehend what had just happened and where he was. He blinked slowly, lifted his head, and looked around the unfamiliar room.

"Uh, hi," said a voice, from underneath him, "you gonna' let me up?"

Catcher looked down at the female form, and he suddenly remembered everything. He quickly rolled to the side. He drew back in startled shock, "Gah! I'm so sorry, ma'am! "

The woman sat up, laughed shakily and said, "Well, can't say _that's_ every happened to me before. But, guess it will make an amusing anecdote to share with the girls." She shook her head, and then carefully extracted herself off of Catcher's bio-bed, "I guess I'll have to figure out a different way to wake you up in the mornings."

Catcher flushed red, and hung his head down, "My deepest apologies, ma'am."

The woman placed a gentle hand on Catcher shoulders. She drew back as she realized his shoulder was bare, "When we opened up our home to a soldier, we knew there were bound to be a few... uh... ", She paused, obviously struggling for a politically correct word.

"Moments of insanity?" Catcher muttered.

"Not the wording I was thinking of, er... rough patches. Yes, rough patches. But, I don't think this even counts as that. This was more like a... glitch."

"A glitch? With all due respect, I just attacked you, ma'am!" Catcher drew a hand across his eyes in frustration, feeling the beginnings of a throbbing headache coming on.

"No harm done. I get thrown around worst than that at least a dozen times a day when there's a good storm at sea. Trust me, I'm not fragile. I wouldn't have signed up to do this if I didn't think I could handle it... And, as I told you last night, please don't call me ma'am. Makes me sound old. My name is Ashla."

Catcher leaned back in his bio-bed, and studied the woman in front of him. He'd just met her at the welcome dinner last night. Truth be told, he hadn't actually spent that much time talking to her. He was actually seated next to the other men in the bio-beds, Razor, Sabre, Tag, and Sink, plus Torch, and Hok, who were also still bedbound. Their host families were seated in tables adjacent to them, but it was still much easier talking to brothers than people they didn't know. Plus, Hok had that great story about the sea beastie and he ended up retelling it several times over the course of the night, because brothers kept coming over to visit with him. And, the story did get better each time he told it. Catcher had been content to just eat all the food that was continually brought over to him, chat with his brothers, and listen to the stories. It had been one of the most pleasant evenings he'd had since... well, probably the last time he'd gone out on leave with Bly. He felt a deep pang as he thought of his closest friend, and wondered once again where in the galaxy he might be off to now.

At the end of the dinner, he'd been sent home with 'Ashla,' who'd apparently agreed to take him in. Another family member, Jade, was also living with her, although it was his understanding this was something of a temporary arrangement. His bio-bed had been placed in a small room directly off the main kitchen. He'd fallen asleep almost as soon as his brothers had settled him into the room. He wasn't used to eating so much, and it had been a very full couple of days. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the grips of his recurring nightmare, with the press of a soft body pinned underneath him.

"I made a ton of food. I hope you're hungry."

Catcher's attention was drawn back up to Ashla. Catcher studied her curiously, now that he was more awake. He hadn't really taken the time to notice much about her the previous evening with all that was going on. His focus had been on the food and his brothers. Now, with less distractions around, he had to admit, she wasn't a wholly unattractive woman. This might not be such an objectionable arrangement.

"I could eat," Catcher said, and then belatedly remembered his manners, "uh, breakfast be nice... uh, that is, that sounds good... uh, ma'am... er, Ashla." He cringed, and flushed red, feeling awkward.

"Is there caf?" He was never any good until after his third cup of caf.

Ashla laughed, the sound genuine and light, "Yes. I live on the stuff. We can share a cup of caf together. I could use another cup, or three, myself."

Catcher eyed his host appraisingly. A caf drinker. They just might get along alright.

He was just reaching for his shirt when his host came in with large two steaming mugs of caf. To his amusement, he noticed her eyes lingering on his bare chest.

He smiled to himself, and but then shook his head and quickly tugged his shirt over his head. He knew his days of having any chance with a woman were over. They'd ended when that blaster bolt had torn into his lower spine. He ran a hand quickly through his short hair, and knew he could probably use a shave.

_Hmmm, well, it was still nice that a woman had looked._ _Last time a woman gave me a look like that, Bly and I were undercover with General Secura and wearing outfits that we felt were not very dignified for clone troopers. The General hadn't seemed to mind, though. She kept giving Bly a certain look, even though he got all flustered about it and kept denying it._

Catcher threw off the memories of the past, and noticed his host had been watching him with something akin to fascination as he'd been getting dressed, and running his hand through his hair.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Er... Ashla... ma'am... you mentioned something about breakfast?" he asked politely, bringing her attention back to his face.

She startled, caught in the act of staring at him, and looked away quickly, suddenly fascinated with the carpet. "Huh? Wha… caf? …. yes… OK..." She walked quickly away, grabbing his still almost full caf cup out of his hands.

Catcher laughed again, shaking his head, thinking she was amusing, if a bit odd. He grabbed his refresher kit, which one of his brothers had thoughtfully left within easy arms reach. He ran a comb through his hair, and quickly brushed his teeth with toothpaste he didn't have to spit out. He couldn't shave in bed, though, and eventually he'd have to pee. Hopefully one of his brothers was coming back over soon to help-

"Karyn is coming over shortly to check on you," Ashla announced, coming in with a tray heaping with food. "She also said she'd go over everything again, about how the arrangements here are going to work. And, uh..." the ship's captain gestured to Catcher's bio-bed, "make sure that, uh... Jade and I were clear about uh... everything we need to do."

Catcher snorted as he caught the drift of what she was trying to say, " "About being my keeper?"

Ashla set the tray down on a small table next to Catcher's bed. Tempting smells immediately wafted over to him, but he resisted looking at it until they finished their conversation.

"We're more than happy to have you staying here with us. This will work out. You'll see," Ashla folded her arms across her chest, "we'll just have to work together, OK? I'm not always here, though. So, when I'm out at sea, there's going to be other people staying at the house here with you."

Catcher grimaced, not liking the sound of that all. He was feeling more and more like a burden. Whatever good humor he'd had from earlier had vanished. "Why did you agree to take me? And, not someone easier?" He accepted the tray from Ashla, with a nod of thanks.

Ashla plunked down into a carved wooden chair next to the bed. "I specifically asked for someone with disabilities. It's not like I was randomly _stuck_ with you."

Catcher paused, a bite of eggs halfway to his mouth, "_All_ of us are disabled to some extent, or we wouldn't have been sent here. Take Captain Rex, for example," he gestured with his fork for emphasis, "he was dismissed from the Army after being shot in the knee. But, some of us," Catcher put his fork down, and jerked a thumb toward himself, "are even more disabled than the rest of them." He indicated his bio-bed with a nod of his head. "Most of the troopers are more mobile than _this_. Why would anyone intentionally take on a burden like this?"

"Eat," Ashla waved toward his breakfast, "before it gets cold."

Catcher picked up his fork again, and dug back into his eggs. Once he started eating again, Ashla continued on with their conversation. "I had a brother once," Ashla said, her voice taking on an almost reverent tone, "he was everything to me." Her eyes filled with tears, and she blinked rapidly. She took a deep breath, and then continued, "He was born with a lot of different… challenges." She shook her head, "He was never able to learn to walk... But, he could still do great things."

Catcher looked at her, thoroughly intrigued now.

"He was amazing," she said, gesturing with her hands as she tried to explain. Her eyes got a far off look in them as she got lost in memories from long ago. She then blew out a long breath, and shook her head, saying, "He... he...died too soon…. He was… amazing." Her eyes got a far off look for a moment as she got lost in memories. Then, she shook them off, and simply said, "He...died young," she shook her head again, "too soon."

Catcher put down his fork and shook his head, "I understand that part. I've… lost brothers."

Their eyes met, and they exchanged a long, silent look of shared pain, and silent understanding. Ashla reached out and took her hand in his. He stared down at her hand, as if it was something completely foreign, although he didn't pull his hand away from hers.

He furrowed his brow, as if trying to understand something, "How could having _me_ here could possibly make you feel any better? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just start a garden, or something? Wouldn't that be easier than taking home a clone?"

Ashla burst out laughing, "A garden?"

Catcher shrugged, and gave a sort of wry grimace, "I've never tried to grow anything myself, but I watched the holonet while at the different med centers. People tend them. They find them soothing for some reason in times of stress. I'd think that such a project would be easier than... a... uh...", he gestured vaguely, trying to finish his thought.

"Clone?"

"Yeah."

Ashla shook her head, still smiling with amusement, "Do you see any live plants in this house, Catcher? Xyra's the one with the plant talent, Catcher. I'm the technical one… a garden?" She shook her head with amusement at the thought. "Nope, sorry, won't be trading _you_ in anytime soon."

Catcher stared her down for a long moment, then blurted out, "My legs are completely dead."

"I know," Ashla responded calmly, "Karyn told me all about it when we talked about this arrangement."

The ARC Captain met her gaze again, and spoke very quickly, "I was shot in the spine. It's irreversible. I'm always going to be like this," his voice cracked on the last sentence, and then he broke away from her gaze and stared down his lap.

Ashla squeezed his hand, "If there's one thing I learned from my brother, it's not to take a single moment for granted. You're still here. And, you're still alive."

"Yeah, but-" Catcher objected.

Ashla put a finger up to his lips, cutting him off, "Hey, how about we stop worrying about the fact that you can't feel your legs, and you finish up those eggs?"

She released his hands, and handed him back his fork.

Catcher gave her a puzzled look, "You're different from anyone I've ever met before."

Ashla raised up her eyebrows, "Is that a bad thing?"

Catcher took another bite of egg, and shook his head, "No, not necessarily. Just different."

# # #

"So, how's it going here? You getting along with your host family?"

Catcher accepted the bowl of water from Mako with a nod of thanks. He lathered up his face, lifted his razor, and began to shave.

"Well," he said, as she shaved, "the lady I'm staying with, Ashla, she seems decent enough. She's a ship's captain, or some such thing."

Mako nodded, "Probably a lot of them in a fishing town, like this."

"How about you? You getting along with the people you're staying with?"

Mako shrugged, "I guess. It's a bit odd, that's all. It's a woman, and a little girl. Not used to being around children. I mean, it's different than being around cadets. She's the same age as a cadet, I suppose. But, doesn't _behave_ like a cadet should."

Catcher paused in his shaving, "That is strange. What does this little she-cadet do?"

Mako begin ticking off a list of the child's flaws, "She has a tendency to burst into laughter with little, or no provocation. Her daily routine has little schedule, as far as I can see. And, her voice seems unusually high-pitched for a little cadet."

Catcher frowned, "That is... unusual. I can see where that would be troubling... Perhaps you should request a housing reassignment."

Mako should his head, "No." He held up his stump of a hand, "If I can survive years of munitions trainings, I suppose I am better suited to endure the voice emissions coming from that small human better than many of our brothers."

Catcher stared at Mako's stump for a moment, shocked. He hadn't even really noticed it before. The young medic was so fluid in his movements that his 'disability' wasn't obvious, at all.

Mako noticed his staring and grinned. "This?" He shrugged, "You get used to it, you know? After a while, it just because your new normal."

Catcher nodded, reflecting on the words, 'your new normal.' He watched the young medic tidy up his room, his movements fluid and graceful. "So, demolitions, really?" He handed back the bowl of shaving water.

Mako nodded, handing Catcher a towel. "It's where all my training lies. Didn't become a medic until after I crashed here," he shrugged again, and then looked thoughtful, "Guess you could say I sort of reinvented myself after I came to the planet." His wristlink went off and he glanced down at it. "Oh, hey, sorry, I gotta' run. That's Lance. I'm doing rounds with him today. Do you need anything else before I go? I know Karyn is coming by, and Blaze and Quick are scheduled to be with you here for part of the afternoon." Mako cocked his head to the side, "You know Blaze and Quick?"

"Those are the two commandos from Alpha Squad, right?"

Mako nodded, "They're good brothers. Been helping Lance and I on the rounds. Shown an interest in volunteering and helping with all the brothers in the bio-beds."

Catcher nodded his head, "So, how did two commandos from the same squad end up here?"

Mako shrugged, and held up his missing hand, "Much in the same way I did….an explosion. Caught in the same one because they were working side-by-side. They were both severely burned. Bacta can only do so much. However, they both said they feel lucky to still be alive." Mako laughed wryly, "and, after the last few days, they said they feel they really have a lucky star watching out for them. So, now, they just want to give back to their fellow brothers. They're good brothers. You'll enjoy their company." He checked his wristcomm again. "Sorry, vode, I have to go. Lance and I are headed over to check on Razor next."

Catcher nodded. He'd talked with Razor, a fully paralyzed gunship pilot, at dinner the night before. Razor had acknowledged that it was unusual that he was even still alive. With most gunship crashes the cockpit crumpled and both the pilot and co-pilot were killed instantly. His ship had been shot down into tall trees, killing his co-pilot, and over half the troopers aboard, but he and the rest of the clones aboard had survived.

"Hey! Tell Razor I said hello!"

The medic gave a cheerful wave and headed out. Catcher stared after him, rubbing his chin, lost in thought.

# # #

Catcher slept a lot since his injury, mainly out of boredom. When he was an ARC, it seemed there was never enough time for sleep. He constantly craved sleep. It seemed he literally dreamed about the simple luxury of actually having the time sleep.

But, after he'd been shot in the spine, all he did was lie around in bed. He slept for hours and hours everyday. Yet, he still always seemed to be tired and lethargic. It was nothing like what he thought getting a lot of _rest_ would be like. His sleep was continually punctured and riddled with reoccurring flashbacks from when he'd been injured, and the overwhelming feeling he hadn't done enough...

Catcher turned restlessly in his sleep again, his upper body twisting restlessly again the sheets. He saw the lab... the research... he was running through the forest... suddenly, there was that horrible burning pain as the blaster bolt cut into his spine. He felt a corresponding fire lance through his legs, unlike any pain he'd ever felt before. The pain was so intense that he couldn't stop himself from crying out from the agony of it. He lay there on the forest floor crying out, and then his legs simply went... numb. He could still feel the burning in his spine, but he suddenly became aware of the sounds of his pursuers again... he began dragging himself forward on his elbows in a classic Army-crawl into the underbrush and out of sight...

He'd successfully evaded his pursuers for several days, using all of the advanced tactics he'd learned in his ARC training. He'd eventually found a small alcove and holed up, activating his emergency retrieval beacon. Bly was part of the retrieval team that came to get him. Catcher was barely conscious. He remembered his friend's concerned face peering down at him, as he was quickly, but carefully, loaded into a stretcher, other teams looking out for signs of hostile pursuit.

"Bly!" Catcher had called out to his friend, gripping his arm.

"Easy, Catcher," Bly had said, loosening his grip, and placing it carefully back on the stretcher. You're going to be just fine, vode."

But, Catcher could tell from the expression on his brother's face that he'd already been told the news that he was not going to be 'fine.'

"Listen to me!" Catcher hissed out, snaking his arm out again and grabbing Bly, "there was a lab- you have to tell them-"

There were the sounds of explosions of gunfire from nearby.

A lieutenant came running up to Commander Bly, "I'm sorry to interrupt, Commander, but we have to go, _now._"

Bly gripped Catcher's arm. He leaned in close, and said in a low voice, "I know we need to talk- " A nearby explosion rocked the area, throwing up debris. Bly arched himself over Catcher protectively, shielding him with his body. "Report!" he barked into his comm, as soon as he straightened up. He listened to the response, grabbed his helmet, and then began running off.

"Bly!" Catcher shouted, making a grab for the rapidly retreating commander, "Wait! You have to listen to me! I need to tell you-"

"Easy," one of the medics pushed him back down onto the stretcher.

"No!" Catcher shouted out, "I have to talk to the commander!" He pushed up, then cried out in pain.

The medic looked over at his partner, "Give him a sedative! Or, he's going to injure himself further."

Catcher looked up at both of the medics in alarm, "No, I have to talk to Bly! It's urgent!" He began pushing up with his arms again, ignoring the burst of pain from his spine.

The two medics looked at each other, helmeted heads nodding in perfect unison.

"Bly!" Catcher shouted, "the lab! Have to tell you- " He saw the syringe coming at him, and fought against it, arms swinging. He felt one of his fists connect with one of the medics. "No! Bly!" A nearby explosion drowned out his voice entirely. "Bly! You have to listen! Clones! Bly! Bly!-" He felt a sharp piercing jab to his neck and everything went black...

Catcher woke up a start.

"Easy, brother."

He heard the deep rumble of a clones' voice, and felt a gloved hand being placed comfortingly on his shoulder. Instantly, Catcher had a flashback to his dream.

He reached his fists up and began swinging. His fists smacked into grey Keltarn armor.

"Hey! Take it, easy! Udessi! Catcher, it's Blaze. I'm here with Viper..." he felt someone grab his arm, and then heard, "hold his other arm until he wakes up all the way. He's having flashbacks."

His eyes snapped open, and he stared up at the commanding forms of two fully armored commandos towering over him. With his arms pinned, he couldn't move at all.

The closer of the two commandos leaned in, his blue visor peering down at Catcher. "You with us, now, brother?"

"Huh? What?...Yeah," Catcher muttered.

They released his arms, and the three of them just stared at each other for an awkward moment, not speaking. Then, both commandos removed their helmets.

"Still too cold for my liking out there," the closer of the two commandos said, as he set his helmet down. "I'm Blaze. We met yesterday," he clasped arms with Catcher, Mando'a style, in greeting. Catcher tried not to eye the long line of fresh burn scarring running up the side of the commando's neck and disappearing into his hairline. "You remember my boss, Viper?" He nodded toward the other commando, who appeared a few years older. Catcher noted he also had signs of similar signs of scarring, now that his helmet was removed.

Catcher nodded, "Thanks for coming by. Sorry for the less than stellar greeting."

Viper shook his head, "No worries, brother. With all that we've been through as clones, it's a wonder that any of us have a scrap of sanity left." He leaned in toward the ARC, "I am curious, though… when we came in, you seemed very upset and you were talking about clones. What was that all about?"

Catcher shook his head, and blew out a breath, "My last mission."

Blaze pointed to the ARC's damaged legs, "Not to state the obvious, but I take it that your mission ended badly?"

Catcher shook his head, and snorted, "Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that." He gave the two commandos a look of rare look of naked honesty, "Kind of feel like I lost my purpose after that mission, you know?"

The two commandos exchanged a long knowing look, "Yeah, we felt that way after forced out of Alpha Squad," said Viper finally.

The ARC threw up his hands in frustration, "So, what do you do?"

Viper smiled kindly, placed a hand on Catcher's shoulder, "That's when you find yourself a new purpose. " He gestured toward his brother, "Blaze and I are focusing all of our energies on helping other brothers now. Figured we'll make good use of our time here. We were declared unfit for duty because of all this damage," he pointed to his burn scarring, "but, we're still a lot more mobile than..." he stopped himself.

"... people like me?" Catcher finished off wryly.

Blaze unexpectedly smacked the ARC in the shoulder, using one of his armored fists.

"Ow!" Catcher complained, rubbing at his shoulder, "that's going to leave a mark! I'm not wearing armor! What'd you do that for?"

"There's no feeling sorry for yourself allowed here on Ando. If there were, the whole lot of us clones would be so drowning in our misery that we'd never be able to get up again, you know? So, there's none of us that. There's nothing wrong with you, ARC. You practically took my head off when we first came in here. I was just hitting you back."

Viper laughed, the sound booming around the small room. The sound was infectious, and Blaze joined in, and even Catcher started grinning.

He looked up at his brothers, one hand still working out the bruise on his shoulder, and with a smile, said, "Thanks."

# # #

Viper and Blaze carried him to the refresher, and back again. Once they'd gotten him to the room itself, he insisted on being left alone. They both eyed him warily, looking down at his non-functional legs.

"The biobed takes care of my personal needs," Catcher said, too used to being paralyzed to be embarrassed by any of this anymore, "I just need to bathe. If you can set me down in the tub. I can manage on my own."

"You sure, vod?" Blaze started, "the doctor sent us here to help you." He was caught off guard when Viper elbow him in the ribs." He glanced over at his brother. "Er, right, then, why don't you just call us when you're done and we'll fish you out of the tub. Uh, not pun intended."

"Close the door!" Catcher called out, as they were headed out of the refresher, making no move to undress until they were gone.

"Are all ARCs that weird about privacy?" Blaze murmured to Viper, as he clicked the door shut.

Catcher sighed, and slid his pants down off his hips revealing all of the bizarre wiring and circuitry that set him apart from his brothers.

# # #

After Catcher finished bathing, Viper and Blaze carried him back to bed. It was his first real bath since leaving ArmyMed, and felt good to get truly clean again. He even had a chance to shave off the weeklong shadowy beard that had been tickling his face. And, although no one had said anything, he was sure he'd been starting to stink after being stuck in bed for so long. The two commandos headed back out, promising to stop back again to visit.

After Viper and Blaze left, Catcher lay in bed reflecting upon what they'd said. He was also starting to think that he was getting hungry. He'd forgotten to ask Ashla what he was supposed to do for food while she was away.

He looked around his room. There was a bottle of water on the table next to his bed, but no food. Out of boredom, and to ignore his growing hunger, he decided to just go to sleep. He'd just been drifting out, when he heard a voice call out from the next room.

"Anybody home?"

Catcher heard an unfamiliar voice from the next room. Definitely not a clone voice.

_Who now?_

Ashla's house seemed to be a higher-traffic area than a Separatist battle zone.

"Uh... in here... I think," Catcher answered uncertainly.

An older man appeared in the doorway, followed by a young boy, that Catcher estimated to be about the right age to be a clone cadet. The boy hung behind the older man uncertainly, peering in curiously at Catcher, with wide-eyes.

"Hello, there!" the man called cheerfully, in a booming voice.

"Uh… hello," Catcher said, having no idea who this loud and overly cheerful man was.

"Did Ashla mention I was coming?"

"Er..." Catcher thought back to his conversation with Ashla that morning… _OK, eggs, caf, she's got nice eyes, more eggs, another cup of caf, she's got a nice voice, she likes my chest, people might be coming by-_

"Oh, yeah, think so, hi," Catcher said. "I'm, uh, Catcher."

The man stuck his hand out and shook Catcher's hand in a bone-crushing handshake, "Pleased to meet you, son. I'm Ewan, and this is Kor."

The boy walked up to Catcher, shook his hand respectfully, "Pleased to meet you, sir." Then, he leaned climbed up on the bed, and whispered into Catcher's ear, as if revealing a great secret, "I hear that you're some kind of super-soldier. But, don't worry, I won't tell anybody." He climbed back off of the bed, and gave the ARC a solemn nod, as if to let him know that his secret was safe with him.

Catcher looked into the boy's brown eyes with surprise, and had no idea what to say.

"You'll have to excuse my son. He's been beside himself with excitement since your ship crashed." Ewan's eyes flashed with pain, and remembered sadness, "he's too young to remember much about the war on our planet," he said quietly.

Catcher looked up at the older man with surprise, taking in all of his words. This boy was his son? He looked too advanced in years to have produced a child of this age, not that Catcher was an expert on reproduction that occurred outside of a decanting jar. Actually, he was far from an expert on _any_ of the specifics that went of with regards to reproducing outside the decanting jar.

He gazed at the old man and the child with open curiosity. Why was the boy excited about the arrival of soldiers on his planet? In what possible way could that benefit the child? Their planet was not currently under siege by Separatists and did not need to be liberated. At the moment, they were consuming the resources of the village, without contributing back, beyond their moment of glory obliterating the pirates.

"I brought you lunch," the man said, holding up a basket that Catcher hadn't noticed before.

_Ah, case in point. Consuming resources._

Although, at that moment, Catcher's stomach chose to loudly growl so he couldn't think much past the fact that he was _hungry_.

"Thank you," Catcher said, remembering his manners and taking an interest in the basket the man had brought. Three decent meals in two days? Maybe these planet wasn't so bad, after all.

Ewan opened up the basket, and all manners of tempting smells wafted out. "Hope you like it. I had a small café at one time…." His voice trailed off, and Catcher knew without him saying anything that he meant 'before the war.' He shook his head, and his voice perked up again, as he shook off old memories, "Anyway, cooking is still a hobby of mine. I whipped up a few things this morning. Kor here is home-schooled, so he helped me prepare these items. Isn't that right?"

The young boy nodded proudly.

_Well, no sense letting that good food go to waste._

_Home-schooled?_

"What is home schooling?" Catcher's brow furrowed at the unfamiliar term.

Ewan began unpacking items, and placing them on the table next to Catcher's bed. "Oh, it means he doesn't go to school with the other children."

Catcher frowned, and studied the small dark haired boy again. The boy looked away self-consciously and stared at his feet. "Well, why not?" the ARC asked, bluntly.

The old man finished unpacking the food, and closed the basket. He patted Catcher's arm gently, "Ah, story for another time. Enjoy your lunch. We'll be back later to pick up the dishes."

The boy gave Catcher a shy smile, and then followed Ewan out of the room.

The ARC stared after them, his gaze fixed on the retreating back of the small boy. _Why wouldn't the little cadet attend classes with the others? Makes no sense. On Kamino, such errant behavior would have met with..._

Catcher ran a hand through his hair and blew out his breath.

_... reconditioning._

There were no second chances on Kamino. He stared down at his dead legs, and then over at all the food left for him by the kindly older man, and his young son. Apparently, things operated a little differently on Ando.

# # #

The food that Ewan had left was excellent. Catcher had just made his way through the second container, and was on his way to investigating the third one when there was a knock at the door.

"Who now?" Catcher thought, somewhat annoyed at the thought of such a good lunch being interrupted.

"Catcher? It's Karyn."

_The doctor?_

Catcher groaned quietly to himself, but otherwise remained quiet.

_Maybe if she thinks I'm sleeping, she'll go away..._

A moment later, the doctor's appeared at the entrance of his small bedroom.

_Kriff._

"Ah, there you are. Good afternoon, Catcher."

"Hhhmph," Catcher muttered, non-commitally. His heart sank as he saw the oversized black duffle bag with the GAR logo in Karyn's hand. He set down his fork, and sank back down into his bed, burrowing under his covers. He closed his eyes, and ignored the doctor. Ignoring her didn't do much good. She pulled back his covers and began taking his vitals.

"I see you are the same cheery fellow as when I met you yesterday," Karyn murmured as she made her examination.

Catcher just made a 'hmmmph' noise in the back of his throat.

"Your electrolytes are still dangerously low," Karyn commented, frowning, taking an injection out of her medical kit.

Catcher grimaced slightly as she pressed a needle up against his neck.

"I take it you went a while without eating or drinking while on that ship?" Karyn questioned.

"You take it right," Catcher mumbled, he opened one eye and peered at her, "but, I didn't exactly get star treatment as I made my way through the Republic medical system either."

Karyn scowled, "Yes, but I can't imagine with your attitude you made it any easier on them."

Catcher rose up on one elbow, "Are you saying all this is _my_ fault?"

Karyn sighed, exasperated, "Calm down, Catcher, or the next shot you are getting is a sedative, and I _won't_ be giving it to you in a friendly body location like your arm, or the side of your neck, got it?"

Catcher glowered at her, "That threat would be a lot more effective if I weren't paralyzed from the waist down."

"Yes, a fact that seems to dominate your every waking thought."

Doctor and ARC glared at each, eyes locked. Finally, Karyn sighed and continued on with her examination. "From now on," Karyn said, resuming her professional tone, "make sure you eat regular meals, to gain back the weight that you've lost. I take it someone has been here today to help you get to the refresher?"

Catcher opened his eyes, and then just shook his head, darkly, "_**Yes**_. Thanks for the reminder that I can't get _there_ on my own."

"Look, Catcher, this is your reality when you are paralyzed. With the type of injury you have, that's not going to change. However, unlike the other four men in biobeds I just visited, _you_ don't need to remain confined to bed. I don't see why you insist upon doing so."

Catcher startled the doctor when he exploded into a sitting up position, getting right into her face, "_What_ do you want from me?"

The doctor remained undaunted, "To understand you, Catcher."

"What's to understand? Once I was a pretty nifty clone, then I got shot, and now I'm..." Catcher's voice and hands shook as he tried to voice what he was now. "I'm a...I... I don't know what I am now." He threw his hands up in the air, "But, I was shot, and I was sent off to be _terminated. _Except somebody _else_ tried to _kill _us first, so we crashed, and ta da!" He slammed his arms against his biobed, "Here I am, a burden to everyone, and... of no use to anyone." Catcher lay back down, and muttered under his breath, "…should have given up when I was on Darkknell."

The doctor, who had been listening keenly for any clues to unravel what was proving to be her most difficult of the clone patients, next to the _other_ Captain, immediately asked, "What's Darkknell?"

Catcher looked up at Karyn startled, as if he hadn't realized he'd spoken the name aloud. He had a haunted look in his eyes. He shook his head, and closed his eyes again. "I shouldn't speak of it," he said, quietly.

"Why?" Karyn asked, gently, leaning in closer, and placing a gentle hand on his arm.

The ARC shook his head, and refused to say anything more.

Karyn looked at him sadly, then blew out a breath. "OK, look, if you decide you want to talk-"

"No."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. OK, new topic. I know this is tough for you. Explain one thing to me. You have the power to move. To walk. Yet you choose not to. Why-"

"It's not walking!" Catcher burst out, angrily.

"Look, I understand it's not exactly walking. But, it has to be better than sitting in this bed all day, being dependent upon others for all your needs. I can sense you're stressed by this. So, why not use these?" She pointed to the black GAR duffel bag. "None of the others have anything like this, as far as I have seen. You are truly unique."

Catcher stared at the bag of GAR equipment she was referring to, then closed his eyes for a long moment, and a shudder racked his frame. He opened his eyes, "Unique? That's what you call it?" he snorted, and shook his head, "I'm just a GAR medical test experiment. A _failed _one. I never asked for this."

"At least give it a try, Catcher," the doctor urged, "it would give you the power of mobility. You could get around on your own during the day. You wouldn't need people to come here to help you with your most basic needs. You'd have a lot more independence." She tapped the bed, "be free of the bed." She looked at him in confusion, "Don't you want that?"

"No!" Catcher exploded, "I want-" he stopped himself, "I want..." he stopped again, and reached his hands up and scrubbed his face. He knew what he wanted was impossible. He wanted his old life back, and to be the ARC that he used to be before the blaster bolt tore into his spine.

Karyn smiled sadly and placed a reassuring hand on his knee, which he couldn't feel.

She reached down and lifted up the black GAR duffel bag. "Can I at least see what they look like?"

Catcher hesitated, and then gave a resigned sigh. He nodded for the doctor to proceed. She began pulling the complicated medical hardware out of the bag. The ARC eyed the gear with obvious hatred and disdain.

"Will you at least explain to me how they work?" the doctor asked, holding up one of the high-tech hydraulic braces and studying it with unabashed curiosity. "I've never seen anything like this."

Catcher scowled again, and then unashamedly tugged his blue, GAR-issue medical pants to the midway point on his hips. He pointed to the complex wiring running in and out of his legs and hips. "These connect into coils and receivers in my brain," Catcher mumbled.

"How does it all hook up?" Karyn asked up, staring at the myriad of complex wiring coming out of him. She handed him one of the hydraulic braces.

"I don't know," Catcher mumbled, staring down at the incredibly complex leg brace in his hands.

"Excuse me?" Karyn said, in confusion.

Catcher glared at her, and then tugged his pants back up on his hips, "I said, _I don't know! _OK_? _They always hooked these things up for me at the medcenter. I don't know how to hook them up, and I don't care to learn, OK? Now, will you just go away and leave me alone? I told you I don't want these things!" He tossed the brace back to her, and slunk back down into the bed. He turned his back to her, effectively dismissing her.

He heard a faint rustling, and the sound of the black GAR bag being zipped up again.. The doctor's footsteps retreated across the floor, the door clicked quietly closed, and then he was alone again.

He pushed himself back up to a seated position and yanked his pants down to his hips again, exposing the wiring. He stared down in revulsion at all the wiring. He hated seeing his legs like this. He'd been given a strong sedative one day, told he was headed in for more bacta therapy.

When he'd awoken, groggy and shivering, he immediately knew he hadn't been in bacta. Something felt very _off_. His nerves were crawling, and firing erratically. His muscles were twitching and spasming. He stared down and discovered he had wires, blinking lights and circuitry coming out of his hips, and legs. He was told that he was 'lucky' to have been randomly selected for this medical experiment. As the 'experiment' progressed over the next couple of weeks, Catcher would have given anything to be able to take his own life. Ultimately, the doctors were not satisfied with his progress and deemed the technology a failure, not worth investing in on a larger scale. The 'experiment' was discontinued. Within two weeks, he was on a ship bound to Kamino. Why? Because he had no further value as a clone.

After he'd heard the tale of what Rex had gone through, he'd realized the 501st Captain had given up everything to not become this way. Catcher was everything their new, highly respected leader found so revolting. He was sure his other brothers would view him the same way if they truly knew what he was. He pulled his pants back up, hiding the wiring, and yanked the blanket up over his head.

# # #

"Hey, I'm back!"

Catcher was awakened by the familiar sound of Ashla's voice. He remained where he was, hidden under the blanket.

"How'd things go with Karyn, today?" He heard the door to his room opening, then a short pause as footsteps walked over to his bed, "Hey... what are you doing under there?"

Catcher said nothing, and just wrapped the blanket more tightly around himself.

"Well, I see that Ewan and Kor stopped by and brought you some food."

Catcher made no comment, wondering if perhaps she would just finally go away like the doctor had.

"So, is this stuff any good? Ewan makes some great stuff. I totally lucked out getting him as a neighbor. You mind if I take a look? I skipped lunch to come home here and check on you. I'm kind of hungry..."

"Go ahead," Catcher mumbled, from through the blanket.

"He speaks!"

Catcher just grunted, but made no further comment. Apparently, no further encouragement was needed. He felt a weight plunk down on the bed right next to him.

"I've actually got two hours before I need to head back to the ship. Xyra headed home to check on Hok, so I've got a little time. Ever since Hok showed up, he's all she ever times about. Hok this, and Hok that. Never thought I'd see the day. Before all she'd ever go one about were her plants."

A delicious smell wafted into Catcher's nostrils, even through his blanket.

"It's an improvement, actually. I mean, science is interesting and all. But, just talking about plants all the time is... like, ugggh, you know? So, yeah, and she has some interesting stories to tell about Hok. Apparently, he's a really interesting guy." Ashla commented between mouthfuls, "hey, you sure you don't want any of this? Not sure what it is... some kind of spicy seafood vegetable noodle something... but it's really tasty."

Catcher shook his head from under the blanket.

"Your loss... Normally, though, if we were out at sea, I wouldn't be able to get home like this. We have to make do with whatever we've got on the ship, and it's not nearly as good as what Ewan cooks up..., Yeah, OK, I'm getting tired of talking to myself."

Catcher felt a sudden cold breeze as the blanket was rudely yanked off his head.

"Hey!" he angrily barked, rearing up defiantly to face Ashla. He hadn't realized she was so close-by. His face ended up just inches from hers, his eyes looking directly into hers. He gasped, and she reared back slightly in shock as well.

"Uh, well, hello, then," she whispered, quietly.

Catcher flushed, embarrassed, and immediately looked away.

Ashla held up a spoonful of seafood, "Hungry?"

"No," Catcher said sullenly, "I'm not-"

"Too bad," Ashla said, inserting a spoonful of soup in his mouth the opened his mouth to speak. "Maybe a little something to eat will sweeten up your grumpy mood." She shrugged, "I know I'm a total bitch when I'm hungry."

"A bit-" Catcher began to question the unfamiliar term, but was cut off by the spoon being shoved in his mouth again. "Hey!" he objected, and Ashla shoved another spoonful of soup in his mouth.

Catcher was about to object, and then he swallowed and cocked his head to the side, thoughtfully. "That _is_ really good," he admitted, grudgingly.

"Told you. Ewan can cook."

She plopped another biteful of soup in her mouth, then shared another bite with Catcher. "Now, tell me what happened with the doctor today." She offered Catcher another bite of soup, which he accepted. He swallowed, sighed, and then nodded toward the large black GAR bag, which Karyn had left behind.

"So, what's this?" Ashla asked curiously, looking down toward the bag.

Catcher squeezed his eyes shut, and scrubbed a hand across his face, "It would probably be easier if I just showed you. But, you're..." he looked away, and stared at the wall, before looking back and meeting her eyes again, "you're going to hate me after you see it."

Ashla started in shock, and put the food dish down, "Hate you, Catcher?" She gripped his hands in her own, "Why would I ever hate you?"

Catcher shook his head, and pulled his hands free of Ashla's, "What I'm about to show you... it's... repulsive." He blew out a long breath. He gave the ship's Captain a nervous glance, and then began tugging down his blue pants.

"Whoa!" Ashla stared at with widened eyes, "_what_ are you doing?"

Catcher paused, rolled his eyes, making an irritated noise of impatience in the back of his throat. "No! That's not what I mean!" He shook his head with annoyance, and growled, "I'm paralyzed, remember? What do you think I could _possibly_ be trying to pull here?"

"Oh," Ashla said, but then looked confused, "yeah, but Karyn said, being paralyzed doesn't mean that you can't-"

Catcher shot her an astonished look, "You discussed _that_?"

Ashla shrugged, "Last night at the big banquet dinner. Girl talk."

Catcher rolled his eyes, and grumbled, "Sounds a lot like guy talk to me."

"Anyway, sorry, I interrupted you. Go on."

Catcher shot her a look, "Are you always this frustrating?"

"You're living with me now, so I guess you'll find out."

"That's just great."

"So, go on, you wanted to show me something?" Ashla gestured to him to continue. "Something that involves taking your clothes off?" She brought her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, and watched her new houseguest with great curiosity.

Catcher took a deep breath, and then slid his hands into his loose drawstring pants. He tugged them down slowly, and rolled partially to the side to expose as much of the wiring as possible. Some of the most intricate wiring and circuitry came directly out of his hip. He decided he might as well show the worst of it right away.

Ashla immediately sat up, and stared down at what Catcher had just revealed, "Oh, wow!"

Catcher braced him for the tidal wave. He remembered his own reaction, when he'd discovered the extent of the mutations. He'd actually wanted to get away from his own body. He'd fallen off the surgical table in his frantic attempt to get _away_. After that, he'd always been kept restrained and sedated, and there was a medical droid monitoring him constantly. With the droid staring him down 24 hours a day, he couldn't get away from the feeling that he was being _turned into_ some kind of droid.

As they worked on the implants day after day, adding to them, he felt he was becoming less and less human. He had constant nightmares, whether it was from the drugs, or the implants, or post-traumatic stress, he wasn't sure.

"Amazing," Ashla said and leaned over, examining the wires. She studied them intently, and then reached forward, twisting two together that were supposed to be connected, absent-mindedly. "Fascinating! Haven't seen tech like this since before the war. Well, this is actually a bit beyond anything we had back then."

She leaned in closer, then pulled back, flushing red, "It's OK, right? You don't mind if I take a closer look?" Her shoulder length hair brushed against his bare hip, but he couldn't feel it at all.

Catcher was really confused. She wasn't repulsed at all. She was _fascinated_. "Wait. You actually understand all this?"

She chewed her lip, thoughtfully, "Truthfully? I'm just a hack. But," she pointed to the circuitry, with obvious admiration, "I've always been good with stuff like this." She sighed, and looked thoughtful, "Before the war, I wanted to go to a university on Corrie. I was always studying so that I could pass the entrance exams. Then, the war came, well... none of us had a chance to go to the university like we wanted." She smiled, "But, hey, we made it through the war, right? Anyway, since then, I've learned a ton from learning with Xyra and Karyn. I still read all the time. There's a ton of downtime being on the boat. I haven't fully given up on the idea of maybe going to a university one day." She shrugged, and turned her attention back to the circuitry on his legs, "OK, so, let's see what we have here..." The ship's captain reached into the pocket of her tough canvas fishing pants and dug out a thin flashlight. "Ooooh... this is really top-grade stuff you've got going on here. Never thought I'd have the chance to work with technology _this_ nice here on Ando again."

Catcher could here the excitement in her voice, as she examined the circuitry closely with her flashlight, "Oh, wow.. look at this here... this is truly spectacular... the way the circo-musculature interacts with the organic material and the neuro receptors…" Ashla twisted another two wires together, and then nodded with satisfaction. "I take it you have an implant in your lower spinal cord, and also a neurological implant?"

Catcher just nodded, staring at her with newfound respect.

Ashla began tracing out the path of the wires, "This is so cool!"

"Cool?"

Ashla grinned, "Cool as the icecaps of Ando. I love things like this. Xyra was always into her seaweed. Jade was the crackshot. Great at blowing stuff up when we needed it. But, me?" She continued to trace out the path of a wire, "Circuitry all the way."

"OK, I'm impressed."

"So, I'm assuming you have the actual hydraulics, too?"

Catcher pointed again to the GAR bag that Karyn had left rather conspicuously on the floor next to his bed. As Ashla hopped off the bed, and zipped open the bag, he steeled himself for the inevitable question.

"Catcher, if you have all the pieces here, why don't you use them?"

Catcher rubbed his jaw, and then gave her a long, look, as if measuring her up. Ashla waited patiently, resisting the urge to toy with the intriguing electronics in the bag.

"Yes, well, first off, those things..." Catcher stabbed an accusing finger toward the braces, just barely visible through the opened bag, "… they hurt like the Nine Hells of Corellia getting them on and off."

Ashla scowled, "Sounds like they never bothered adjusting the nerve sensitivity connectors. I imagine that's an easy fix." She gave him a long considering look, "Although, you strike as the stubborn sort. Especially since Karyn told me you're some kind of super-soldier or something."

Catcher rolled his eyes at the use of the expression '_super-soldier_' again. Civilians were odd.

"So, there must be something else?" Ashla prompted.

"Well, uh, second off," Catcher hung his head down, "I don't know _how _to hook these things up," he looked embarrassed, "I never put them on by myself. Someone else always hooked them up back when I was at the hospital." He flushed, red, again, "They... never left me alone."

"Why was that?" Ashla asked, curiously.

"Because..." Catcher hesitated, and his voice dropped, he sighed, resigned, "I fought against them..." he admitted.

Ashla's eyes widened.

Catcher shook his head, and pointed to the wires, "I never asked for this. I wish they just would have left me the way I was," his voice dropped even lower, "Then, when I was terminated, at least I would have been a normal clone, like Razor, Sabre, Tag and Sink."

"Normal?" Ashla questioned.

Catcher looked away, then back again, wondering how he could explain this so she could understand. "I know you've been isolated from the rest of the galaxy for several years. But, the war we're fighting now against the Separatists, mainly we're fighting against a droid army. Battle droids. We call them 'tinnies.'"

"Tinnies," Ashla repeated the term, thoughtfully.

"You met Captain Rex at the dinner, right?"

Ashla nodded, "He's a Captain, like you, but he's the one in charge here."

Catcher hadn't actually thought of it in those terms before. "Uh… yes, that's right," he said, caught a bit off-guard. How was it that Ashla always had a way of making him look at everything differently? "Well, he gave up everything not to become something like this. He outright refused to let them do this to him, and they sent him away because of it. But, he stood his ground." Catcher ran a hand through his hair, stressed. He looked down at the wires poking out of himself, "But, me? They turned me into some kind of... uh..." his voice trailed off, and his eyes met Ashla's, pleading for understanding.

Ashla's eyes widened, "You see yourself as some kind of machine?"

Catcher nodded.

"That's why you stay hidden in this bed? For fear you will be shunned by the others?"

Catcher nodded again, "Yes, that's exactly it."

"So, this is all just some kind of weird, peer pressure thing?"

"There's nothing _weird_ about it! I'm a _clone_, Ashla!"

"And?"

"Brotherhood is everything to me," his voice fell to a ragged whisper, "it's all I have."

Ashla straightened up, and touched one of the wires on his hip, "And, _this_ makes you _different _from your brothers?"

"Yes!" Catcher shouted out.

Ashla shook her head, "No, I still don't see it."

Catcher grabbed her hands, entangling them in the wires, "How can you not _see_ it?"

"Because _this_, Catcher, is just a bunch of wires," Ashla released the wires, and placed her hands on his shoulders. She then raised up his chin, and forced his eyes to meet hers, "what I see is _you_."

# # #

"Captain Rex, would you like another bowl of crab chowder?"

"Well...I've already had three."

Karyn smiled, and held up the ladle, "There's plenty more, Captain. It would be a shame if went to waste. Crab is in season right now. They are practically leaping up onto the boats themselves these days. One of these days I'll have to take you out crabbing."

"Sounds interesting. Yes, OK, then, I think I could manage a fourth bowl. Thank you, doctor."

As Karyn watched her houseguest polish through another bowl of chowder, she mentioned, "So, uh, Captain, when I was making my rounds today, I visited the other Captain, Catcher. I believe you and Travis refer to him as an 'ARC.'"

Rex nodded between mouthfuls, "Yes, Advanced Reconnaissance Commando. We have two of those here. Catcher and Dart. And, two regular commandos, as well, Blaze and Viper. They'll come in very handy should we ever need to do some advanced troop training."

"Yes, well, I had an interesting conversation with him today."

Rex stopped eating, "Interesting, how?"

"Not quite sure, exactly, except that, he seemed to get lost for a moment. Maybe a flashback. Not sure. Started muttering it might have been better if he'd died on Darkknell. When I tried to ask him about it, he grew very concerned and said he couldn't speak of it. Like it was a big secret or something." She looked at Rex, confused, "have you ever heard of 'Darkknell?'"

Rex concentrated for a moment, thinking back to his flash training. "Darkknell? It's a planet, in the Outer Rim, near Mandalore."

"It doesn't mean anything to you, though, beyond that?"

Rex shook his head, "No, but I'll keep an eye on Catcher all the same. Thanks for letting me know."

# # #

That night when Rex went to sleep, he once again dreamt of Ahsoka. But, things had definitely changed. Now, the ARC Captain, Catcher, was also in the dream, and he wasn't paralyzed anymore. He was fully geared up in his ARC rig, and he was running at breakneck speeds through the dark forests of an unknown planet.

# # #

"You have to let me to speak to Commander Bly!"

"Request denied."

"Shab! You stupid tinny! This is urgent! I need to speak to Commander Bly!"

"Request denied."

Catcher tossed restlessly in his sleep, endlessly reliving the frustrations of his time at the medical center. As soon as he was brought up from the planet, he'd been placed in a medically induced coma for weeks while his spine was stabilized. He was told when he was finally woken up that his condition was so critical had he not been placed in the coma that he would have been dead within hours. Upon waking, he'd been endlessly transferred from one urgent trauma center to another. He kept requesting access to communications equipment, but was denied. Catcher was informed that the 327th Star Corps was currently remotely deployed, and not to expect visitations from his commander anytime soon. He had not seen Bly at all since being injured.

But, he couldn't just give this information to just anyone. It was too important. Too sensitive. He had to give this information directly to his commander. Every chance he got, Catcher kept demanding that he be allowed to contact Bly.

Then, without warning, they had told him he was headed in for a routine bacta treatment...

... and everything changed...

# # #

Catcher awoke with a start, his heart racing and his adrenaline pounding. He always had that same sense of urgency and dread, that same sense that he never _completed his mission_. He pushed himself up with a groan, and looked around the room.

"Hey, I was wondering when you'd wake up. You talk in your sleep, you know," Ashla was sitting next to his bed, smiling, and drinking a cup of caf. She pointed to a carafe of caf, sitting on the table next to his bed. "It's fresh. Can I pour you a cup?"

Catcher nodded, and pushed himself to a seated position, scrubbing at his face, "Uh… yeah… Caf would be good." He ran a hand through his short-cropped hair, "what time is it?"

"Early," Ashla said with a shrug, "I'm an early riser. Just came in here to watch you sleep."

"Why?" Catcher asked with confusion, taken aback, as he accepted the cup of caf.

"Dunno," Ashla admitted, but you're kind of interesting. And, really?" She let out a long yawn, and stretched, "my life isn't all that exciting."

Catcher took a sip of his caf, "Well, glad I could come along and entertain you, then."

"Was that a joke?"

Catcher shrugged, "I have a sense of humor."

Ashla smiled, "Glad to hear it." She popped up, "Let's have breakfast, and then today we're going to do something fun."

"Fun?"

"I'm being sarcastic. I have the day off because Xyra has some plant research stuff that she has to do on land. No, today we're going to adjust those braces."

"No."

"Let's take a vote." Ashla put down her caf and threw both hands up in the air. Since Catcher still had one hand wrapped around his caf cup he could only get one hand up in the air. "Oh look, you're overruled. Yes, hydraulic braces, it is then. Don't worry. I'll load you up on sugar first. I made fried sweet cakes for breakfast. See? It will be fun."

Catcher scowled, "Says the person _not_ getting things attached to their nervous system."

# # #

"Gah!" Catcher cried out in surprise, "those are connected to my nerves. I can feel _everything_ you're doing."

"I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can here. These connectors are very poorly labeled. Just a few more adjustments and I think I'll have it."

"Just a few more adjustments, and I think you'll kill me!"

"Just lay down, and try to relax, will you? You're making me nervous."

"Making you nervous? You're not the one undergoing nerve torture here."

"Pipe down. I'm almost done here."

"Ahhhh!" Catcher rose up off the bed again, as Ashla hit another nerve. He'd reached the end of his tether. That's it! You're done!"

"No, we're not done. You're just going to have to take it, Catcher. Now, hold still!" Catcher's eyes were tearing from the nerve pain, but at the same time, he was staring down at the technically adept woman with renewed respect. Very few people had ever dared talk to him like that. She wasn't intimidated by him, at all.

"Gaaahhhhhhhhh!" the ARC Captain shouted, as she hit another nerve, arching up, "OK, _now_ you're done!"

She smiled at him triumphantly, "Actually, I am done."

Catcher looked down at the hydraulic braces on his legs. "Already?"

Ashla rolled her eyes, "You're a funny one." She gave him a backslap on his bicep, and then stopped short to give the area an appreciative look, "Hhmph," as her hand came away from his hardened bicep. "Ah, yes, well, come on, let's take these for a test drive." She helped guide his legs off the bio-bed. "You ready?"

Catcher her arm. "Not that simple. I can't walk with just these. Check the bag again."

She froze at his touch, and the two locked eyes for a moment. The air in the room seemed charged, before Ashla cleared her throat. "Right. The bag." Ashla rummaged into the large black duffle and pulled out two waist length silver crutches, "Ah, of course. Right." She handed them to the muscular trooper.

Catcher studied her carefully, gauging her reaction as if it was important to him all of a sudden, "Are you disappointed that I need these? I mean, were you hoping I could walk without them?"

Ashla shook her head, "Not at all. I am fascinated by your high-tech legs in general. Beyond that…" she tapped at the silver crutches, "I don't have an issue with any of this. Just glad you are getting your ass out of bed."

"Like I have a choice about that," Catcher grumbled, shaking his head. He reached for for the crutches, studying them critically, "these are part of the reason why the Republic abandoned the experiment. They were never able to do away with these. Made the braces rather useless. Even if you got a soldier walking again, if his hands weren't free to shoot, well, then what good is he? Flawed technology."

"Oh, shut up, will you? The technology is fine. It's your attitude that needs work." Ashla helped raise Catcher up into a standing position, and then smacked him hard on the ass.

Catcher raised up an eyebrow and looked at her, "Hope you enjoyed that, because I couldn't feel that at all, you know. If you want to add in an ass-smacking sensor, we'll have to completely re-wire these things."

"Wise ass."

"Again with the ass. Beginning to think you're obsessed with that particular area of my anatomy." Catcher peered back at the area in question, and gave it a long hard look. "Then, again, I _was_ designed to be genetically perfect, so I can see where the fascination comes from..."

Ashla rolled her eyes, "If you put half as much effort into actually walking as you did into your sarcasm, we'd be halfway across Ando by now."

"Fine. Let's get this over with," Catcher said, reaching for the crutches. "My _ass_, and I, are ready when you are. Lead the way." He took nodded with his head indicating for Ashla to walk first. He gritted his teeth and took a determined step after her.

# # #

"Bly! I need to speak with Commander Bly!"

"Request denied."

After the umpteenth 'request denied,' Catcher had grabbed the medical droid and begun prying it apart with his bare hands. The medical staff accused him of maliciously destroying it, when they caught him halfway through dismantling it. In fact, he was just doing an outstanding job of rewiring the kriffin' thing, considering his lack of resources, and the fact he'd torn up his hands ripping the thing open. He was sure that plan would have worked if he'd just been given another hour or two. He just might have been able to get in touch with Bly.

But, as it was, after that 'incident,' his hands were then kept restrained to the bed at all times, along with his legs. He found it particularly amusing that they chose to restrain his legs, considering he couldn't _feel_ his legs.

_Fekkin di'kuts._

He was sure they were afraid of him because he was an ARC.

His drugs were increased, too. He was only kept conscious during the times they needed him awake and aware for the experiments for his legs. The next thing he could remember was being woken up to be told he was 'given new orders,' and was being 'reassigned to Kamino.' He tried to formulate a response, and was trying to mouth the words: "I need to speak to-"

But, before he could get the words out of his mouth, something was being added to his IV and he was out again. He awake on the biobed on the ship bound for Kamino. A failed experiment who'd never gotten to finish reporting in on Darkknell.

It was eerily quiet on the Kamino-bound ship. From his bio-bed, Catcher could pivot his upper body well enough to see around the ship somewhat. He was relieved to see that he was no longer tied up. Guess he was no longer considered a threat on the ship.

The ship was packed with troopers from every division in the GAR. Normally, when a bunch of brothers got together, there was conversation and laughter. But, this ship was silent. _Horribly_ silent. Nobody came by to offer him any food or water. By the third day, Catcher felt so abandoned he could no longer sleep. He stared at the ceiling of the worn-down medical freighter unable to think past Darkknell.

He'd given up everything to find out that information about those labs, and then he'd never been given a chance to turn in his report. Of all the stupid, idiotic, military bureaucracy…

Catcher slammed his fist against his bio-bed in frustration. He was about to lose himself in the agony of his thoughts again, when he was distracted by a commotion coming from the galley of the ship.

"Listen up, troopers!"

# # #


	64. Chapter 64 Cody

A/N: OK, this is for the reviewer who requested that I finish my Cody/Barriss update in time for Christmas. Ta da! Ho ho ho!

**Chapter 64**

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

"That's very good, Cody. You're making great progress."

Cody snorted, "If 'great' means shuffling along the floor like a Drutash grub, then I'd have to agree with you."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. We're making good time."

Cody paused, and raised his eyebrows up at his primary caregiver in a look that clearly said: 'Seriously?'

Barriss began laughing at Cody's expression, "OK, OK, so maybe our pace is still a bit slow. But, we've been making steady progress everyday."

"Yeah," Cody conceded, starting to sound fatigued, "just wish it was faster." 

They were doing laps around the apartment, building up the strength in Cody's legs. Cody was still not fluid with his steps, and needed to lean heavily on Barriss as he walked. Between the time he'd spent confined in bed, and the neurological damage to his neck, walking was still a challenge. Cody's balance was off, and his leg muscles were weak. He felt like he was fighting for every step.

Barriss gave him a sideways glance. Beads of sweat had built up on the Commander's brow, and dark lines of fatigue were beginning to show around his eyes, "You want to take a break?"

"No. Let's keep at it. I need to get stronger."

"Cody," there was a slight reprimand in Barriss' tone, along with a hint of worry, "you can't push yourself."

Cody shook his head, something he couldn't manage even just a few short days ago. Granted he couldn't shake his head very much. His range-of-motion was still limited in his neck. But, he'd finally gotten rid of the much-hated neck brace.

"Barriss," he countered, and when he said her name, the young Jedi healer still felt something strange- something _forbidden_ - run through her. "I don't have _time _to not push myself." Cody exhaled with frustration, "t's already been four weeks, and there has no been no sign of the missing Jedi, the 212th or the 501st . If those commando teams don't find them, then someone else has to take action."

Barriss looked him squarely in the eye, "And, that someone else has to be you?"

"Yes," Cody met her gaze unflinchingly, "It's what Rex would have done. I owe him that much."

She could feel his limbs beginning to tremble from fatigue. "A few more minutes. And, if you won't take a break, at least lean some more weight on me."

"I'm too heavy for you."

Barriss 'hmmped' at that, "Oh, you needn't worry about me. I'm a Jedi you know, and we're unusually strong."

Barriss also didn't want to tell him he wasn't truly 'heavy' at all, anymore. A battle fit clone was heavy for sure, with all of their muscle mass, especially fully armored up. But, Cody had lost both a great deal of weight and muscle mass during his time confined to bed. Now that he was beginning to eat solid food again, Barriss was trying to feed him constantly. Outside of these constant food fests, they focused on physical therapy.

Cody laughed.

Barriss looked over at him, "What's so funny?"

Cody shook his head again, taking satisfaction in being able to do a motion that he once took for granted, "It's just that once I was once on escort detail for Master Jedi Yoda. I tried to assist him, but, I... uh... ended up getting an earful along the lines of what you just said."

Barriss laughed, "Did he give you the 'size matters not' speech? And, the 'judge me by my size, do you?' lecture?"

Cody nodded his head, enjoying the feeling of tucking his chin down and back up again. He could feel the stiff muscles in his neck beginning to stretch out, and regain some of their flexibility. "Oh yeah." He turned slightly so he could see Barriss, still amused by the memory, "A simple no thank you would have sufficed."

Barriss gave him a bemused smile, "Ah, I see. And, you were just trying to be helpful."

"I just thought I was doing my job," he gave Barriss a bemused smile, "You know, it's now always easy to know what _that_ is when the Jedi are around."

"Hey. I _am_ a Jedi, you know."

"I know. But, you don't seem like it sometimes."

"I have no idea how to take that comment."

"It's a compliment."

"If you say so."

Barriss scrunched up her face for a moment, studying him as they walked. She was never quite sure when the enigmatic commander was teasing her, and when he was being serious. Maybe it was his puzzling contradictions that intrigued her so much.

Cody glanced back at Barriss.

All of the large fragments in his neck were gone now, and he just had many smaller pieces of shrapnel left. Barriss told him many people lived larger quantities of shrapnel than this in their bodies. However, since they were doing so well at eliminating shrapnel, they were going to attempt to eliminate _al_l of it. Cody liked the idea of 100% eradication. It felt like a clean slate, and after Kaz'haria, he felt like he needed to reset himself before he could get back into the fray. But, he knew he wasn't going back until he went after his general. There were a lot worse generals out there than Kenobi. Cody didn't particularly like the idea of the 212th being reassigned to someone new. He _liked _the way things were now. As imperfect as his life was, it could be worse. In thinking it over, Cody couldn't even think of a general he actually liked better than Kenobi. No, he wasn't going back until he retrieved Kenobi, plain and simple.

"So, what did you do anyway?" Barriss asked, giving Cody a curious glance.

"Huh?" He glanced over at the determined Jedi guiding his steps. Not for the first time, he wondered why she put up with him. Granted, she had been assigned here by the Jedi Council, but she had been incredibly patient with him in all of his moods. She had definitely seen him at his worst over the past couple of weeks. And, she still put up with him. Now, that he was feeling better, he felt more and more... restless when he was around her.

Barriss' voice interrupted him out of his thoughts, "What did you do to General Yoda that sparked his whole speech?"

"Oh," Cody gave a small, embarrassed laugh that shook Barriss' shoulders, "_that,_ I, uh, sort of, uh, offered to help him up into a shuttle."

Barriss face flickered into several different emotions in the space of a few short seconds, until she finally gasped out in shock, "Oh no, Cody, tell me you didn't!"

Cody looked immediately defensive, "It was a _very_ large step up! And, of course, he always uses that cane, so I just figured that maybe-"

He stopped mid-sentence, due to the way Barriss was shaking her head at him.

His voice took on a decidedly defensive tone, "OK, I asked him, _very politely_, if he needed help…."

"Oh, Cody."

The commander cocked his head to the side, "What?"

"Cody, Cody, Cody," Barriss was beyond looking bemused, and now just started chuckling.

"What?" Cody didn't like that Barriss was now laughing at his expense. It took Barriss a moment to even respond, because she was having such a good time with this one.

"Honestly, Cody, I'm surprised he let you off with just the one lecture."

"Well, we _did_ fall under attack a few minutes into our flight. Shuttle got hit, and Master Yoda had to use the Force just to keep us from going down. I suppose that worked in my favor. He stopped yelling at me to keep us from crashing." Cody scowled, and then his eyes took on a hardened, distant look, as they always did when he began to lose himself in battle memories.

Barriss snapped him back to present day, "Hey! Back to your story, I take it, then, that Master Yoda got into the shuttle just fine with no help from you?"

"Huh?" It took Cody a moment to focus back on Barriss, "Uh… yeah, he, just, uh, leapt up there like it was nothing at all."

Barriss rolled her eyes, "It's called a Force leap, Cody."

"Ah, yes. The General, he, uh, does those."

Barriss saw a flicker of sadness pass over Cody's face as he referred to General Kenobi. Cody caught her glance, and schooled his face back into a neutral look again.

Barriss shook her head. _Right, Cody, right. Far be it for you to admit you have emotions._

"Force leaps, right," Cody said, continuing their conversation, his voice slightly-winded from exertion as they continued to make their way around the apartment, "But, you know, when Kenobi uses his Force leaps, I've noticed he uses them _sparingly_." His voice changed to the slightly teasing tone that he used when he was baiting Barriss, "he's not one of those _showy_ Jedi."

"A showy Jedi?" She gave the commander an exasperated look, "Honestly Cody, the terms you come up with…"

"What? Hitting a little close to the mark there? Come on, you can't deny that some Jedi just like to make a _spectacle_ of themselves."

Cody had to pause to catch his breath. They'd been exercising all morning long, and he was definitely getting fatigued. He gritted his teeth, and forced himself to keep going.

"A spectacle?" Barriss sputtered.

Cody stole a glance over at her.

_She's absolutely beautiful when she's angry. Her skin flushes green, her eyes turn a deeper shade of blue- _

"Cody! Are you listening to me?"

"Of course. Every word."

He had no idea what she'd just said.

"And, you are comparing him to who, exactly?"

_Huh?_

Cody continued to stare at Barriss dumbfounded, compare who to who? What?

Barriss was struck with the thought that Cody was quite adorable when he had that puzzled furrow between his brows.

"Cody," Barriss explained patiently, "you were telling the story about Yoda, and then you started talking about showy Jedi. I can only assume you meant Master Yoda. I was just wondering whom you were comparing him to?"

Cody's eyes widened, and then he broke out laughing. Barriss was caught by surprise, not used to seeing outright laughter from the injured clone. He'd been prone to a great deal of emotional highs and lows since his traumatic injury.

"I didn't mean Master Yoda," Cody's laughter slowed to a chuckle, and he stole another glance at Barriss. Her eyes met his, and she smiled back at him then, noting the way his honey-brown eyes sparkled when he laughed.

"Then, who?" Barriss demanded, although she was not really paying close attention to the conversation anymore.

Cody was distracted as well as he responded, "Well, Rex tells me that General Skywa-" Cody stopped. He caught himself then, and he realized he'd referred to his friend in the present tense. He started again, "I mean, Rex _had_ told me that-" He stopped again, and Barriss felt his whole mood shift, then. His previous levity and teasing manner was gone. "Never mind," Cody mumbled, "it's not important. It really doesn't matter."

Barriss closed her eyes for a moment, and shook her head, _And, here come the emotional lows again._

She knew very well that Cody was suffering from a great deal of post-traumatic stress, not just from Kaz'haria, but from being a commander on the frontlines for the past 18 months. She'd felt his deep levels of trauma from the moments she'd taken over his care, including his fears that he'd simply been abandoned and forgotten at the Ord Cestus medical station. But, this went even deeper, and seemed to center on the traumatic loss of his closest friend. Barriss felt if she could just get him to open up about some of the emotions dealing with the death of Rex, then maybe she could make headway with the other issues that were triggering Cody's emotional volatility.

"Cody?" she asked, softly.

"What?" his tone, was clipped, and harsh.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," the word came out hoarse and raspy.

"Too bad. We're going to talk anyway."

"About what?" each of the words came out as bitter and acidic.

"Rex."

Barriss felt Cody completely stiffen up at the mention of Rex's name, as if he'd just been struck.

"Rex?" Cody turned to face her, eyes blazing, "Talk about Rex? Everyone did a lot of _talking_ while Rex was being shipped off to die at the hands of the Kaminoans. They did a lot more talking when Commander Tano and I tried to track him down after he left ArmyMed. For all their talking, it didn't change the outcome did it?" He stopped abruptly and lost his balance, stumbling. Barriss tried to catch him, but they just ended up going down in a tangle of arms and legs. Cody ended up on his back on the carpet, with Barriss lying spread-eagle on top of him.

"Oh, Force! Cody! Are you OK?" Barriss was immediately concerned and tried to push herself up to her elbows immediately to examine Cody. Their faces were just inches from each other. He stared at her intently, eye-to-eye.

"I'm OK," Cody said, tightly.

"Still, I should check you over," Barriss said.

"No, I'm fine."

"You could've injured your neck again," Barriss insisted, "or re-cracked one of your ribs…"

"I didn't. I'm fine, Barriss."

Barriss closed her eyes for a moment, after Cody said her name. There it was again. Why is it that her name sounded so different coming from his lips?

Cody stared at Barriss, her face just inches from his own, her eyes closed. He ached to close the gap between them and press his lips to hers.

_You can't_, he told himself, _she's not yours. She's a Jedi._

With great regret, he closed his own eyes to look away from the great temptation directly in front of him. He felt Barriss' weight lift off of his chest.

"Cody, are you sure you're OK?" he felt Barriss' hands lightly pressing against his chest, gently checking his side. He kept his eyes closed, steeling himself not to react to her touch. Her hands moved up to his neck, and then lightly brushed the sides of his face, "Cody? Cody? Look at me."

Regretfully, Cody opened his eyes and looked into Barriss' eyes. She was kneeling down right next to him, now gently stroking the sides of his face. He sighed into her touch.

"I'm sorry about Rex, Cody," she whispered, "I really am."

The haunted look that Cody gave Barriss made her heart clench, "He's not coming back," Cody whispered brokenly. His eyes had the look of someone much older than even his accelerated, chronological years. They gazed at each other for a long time, as if they could lend each other support and strength just by doing so. Barriss spoke first, "I know you'll honor his memory," she said softly.

Cody spoke softly, "I'm going to rescue the 501st. They're out there, with the 212th. I'm going to get them out. It's what Rex would have done."

Despite Cody's soft tone, he spoke with the conviction of one willing to see a job through to the end, no matter what.

"Then, know that Rex will be with you, every step of the way," Barriss whispered gently. Her hands wandered up to the scar above his eye, and slowly began to follow the lines of it, tracing its' shape, again and again. She was fascinated by it, her hands dancing over its' lines, again and again.

Cody stared up at Barriss, as she continued to run her fingers across his scar. He wondered if she was aware of what she was doing, or what it was doing to him. He'd imagined having her close like this on many nights, and now she was actually here…

There was that smell again. Cinnamon. He lay awake nights now thinking of her and cinnamon.

He tentatively reached a hand up and touched her cheek. Barriss' eyes grew wide, as if she was suddenly realizing what she was doing- what _they_ were doing.

"Uh," she flushed red, and immediately pulled her hand back from his scar as if it was burning hot, "we should get up."

Cody closed his eyes, and cursed to himself silently. But, after a moment, he opened his eyes again, and just muttered, "Yeah."

Barriss reached out a hand to help him up. Just as he was almost up, his fatigued legs gave out.

"Kriff!" he said, trying to hold his balance. Barriss grabbed on to him, trying to steady him, but they were just off-center enough that they ended up going back down on the carpet again.

This time, Barriss ended up under Cody, in a complete tangle of arms and legs.

"Well, that didn't work out at _all_," Barriss said, prompting a burst of laughter from Cody. "are you, OK?"

Cody just nodded, laughing too hard to speak. Barriss stared up at him. It was so good to see him laugh. His eyes were sparkling, and his handsomely scarred face just lit up. His laughter proved infectious and she couldn't help but join in.

As soon as she started laughing, he stared down at her in surprise. His expression then grew more intense, and Barriss' laughter died down to a puzzled smile. Cody repositioned his body slightly, and gathered up Barriss' hands in his own.

"Cody?" Barriss questioned.

"Barriss," Cody said, huskily, and Barriss felt a shiver down her spine. Before she could think another coherent thought, Cody's lips were pressing down on hers, and his body was pressing hers down into the carpet of the living room floor. She was completely overwhelmed by sensations. She heard a moan, and then realized with a start that the sound was coming from _her_.

_No, no, no!_

She pushed up against Cody's chest. Cody broke off their kiss and gave her a puzzled look.

"Cody, we can't do this," she said, breathless, her voice sounding strange to her own ears. She didn't miss the look of hurt and confusion that flashed across the handsome Commander's face. But, he immediately rolled off of her, and onto his side. He rolled to his knees, and offered her a hand up.

She stood, and then helped him up.

"Cody, I-" she hung her head down, feeling awkward and confused, "let me explain."

Cody shook his head, not meeting her eyes, his voice quiet and not sounding himself,

"There's no need to explain, Barr-, Commander. " He blew out a long breath. "If I have offended you, I apologize."

"No, Cody, it's not like that!" she reached out a hand, and grabbed his arm, "it's just that the Jedi Code-"

Cody shook off her arm, "I know all about your shabla Jedi Code!" he said, angrily, his eyes flashing. Barriss was taken aback. He hung his head down, "I was stupid to think that a clone like me ever even had a chance with someone like you."

Barriss reached for him again, "Cody, no, it's not you. It's the Code-"

Cody pulled back, stumbling. Barriss caught him before he fell, steadying him.

The angry Commander turned his head, staring right into her eyes, "I hope your _Code_ proves to be _better_ company than me!"

"Cody-"

"What? Because if this about your Code, I don't want to hear it!"

They stared at each other, amber colored eyes boring into blue ones, locked in a battle that was seemingly outside of their control.

Finally, Cody said: "I'm tired, Commander. Would you help me back to my room? I'm done for the day."

"You haven't eaten-" Barriss objected.

"I'm _done_," Cody hissed. "Now, are you going to help me back, otherwise I'll just find my way there myself." Cody threatened, pulling away from her grip, but immediately losing his balance again.

Barriss gripped onto him again, muttering under her breath about stubborn clones.

Cody pointedly ignored her, and tried to ignore her distinctive cinnamon smell as she helped him walk to his room.

_Damn her and her good smell, why can't she smell like a Bantha? That's it, next time I get blown up in a minefield, I am requesting a bad-smelling Jedi._

# # #

A/N: And, for Cody/Barriss fans, there is more coming. This is part of a chapter that was originally 30 pages, so I decided to divide it into smaller parts. Some familiar characters from the 501st are coming in very soon to join Cody on his damn fool crusade to rescue Obi Wan…


	65. Chapter 65 501st

_Revised: January 25, 2013 Thank you to Grouper for pointing that Waxer and Boiler are not technically ARF Troopers. This has been corrected in the text._

_A/N: A note with regards to this chapter, the story takes about a year and a half into the Clone Wars. So, many of the clones that die later on in the war, (Echo, Denal, Hardcase, etc.), well, there's still alive and kicking during this timeline. Hooray! It means we get to take them out to play. (OK, the only one I might be pushing it a bit with, (I think), is Denal. Couldn't quite figure out from canon exactly when he had his fateful encounter with Bane. But, seems to me it would be roughly around this same timeframe. So, it's conceivable to me that he would still be alive. So, I'm taking him out for one last mission. He's got such great armor markings and all…)_

_"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

**Chapter 65**

"Cody."

Cody rolled over in his bed, and glanced toward the closed door. It had been several hours since his argument with Barriss and he'd spent most of that time asleep.

"Cody," Barriss' voice called again from outside of his door.

"Go away," Cody called out, his voice raspy from sleep, "I'm sleeping. I'm not hungry. I don't want to do therapy. And, _no_, I don't want to talk about."

Familiar voices begin to come through the doorway. _Clone_ voices.

"Has your Commander always been this rude?"

"Aw, ease up. He was blown up in a minefield."

"Well, I was blown up in a minefield, too. But, you don't hear me being all rude to the nice Jedi."

"Maybe it's just a 212th thing. Those of us in the five-oh-first always wake up cheerful as the twin suns on Tattooine."

Cody pushed himself to a sitting position, and stared toward the door.

"Hah! You wish, Hardcase! You're as crazy in the morning, as you are the rest of the day."

Cody's jaw dropped.

The 501st?

"Yeah, well, maybe Commander Offee here just needs to jab him with some extra needles or something."

"No, no, better yet. Give _us_ the needles. If he's in such a mood, let _us_ jab him."

"Fives has a point."

"Get it? A point?"

"Ah, not funny, Echo."

"Hey, Kix, you got any needles?"

"Oh, yeah, right here in sleep pants."

"Whoa! Look at this place! Private apartment!"

"It is a sweet set-up."

"I just said that, Echo. Seriously, do you have repeat everything I say?"

"I'm just saying-"

The argument was cut off by Barriss voice calling out to him again from outside his room, "Cody?"

"Yes, Commander?" Cody called out loudly toward his door, flummoxed by the sheer number of voices he was counting from outside his room.

"Cody, you have a number of visitors. Are you up for some company?" Barriss asked.

Cody could still hear the hesitation in her voice. Inwardly, he winced, as he knew things were now awkward between them. But, he'd have to deal with that later.

"Yes!" he looked eagerly toward his door.

Barriss opened the door to his room, and flipped on the light.

Cody squinted, as his eyes adjusted to the light. In came a rush of olive skin and blue medical pants. There were a host of faces he recognized, mostly from the 501st, but a couple also from the 212th. Since Rex's command structure had fallen underneath his, he was well familiar with much of the 501st, particularly the more seasoned members.

The two recently promoted ARCs, Echo and Fives, piled in first. They were caught up in a deep 'discussion' about Cody's apartment that bordered more on an argument. They were immediately followed by the frenetically energetic Hardcase, then Jesse, Denal, and the well-respected medic, Kix. The brothers came in assisting each other, and holding one another up.

Several clones immediately followed them from the 212th, Trapper, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Woolley, and, a trooper that was a particular favorite of Cody's….

"Waxer!" the clone commander broke out in a huge grin, as he greeted the compassionate soldier from Ghost Company.

Waxer limped in, smiling, assisted by a short, shy-looking woman who appeared to be about 20 years of age.

Cody looked toward the newcomer in surprise, and then toward Waxer, raising up his eyebrows. The 212th trooper blushed furiously, coughed lightly once and then said, "Hello, Commander. It's really good to see you again. This here is, uh, Asori."

Cody cleared his throat once shortly, impatiently, which was clone-speak for "and, who the kriff is she?"

Waxer blushed furiously again, and the rest of the men in the room began to chuckle lightly. Cody immediately silenced them with a single look. He was their boss, and their boss' boss, and he knew how to give _that_ look.

Waxer stepped forward, assisted by Asori. "Asori is my physical therapist," he explained. "She's actually responsible for getting all of us here. We're _all_ supposed to be in therapy right now for the next three hours."

Trapper chuckled lightly and patted Waxer on the back, "Yes, it was Waxer's idea, actually, to start coordinating schedules so that all of us would be in therapy at the same time. He's, uh, worked up quite a good working relationship with Asori here... And, then, Commander Offee just happened to stop by this afternoon, and said that maybe _today_ might be a particularly good time for a visit."

Cody stared past Trapper and all the troopers until he could meet the eyes of his Jedi healer, squished just inside his bedroom door. She looked at him once, self-consciously, before looking away again.

"- something about you holing yourself up in your room today and not eating," Trapper was saying.

Cody turned his attention back to Trapper, and then whipped his head back to Barriss.

_You said that?_ Cody sent through their link, automatically, without even thinking about it.

_You didn't leave me much of a choice, Cody,_ Barriss sent back. _You wouldn't talk to me. I needed to get you out of your room._

_Well, maybe. But, you didn't have to give them all the details. These men are all part of my command._

_Nothing wrong with admitting you need a little help. You yourself were the one who insisted that Trapper help you with-_

_That was different. This made it sound like I was hiding in my room sulking._

_Isn't that exactly what you've been doing?_

_I have most certainly not been sulk-_

"You know, if you two are done staring at each other, Commander and Commander, I thought maybe this would be a good time for all of us to talk," Trapper said, loudly, interrupting Cody's thoughts. He startled, looked up, and noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him and Barriss with looks of both bewilderment and amusement.

"Uh, I was…" Cody stammered.

Trapper leaned down, under the pretext of hoisting Cody out of bed, and whispered in Cody's ear, "Better to just pretend that didn't happen with this group. You'll never live it down. Change the subject, vode."

As Trapper helped him to his feet, Cody switched back to his deep-pitched command voice, "Alright. We're moving to the living room. There's room for everyone to sit. And, there's chopped nerf-salad sandwiches in the conservator. They keep sending us more food than we can eat."

The mention of food immediately cleared the room.

"Cleverly done," Trapper commented.

Barriss quickly came to Cody's side. She knelt down, and slid his slippers onto his feet. She glanced up into his eyes.

_You mad?_ she quickly asked through their link.

Cody sighed, quickly, _No, I'm not mad. I'm grateful you brought my brothers here, Barriss, it's just-_

Trapper's voice interrupted their conversation, "Oh, no. You two are not going to start doing whatever it is you were doing before. Are you? Because that was just weird. I think you two are starting to spend too much time together."

"Sorry," Cody said, quickly, reaching up and putting an arm around Trapper for support, "let's go, brother."

Barriss watched them go, staying behind, sitting on Cody's bed. She felt left behind, and unneeded. That was _her_ place, and _her_ job.

She retreated quietly to her room to meditate, and left the commander to visit with his brothers. She heard the deep rumble, and laughter of male voices, for the next several hours.

# # #

Trapper helped get Cody over to the couch, which was already overfilled with clone brothers. They respectfully pushed aside, making room for their commander.

Kix scrutinized Cody's slow progress, "How are you, sir?"

"Doing well, Kix," Cody said, settling in between Hardcase and Denal. "Went through a rough patch there for a few weeks, but, I'm good now. Ready to get back to work."

Hardcase took an excessively large bite of sandwich, eyed the apartment with obvious admiration, then said, "Dunno. If I was living here, I wouldn't be in a hurry to go anywhere."

Denal reached over Cody's legs to kick Hardcase, "Shut up about the apartment? Will you? Rank has its privileges."

"Ow!" Hardcase howled, drawing his foot back up, and shot Denal a look, "I broke that foot you know!"

Denal shrugged and went back to eating his sandwich; "You broke just about _everything_ back on Kaz'haria."

"Yeah," Hardcase conceded, with a shrug, "those apes could hit." He got a glint in his eye, "We need payback."

Cody took a moment to look around at the assembled clones. Like Trapper, they all had evidence of numerous fractures, blaster burns and shrapnel injuries.

"Hey, where's Boil?"

Waxer scowled, "Still too injured to even be up yet. But, hopefully, he can join us soon."

Echo leaned forward, and his voice grew quiet, "So, Commander, we heard from Trapper here that maybe you had a plan to bust out of here, and rescue the rest of the boys. We want in."

Cody scrutinized each one of them, "Now, you do realize, that if we do this, we could likely face court-martial, or worse?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Every clone in the room immediately responded.

Cody sighed, and shook his said, then his lips tilted up in a small grin, "Yeah, I kind of thought so."

"With all due respect, sir, if by 'worse' sir, you mean death by firing squad, well, how is that any different than what we face every day?" Echo added.

Sitting right next to Echo, Fives added, "This way, we have a chance of doing something on our own terms for once," his intense eyes boring into Cody's.

"We're clear," Jesse said, "and, we're with you, sir."

Cody nodded, feeling the tight muscles in his neck pulling, "OK. Just wanted to make sure we were all clear what we are planning, and what the consequences are. This is by no means an approved mission."

"Yes, well, that would take all the fun out of it, wouldn't it, sir?" Trapper said, with a grin.

Jesse thumbed toward Barriss' bedroom, where she had disappeared to meditate, "Is Commander Offee in on this, too?"

Cody nodded, "Yes, she's agreed to help."

This caused a stir of surprise amongst the assembled clones.

"She's taking a big risk, isn't she, sir?" Kix asked.

Cody nodded, "Perhaps."

"Unusual behavior for a Jedi," Denal muttered.

"Look, let's get back to talking about the plan, OK?" Cody said, a bit more sharply than he 'd intended.

Trapper gave Cody a concerned look, but said nothing.

"So, the big question is, then, sir, how the shab are we going find them?" Trapper asked, "there's been no sign of them so far."

Echo and Fives grinned at each other. The two ARCs gave Cody a confident look. "Commander," Fives said, "Echo and I would like to help on that part of it. As an ARC yourself, sir, you know, that a big part of our training covers extra technical skills, such as data-mining."

"Also, known as _hacking_," Echo added in, cheerfully.

Fives put his arm around Echo, "We can splice into the database here on Ord Cestus, and see what we can find out about where we the Kaz'harians might be holding the prisoners."

Hardcase scowled at them, "What makes you think you can find them, if those other Jedi/commando teams haven't had any luck?"

Fives puffed his chest out, and even wearing just his medical pants, you could practically envision the kama on his waist, and the pauldron on his shoulder, "Well, we're ARCs now. That's why."

Hardcase rolled his eyes, "Oh, brother. Give a brother a promotion, and it totally goes to his head."

"Hey," Cody objected, "I'm the one who gave those brothers that promotion."

_Well, Rex, and me_ Cody thought with a twinge, thinking back to the moment they'd promoted the two after the invasion at Kamino.

"No offense, Commander," Hardcase said, immediately.

They spent the next two hours planning and exchanging everything they knew of what had transpired on Kaz'haria, plus everything they knew about the operational layout of the medical station. By the time it was done, Cody felt different, empowered.

# # #

Barriss stayed in her room. She found herself unable to sink into deep meditation, so decided instead to focus on katas. Smoothly going through the ritualistic moves again and again always helped calm her mind and focus her thoughts.

She'd been relieved in the early afternoon to receive a text from Waxer informing her that the entire group was currently at therapy. It seemed the perfect opportunity to surprise Cody with an impromptu meeting. It had turned out to be an excellent way to distract both of them from what had transpired earlier in the day.

Close to three hours after Cody's guests arrived, Barriss heard them saying their good byes to the Commander.

She arose and thanked the physical therapist, Asori, for helping to facilitate their thwarting of the med center rules.

Asori laughed, and rolled her eyes, "Gladly. This place has far too many rules for my liking. This is the first bit of fun I've had since I started working here."

She then exchanged a warm glance with Waxer, who smiled back, before the group headed out.

Trapper had hauled Cody to his feet. He handed him off to Barriss and nodded respectfully to the Commander. "All yours." His mouth quirked up into a smile, and he whispered, "And, hopefully a bit less moody than when we arrived."

"Heard that, Trap," Cody grumbled.

Trapper shrugged, and headed out, following his brothers.

After the door closed, Barriss and Cody's eyes met.

"I'm sorry," Cody said, looking down again at his feet, "about before."

"Cody," Barriss lifted up his chin so that he was looking up and meet her eyes again, "no, apologies necessary, OK? And, if things could be different..." For a moment, she let her feelings shine through in her eyes. Then, she closed herself off again. "But, we can't change who are are."

Cody shook his head, sadly, "No, I guess we can't."

"Did you have a good meeting?"

Cody nodded, "Excellent."

"Come on. You can tell me the highlights over dinner. You need to eat, and then if you're up for it, we can do some more therapy before bed. After all, we need to get you back into fighting shape."

"Agreed. And, Commander?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

# # #


	66. Chapter 66 Nighttime Realizations

Author's Note: * Content Warning * This chapter contains hot, steamy romance.

I intentionally made this a separate chapter from the previous Cody-Barriss chapter, just in case anyone is offended by a bit of romance. If so, please do not read this delicious chapter.

But, if you enjoy a bit of steam, well, grab a box of chocolates and enjoy Chapter 66. No, no, no. You are going to need TWO boxes of chocolates if you are going to read Chapter 66. Make it dark chocolate, and maybe something hot from Starbucks to wash it all down… (Hey, if you want iambic pentameter and Shakespeare, you've got the wrong story.)

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 66**

After the men from the 501st and 212th left, Cody and Barriss ate a simple meal together, and then worked on therapy until late in the evening. Due to Cody's mid-afternoon nap, and long meeting with his men, they'd missed much of their usual therapy session. So, they worked together, systematically exercising Cody's affected neuromotor muscle regions. By the end of it, the clone commander was exhausted and sweaty. His bare chest was glistening with sweat, and water droplets beaded up under his dark hair.

"You want to shower?" Barriss asked him.

Cody nodded, trying, unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

She assisted him into the single, modern, well-equipped refresher that they both shared. Barriss leaned Cody up against the wall, and started the water. As steam filled the room, she turned around to help him shed his sleep pants.

Cody shook his head. "No, thanks. I can manage."

Barriss scowled, imagining all the things that could go wrong between Cody's disequilibrium and the slippery surfaces he was going up against. Didn't most household accidents occur in the refresher?

"I'm fine."

She scowled at him again, and was about to protest, when he raised up his eyebrows, and cocked his head to the side, "Really, Commander. I'm _fine_," he looked into her eyes, reassuring her with his steady tone and confidence. Much of his self-assurance was beginning to come back and assert itself, and she didn't want to discourage his efforts.

She paused for several long beats, before finally relenting to his judgment, "Alright, you win. I'll be in the kitchen. Finishing up the dishes."

"Uh huh… and, I'll be here," he gave her a slow smile, as steam chased around his dark hair, "becoming one squeaky, clean clone."

Barriss didn't have a response to that, so she shook her head and left, retreating to the kitchen. The air there felt strangely cool, after the balmy heat of the previous room. The Jedi healer found her mind kept wandering back to what Cody was doing was doing in the refresher.

"One squeaky, clean clone," she muttered, turning the ridiculous phrase over in her mind. She absent-mindedly stuck a plate in the disinfector, and dribbled suds over the alum pan she'd cooked their dinner in.

Her mind begin thinking back to their evening's therapy session. But, somehow, instead of going over the technical details of her work, as she normally would do, the Jedi Healer found her thoughts going in an entirely different direction. Try as she might to steer her thoughts back to issues of neuromuscular matters, Barriss found herself much more absorbed in muscular matters of a different sort. In particular, she kept re-envisioning the way a particular drop of sweat had slowly trailed down his chest and snaked along the hard planes of his abdominal ridge…

_No, no, no… bad bead of sweat… get out of my head!_

Barriss scowled, and tried to get her mind back on task. She reached for the squishy dish sponge, and depressed it against the pan. With a huff, the Mirialan pushed back some stray hairs that had torn loose from her hood, and then flipped on the faucet. Hot water cascaded over the pan, and soon created a small gust of steam that rose up around her. She circled the pan with the sponge, in tiny minute circles, sighing wistfully…

"Commander! I'm done!" Cody's voice rang out from the refresher.

Barriss startled, and the alum pan dropped down against the bottom of the sink with a loud clang that reverberated through the apartment.

"Are you OK?" Cody's voice was immediately concerned, "Hang on! I'll be right there!"

"No! Cody! Don't! I'm fine," Barriss immediately left the sudsy pot, which she'd noticed she'd squirted an inordinate amount of soap upon, and made no actual progress in actually washing.

_Foolish Commander. He's going to injure himself in his rush to get to me._

Sure enough, Cody had already worked his way halfway across the room on his own. But, his quick movements had now overridden his brain's ability to compensate for his difficulties with counterpoise. Barriss caught him just as he was about to crash down. He ended up caught in her arms, and their limbs entangled. Their faces were pressed closely together, and both of them were breathing heavily from their recent exertions.

Barriss' mind was racing…

Cody smelled _amazing_. His skin was scented with soap, and radiating warmth from the shower. But, there also was an undercurrent of maleness that was uniquely his own.

Barriss stared at Cody, terrified that he would kiss her again.

She was also equally afraid that he wouldn't…

They stayed there, locked in that position, for what seemed like an eternal moment.

It was Cody who broke the moment, "Uh, thank you, Commander," he said, pulling back. For the longest moment, it looked like he wanted to say something else. But, he just shook his head slightly, then squeezed his eyes shut and looked away.

Finally, he exhaled and in a detached tone asked, "Would you help me back to my room?"

# # #

After Barriss settled Cody in his bed, she couldn't even bring herself to return to the kitchen. For reasons she couldn't logically define, she couldn't even look at that alum pan.

She knew she should probably take a shower. Cody had his arm wrapped around her for much of the evening so the scent of his sweat was imprinted upon her skin.

_I know I smell like him. _

Barriss paused at the entrance to her room, and brought her shoulder up to her nose. She inhaled deeply, her sensitive Mirialan nostrils taking in his strong masculine scent. Her whole body shivered involuntarily, and she felt a tingling sensation that shot right through her body.

_Maybe that shower can wait until morning…_

She retreated into her room, and sank down on her bed.

_I mean, after all, I am tired,_ the reasonable part of her mind argued.

_No, I'm being ridiculous!_

She stood up, with every intention of heading to the refresher and taking a shower. But, she got as far as the doorway, before her steps reluctantly halted. She paused, and put her arm up against the doorframe.

_I'm going truly mad, _she moaned, resting her forehead up against her arm. She turned around and sank back down again upon her bed. Barriss flipped off one shoe, using the heel of the other, then flicked off the lights with a wave of her hand. As she started drifting off to sleep, the image of sweat beading off of Cody's chest popped up foremost in her mind again.

_Uggggh! Maybe I should make him start wearing a shirt around the apartment._

Her mind immediately rejected the suggestion. None of the other clones wore shirts. They all just wore the standard issue med sleep pants. Cody would start wondering what was wrong if she suddenly insisted _he_ start wearing a shirt.

_Yes, my teenage hormones are raging out of control. Let's just leave it at that, OK, Cody?_

Barriss gritted her teeth in misery, and wondered if any other Jedi had ever gone through this, or if she was the only one. She tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, before finally falling into a fitful and restless sleep. Her dreams were plagued with images of the clone commander. One particular dream was so intense that it felt more like a vision, than just random nocturnal imaginings…

Barriss clearly saw herself on a war-ravaged planet, like so many others that she'd be sent to over the course of the war.

It was nighttime, and she was somewhere in the midst of a city that was already significantly damaged by artillery bombardment.

Cody was once again in white and orange trademark armor, and she noticed immediately that he was back to his full fighting weight… He filled out every inch of that armor.

She was standing right next to Cody, and they were inside the shell of a bombed out building. Shadowy lighting from outside dimly lit up the room's ruined interior.

"So good to see you again," Cody murmured, his eyes roving over her face, as if trying to memorize everything about her features. "I'd almost forgotten how beautiful you were..." His voice was harsh and raspy, but he spoke the words with sincerity and reverence.

Everything in Barriss' body responded to his words, and she shivered, wishing he would kiss her. Cody's helmet, held in the fingers of one hand, dropped to the ground with the soft clatter of plastoid striking duracrete. His lips curled up on one side in a slight feral grin, as if reading her thoughts. And, then, his body moved in, armor pressing her up against the side of the ruined wall, trapping her with the solid weight of his presence.

Barriss heard the clone commander utter a guttural noise of possessiveness. His gloved hand reached behind her neck to pull her head closer. Then, suddenly, his strangely soft lips were grounding down on hers. The contrast of softness and hardness were almost her undoing. Cody kissed her with such unrestrained passion that she forgot to breathe at first. Her head began to swim, and it was only then that she remembered she'd needed to actually stop kissing long enough to take a breath.

She pulled her head back slightly, and he released her. She took several long gasping breaths. He looked at her concerned, then realized what had happened. Another slow, lazy grin lit up his features. She remembered in that moment how much those smiles of his had always affected her.

"I must be _very_ good at this," he laughed quietly, leaning in again, "to make you breathe like that, Commander."

She did wonder briefly where he'd ever learned so kiss so well. Surely this was not a skill they taught at Kamino? But, all rational thought fled her mind as his lips descended upon hers time and time again. Her body was quickly humming with desire and pent-up _need_.

But, she quickly realized she wasn't the only one feeling the intense build-up from their shared passions. Cody stopped, bowed his head, down, and rested it against her shoulder.

"Kriff," he said, his body literally shaking as he held her. The commander looked up and his honey-colored eyes were now darkened with passion. He pressed his body even closer to hers, and she could feel his need. His eyes sought hers again, asking the question.

Barriss nodded, without even thinking about it. She could no more say no, than she could stop breathing. Cody nodded, serenely, as if he'd already known what her answer would be.

They both glanced around at their surroundings, looking for a place where they could take their passions to the next level. The floor was littered with shards of glass, shattered permacrete, and twisted shrapnel.

Cody shook his head, "No. Don't want _that_ digging into your beautiful skin." He tugged off his gloves, and one of his hands dipped into the neck of her robe. He brushed his fingers up against the sensitive flesh along her nape, making her shiver in response.

He smiled then, one of those slow, rare smiles that she loved so much.

"Well, the wall it is then," his voice was deeper than she'd ever heard it before, and rough with desire.

When Barriss realized what he'd intended, she actually gasped in surprise.

She wasn't sure if she should raise an objection, but then all rational thought fled when his mouth descended upon hers again. She was sure no woman, Jedi or no, had ever been kissed like _this_ before. His mouth did things to hers that had her making quiet sounds of yearning in the back of her throat.

The wall started to seem like an outstanding idea, as she restlessly moved her body against his armored one. All the layers between them suddenly seemed to be too much, and she wished for nothing more than to be able to feel skin-on-skin contact. She tugged at the armor on his chest, wordlessly.

But, a distant explosion from outside sounded, reminding them that their time indeed was limited.

"Kriff," Cody glared toward the outside window, and then pressed her harder up against the wall.

"Yes, Cody," Barriss murmured, urging him on, before anything else interrupted and tore them apart.

He tugged at the front of his armor, releasing himself, and then pulled her Jedi robes high up above her waist. He grabbed one of her hands, putting her robes in her hands, holding them in place. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, and closed her eyes.

With a deep-rooted groan, he entered Barriss' body. He took her again and again, right up against the rough, damaged concrete wall.

She cried from all the contrasting sensations hitting her body at once, and he gripped her buttocks to hold her in place. "So beautiful," he said, in his raspy, deep voice, then readjusted his grip, so he could thrust even more deeply, "Ah… Barriss…"

Her hands contracted in claws as she grabbed the back of his shoulder plates, holding on to support herself. He smelled of sweat, and discharged carbon cells, and also a unique heady scent that she'd come to associate with Cody himself.

Outside the windows, there were still explosions lighting the night skies in the distance. But, for the moment, the two were locked in a universe of their own making.

Barriss reached her fingers up and unpeeled the seal of his bodysuit at the neck seam. On instinct, she bit lightly Cody on the nape of the neck. He growled deeply in response, and increased his pace.

Barriss cried out suddenly as her body reached a fever pitch. She felt her body convulse around Cody, and her entire frame shook. The clone commander adjusted his grip, and turned her face so he could capture her mouth with his. He kissed her with all the intensity that was building in his body. Barriss had never known such passion was even possible in a kiss and she was breathless from the pure pace of his rising passions. Cody gripped her tighter then, and cried out, his entire body tensing, and then shuddering. Barriss gazed at his face, amazed at the rapture she saw captured there. His eyes sought out hers, and a secret smile lit his face, a smile that she knew was for her, and her alone. He was so magnificently beautiful to her in that moment. She felt such a sense of peace and calm as he looked upon her.

But, then the explosions from outside began to grow even louder. Cody glanced outside, his smile faded. He cursed quietly, and shook his head. He placed his forehead against hers, "I have to go," he said, quietly.

He withdrew from her body, and she shivered from cold. He carefully pulled all of her clothing back into place, before replacing his armor. Barriss reached up and refastened the piece of neck seam that she'd undone. He once again gifted her with that smile, and just for that moment, everything stopped for them.

But, then, another loud explosion from outside caught his attention.

The clone commander put his hands on her shoulders, his entire face a mask of regret and sorrow. He pulled back so that his eyes could look into hers. As their eyes locked, he revealed to her the depths of his feelings. She saw it all then, and she gasped, staggered by what she saw. Another explosion shattered the peace, gripping the clone commander's attention.

"Good bye," he said, softly, kissing her quickly one last time, and then he was leaving. He grabbed his helmet, off the duracrete floor, and the rifle, which he'd left leaning by the shattered ruins of a door. The commander gave her one last, lingering, regretful glance before disappearing into the explosion-laded night.

"Wait!" Barriss called again, and this time the explosions were close enough to rock the building. She fled out to the door, and saw Cody running full-speed toward the battle, clearly lit-up by the eerie red glow of the mortar fire.

"Cody!" she cried out. "Wait!"

But, he didn't turn back.

A terrible feeling of dread consumed her, and her body felt ice cold. The scream of an incoming mortar fire filled the air. As she watched, another rocket crashed down, completely obliterating the form of the clone commander.

Barriss woke up, drenched in sweat, her heart pounding with adrenaline. She sat upright in bed, one hand on her chest.

The nightmare had been so unusually vivid.

Her mind raced as she thought of all of the images. Her skin blushed to a deep green as she thought of the graphical sexual nature of her dream. There was so much _detail_ in that dream, more than what Barriss could have gotten so far from her rather mismatched, hodge-podge Jedi Sex Ed teachings.

So, how had her mind put together such a detailed sex dream? Was it all pure imagination? Was her imagination _that_ good? Or, was this possibly a dream of precognition?

Barriss flushed even greener at such a thought.

_A Jedi having passionate sex in the middle of a battle?_

She shook her head. No, there was no way… Jedi just did not _do_ such things!

But, then, she forgot all about the logistics of the passion and the battle. Her mind jumped to the _end _of the dream.

She jumped up, threw her covers off, and ran into Cody's room. He was asleep, tangled up in his covers. Somehow, he'd managed to sleep in the shape of a letter "T" and was now sideways across his bed. She sighed, wondering what it was that made him so restless in his sleep. But, having delved inside his mind, and seen his post-traumatic stress, she knew some of what haunted him.

Barriss sank down into her chair next to the bed, the one she used when they were doing their healing sessions together. She watched him sleep, his breathing deep and regular. With just the lightest touch, she ran her fingers along his distinctive C-shaped scar. She sat there for several long minutes, and just watched him sleep. Then, she sighed, and headed back to her room.

As soon as she left, Cody opened his eyes.

_So, what was that all about?_ he wondered.

# # #


	67. Chapter 67 Ahsoka

_A/N: Well, we're getting toward the end of the story. So… all of the characters are starting to come together. This is the first of three back-to-back chapters I'm going to post… first one brings in Ahsoka… second one is an Ando update… and third one brings in the Cody and company. _

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex**

**Chapter 67**

Knowing Rex was alive changed _everything_. Ahsoka focused on her Force collar with a new clarity of mind and purpose. She felt a spark of hope and light get rekindled deep inside of her. It was something good and pure that had sputtered away when she'd received news that her Captain was lost.

She was sure beyond measure that Rex was still alive. She had _felt_ him, if just for a brief moment. But, Ahsoka was sure it was Rex, because there was no other Force presence in the universe that gave her such a feeling inside. She yearned so deeply to feel that connection, and that drive fueled her body with adrenaline. Her exhaustion faded away, and she focused on sinking deeply into her meditation.

Ahsoka had become greatly skilled in meditation now, as it was all she ever did with her endless hours of imprisonment. The task that used to be so bothersome and frustrating to her, now felt as natural as lightsaber training. She actually sighed with pleasure as she sank easily into a deep meditative trance.

The Togrutan once again entered into the inner workings of the collar that had been around her neck for so long. The collar consisted of six components that worked together to create an energy field.

_Voltage. Current. Waveform. Frequency. Pulse rate. Duration. _

She'd never been able to get any further than this, because the collar itself was blocking her use of the Force. So, while she'd still been able to tap into the Force _slightly _within her meditation, it was not enough to make a difference with the collar.

But now, Ahsoka dove deep within herself. She focused on her feelings for Rex, and drew upon that emotional connection she had felt the moment they had touched together again. The change was immediate.

She could see it now. The collar was a mechanical device, like a starship engine. Something that could be repaired, or _broken_.

_The easiest way would be here... interrupt the pulse rate._

She sent a short Force burst, and assigned a new pulse rate to the collar.

"Ahhh!" Ahsoka gasped quietly, as her body exploded with an infusion of the Force. So shocking was it to get her Force abilities back, all at once, that she was left reeling from the sensation. Ahsoka fell back heavily against the concrete wall of her cell.

The Jedi lay there gasping for several long minutes before she finally adjusted to the strangeness of being _whole_ again. She peered around her cell in alarm, wondering if anyone had noticed the big change. But, everything was exactly as it was, before she began her meditative trance. Appo was still passed out, unconscious on the floor, pale and sickly. The Kaz'harian guards were still somewhere down the hall. They were at their guard post, playing cards, or doing whatever guards did to pass the time.

Her collar looked exactly the same as it had before, except now it had been rendered completely inert. Ahsoka pushed herself back to her knees and gazed down at the collar. The lights on it still blinked in the same sequence as before. She was thankful that she hadn't tried to short out the power source. No one but another Force user would be able to tell that this collar was operating at a different pulse frequency.

_Huh. That was actually rather clever of me. Master would be proud._

She grimaced, as she thought of her missing Master, wondering what was happening to him in the cloning lab.

Ahsoka gritted her teeth with renewed determination, as the Force flooded her body with energy and vitality once again. _That's it. I'm getting out of here._

Appo had made some progress in loosening up her bonds, so Ahsoka focused all of her energies now on the plasti-binders that tied her wrists together. As near as she could tell, it was just a length of durable plasti-cable.

_What- they couldn't splurge for a good pair of metal binders?_

Ahsoka relaxed back into her meditative position, and began envisioning her wrist binders stretching.

_Force! That hurt!_

She peered back over her shoulder, and saw the binders were now cutting into her wrists and drawing blood.

_Not good. Need to be more specific in how I envision the plasti stretching…. _

Ignoring the sensation of warm blood dripping down her arms, Ahsoka sank back into her trance. In her minds' eye, she saw the actual polymers that held the binders together growing wider and longer.

_That's it… stretch… sttttreeeetccccchhhhhh…._

With a sigh of relief, she felt the bite of plastic finally ease off of her wrist.

_Free at last, after all this time. Can't believe I can finally move my arms…. Kriff!_

Ahsoka bit her lip to keep from crying out loud in agony. After weeks of being pulled behind her back, her muscles had completely locked in place. When she tried to move them back to a normal position, intense pain flared through the tendons and nerves.

_Must not make a noise. The guards..._

She used the Force to tap down the pain, and then focused on flooding blood and healing to the aggrieved area. Even with the aid of the Force, the recovery process was still slow and brutal. The Togrutan ended up dragging herself to the darkest corner of the cell. She curled up into a ball, and cradled her injured limbs into the warmth of her chest. Eventually, the sensation eased, and her limbs adjusted to being back where they belonged.

Ahsoka pulled herself upright, but stayed hidden in the dark corner. She studied her lacerated wrists in the meager lighting. The bleeding had stopped on its own, but weeks of wearing binders had still worn a deep groove into her tawny skin. No matter. She'd had marks and scars before, and always recovered. It was part of being a Jedi.

Plus, knowing Rex was alive had suddenly made her everything else seem minor by significance.

_Alright, time to get the ankle binders off. _

Taking a deep breath to steel herself against the onslaught of pain, Ahsoka focused her energies.

_OK, plasti-binders. I've had enough of you..._

# # #

"Commander Appo, can you hear me?"

Once blood flow had return adequately to Ahsoka's feet, she'd stealthily crawled over to the injured clone's side.

"Appo? Commander?"

Ahsoka tried several times, and was finally able to rouse the new head of the 501st enough to open his eyes a slit. "Co- comm-and...er?" he stammered out, looking up at her in confusion. Making sure the guards weren't looking, Ahsoka crawled to the entrance of the cell where the guards had left the daily ration of greyish gruel and a cup of water. She'd already finished the gruel, but there was still some water left in the cup. With her hands bound, she'd never been able to lap up more water than just the top 1/4 of the cup. So, when Appo was completely unconscious, she'd just had to make do with whatever water she could reach, completely bound as she was.

Now, Ahsoka grabbed the cup of water. She stared at it thirstily, but decided Appo needed the water more than she did. She crawled back to his side.

"Yes, it's me. Here, drink something. You've been out for a while this time," she held his head up. "Come on, keep drinking. You could use the liquids." He obediently drank, and Ahsoka made him finish the whole cup.

She looked back at where the greyish gruel was. There was still some left, as she could never quite get to it all. "Uh... you want some food?" It seemed a stretch to call that stuff 'food,' but it was all they had. "You should probably eat."

Appo stared at the cup in her hands, as understanding dawned. "Hands...free," he murmured.

Ahsoka smiled down at him, and then whispered conspiratorially, "Yes, I finally got my bonds off. Just a few minutes ago."

"Well... done," the Commander whispered back hoarsely, his eyes began fluttering, and Ahsoka could tell he was about to pass out again.

"Wait!" she said, shaking his shoulder.

He turned his eyes toward her, blearily.

"Come on, stay with me," Ahsoka urged, "Would you try eating something? Please?"

Appo nodded. Keeping an eye out for the guards, Ahsoka returned the water cup to its' position and retrieved the gruel plate. There were no utensils, of course, or anything an idle prisoner could potentially fashion into a weapon.

The Togrutan wiped her hands on her legs in a vain effort to clean them. She lifted his head again. Setting the plate within easy reach, she stuck her one of her fingers in the gruel. "Sorry if this is gross."

"I've... had... worse," Appo replied hoarsely, eying the gruel with the stoic bravado Ahsoka had come to admire in all of the clones.

"Yeah, me, too," Ahsoka admitted with a quiet laugh. "Guess we could swap stories sometime on _that_ topic."

"Would... like... that," the Commander's lips curled up in a hint of a smile.

"Alright, open up. Here's the special of the day."

"Yeah. Lucky... me," Appo said, and his smile turned into a smile grin.

That grin tugged at her heart because in that moment, Appo reminded her again of Rex. But, it just renewed her resolve to get out of this Kaz'harian hole and find her way back to the one person in the universe that made everything make sense.

Ahsoka fed Appo gruel, until he shook his head, "No more." He closed his eyes wearily, and his head began to slump to the side.

"Wait!" Ahsoka shook his uninjured shoulder, trying to keep him from drifting off. "I need to ask you something." She kept shaking him, until she roused him again. He blinked his eyes, open and focused on her again. "I want to do Force healing on you. You're very sick from your wounds. But, I need your permission before I try it. I think it will help. It can't hurt you."

Appo nodded his head, and then whispered, "OK." His eyes fluttered closed again.

Casting another quick glance toward the guard station, Ahsoka got herself into position by the injured Commander's side. Force healing was not her strong suit, but it was obvious Appo was dying. He'd sustained his injuries saving her life. She couldn't abandon him now.

Ahsoka laid her hands on Appo's injured shoulder, and sank down into her meditative trance. Just as when she'd worked on Rex back on TriLuna, Ahsoka focused on identifying, and correcting things that simply felt _wrong_ in the delicate tissues beneath her fingertips.

Appo's eyes blinked back open as he felt the cool tingling on his shoulder. He could feel _something _happening in his body. It was the first tangible improvement since he'd been harshly tossed into this cell weeks ago, injured and barely conscious. The clone commander studied the Jedi with unabashed curiosity. Her face was close to his and her eyes were closed and absorbed in her work. He could see the Jedi was putting great effort into keeping him alive. As time passed, and she continued to work on him, Appo was struck by her deep dedication and concern for his welfare.

_She cared about him._

Appo was stunned by the revelation. He couldn't remember anyone ever caring about him. Not like this. As he stared up at her now, so close to his face, it occurred to him that she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Re-energized a bit from the water and food, the commander focused his energies on watching the young Jedi as she worked on him. He remembered what it felt like as she was holding him close, and urging him to drink water. Then, she'd supported his head again, holding him close, as she fed him right from her own fingertips. Sure, the food was tasteless, but it was still the best meal he'd ever had.

Ahsoka drew back from healing the injured clone, and slumped onto her heels. She was so tired, she felt that she could fall asleep sitting right there.

"Commander, are you OK?" Appo's concerned voice roused Ahsoka, just as she began to drift off.

She shook herself awake, and looked around, disoriented at first. She stared down at Appo in confusion.

He reached up with a shaky hand to touch her arm, "You alright?" he asked again.

Ahsoka nodded after a moment, "Yeah… you?"

Appo smiled, meeting her eyes, "Think I might just make it… thanks to you."

Ahsoka smiled, and squeezed his hand, "Glad I could help. Rest now." She let out a jaw-cracking yawn, "I could use some sleep myself." Ahsoka looked back toward the dark corner where she'd hid before. If she slumbered back there, she could rest in a more comfortable position without the guards noticing her binders were off. "But later," she added, meeting Appo's gaze once more, "I want to talk more about what you saw in that lab. We need to make a plan for getting out of here."

# # #


	68. Chapter 68 We're Bigger

_Revised April 29, 2013. Thank you to Grouper for catching a typo in this chapter. Much appreciated!_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 68**

_Author's Notes: As promised, three back-to-back chapters. Here is number two of three, with the gang on Ando. This chapter features Catcher, Rex, Viper and Blaze. The last two character names were submitted by doctoranthony, just wanted to thank him, because I'm not sure if I ever acknowledged his contribution for the names. _

_Catcher is critical to the end of the story, so he keeps popping up. Time wise, this Catcher portion of the story takes place right after the last chapter you read about him, (a few days after the ship crashed.) Chronologically, this is a week before Rex's knee surgery, (and, I only mention this because Rex is up and about in the scene. Just didn't want to confuse anyone.) OK, I'm done with my confusing and acknowledging now…_

Catcher sat at Ashla's kitchen table eating a sandwich she had left for him. His crutches were resting beside the table. He'd managed to make it from his small room to the table completely on his own, without incident. He was feeling pleased with himself. He studied the contents of his sandwich before digging in and taking another bite.

Good sandwich.

Catcher wondered if there were any more sandwiches in the conservator.

He was so wrapped up in his deep thoughts that the knock at the door behind him caused him to jump.

It was a mild day, by Ando standards, and he'd left the kitchen door open, with just the plasti-screen keeping the elements out. Sunlight was streaming into the room, and there, backlight against the midday Ando sky, was the Captain of the 501st.

"Are you busy?" Captain Rex asked, in his deep, somewhat scratchy baritone.

Catcher's jaw dropped in surprise, and he quickly put down the last bite of his sandwich. "No, Captain, I, uh, please, come in," he struggled to his feet, grabbing for his crutches.

"At ease," Rex said, letting himself in. He gestured toward Catcher's bio-braces, "Those are new."

"No, not really," Catcher grimaced, and pushed himself up to his feet, "I had 'em… I just refused to use them."

"I know," Rex sat flatly, "the doctor told me."

Catcher nodded, not sure how to respond. He should have figured the Captain

would know everything that was going on.

Rex spied a pot of caf, next to the stove, "You mind if I pour myself a cup?"

"Uh, help yourself, sir. It's been sitting since breakfast, so it's probably thick as the Mud Moon of Panna by now."

Rex shrugged, "Just the way I like it then." He set his crutches down, then leaned a hip up against the counter for balance. The Captain extended an arm up to grab one of the mugs Ashla kept hanging on pegs below the cabinets. "Want some?"

Catcher nodded, "Thank you, sir."

"Show me how you walk with those things," Rex intoned, casually, as he focused on pouring the second cup of caf into a mug.

"Sir?"

Rex sighed patiently as he extended the now full mug toward Catcher, "Much as I'd like to, I can't _carry_ this thing over to you. So, if you want this, you need to get your shebs over here and come get it. Now, let's see you walk."

Feeling there was a lot more at stake here than a cup of caf, Catcher grabbed his crutches and made his way across the kitchen. The movements came more easily than the evening before. The adjustments Ashla had made toned down the sensitivity on his nerve endings, so using the bio-metric braces wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as before. Catcher moved with renewed confidence, thinking that perhaps, he could manage these kriffin' things, after all.

Rex just nodded, in that calm manner of his, once Catcher had made his way to the other side of the kitchen. He handed over the cup of caf, but just for a moment there, the ARC could see approval in the other man's eyes.

"Not bad," Rex said, gruffly, with a nod, "so, you want to explain to me, then, why you weren't at drill practice this morning?"

"Sir?

"Perhaps you were unaware that drills started at oh-ten-hundred at the Fisherman's Field? Didn't you get the notification?" Rex eyed Catcher, and used the tone of voice that all officers did when they were giving a dressing down.

Catcher's jaw dropped, "Yes, sir, I did, but, I thought that I was exempt because…" His head dropped and he immediately turned red. He looked at his crutches, resting right beside Rex's. Suddenly, he wished he could take the words back. While he had been lying around in bed, the man next to him had been up and about leading the entire Ando Legion. "I'm sorry, sir, it was a misunderstanding on my part. It won't happen again."

"Good, that's what I thought," Rex clapped Catcher on the back, hard enough that Catcher's caf spilled and sloshed onto his hand. The ARC looked askance at Rex, and then wiped his hand on his pants.

Rex put his caf cup down, and began pacing up and down the kitchen. Catcher noticed how smooth his movements were on his crutches, and wondered if he could ever get his mobility to that point. He felt a burst of determination flare to life within him, and knew his ARC spirit had been reignited.

"I have an assignment for you," Rex explained, as he paced, "you, and the other ARCs here on Ando, possess unique skills that could benefit our newly-formed legion. I understand you have specialized training in advanced weaponry. So," the Captain stopped, and fixed Catcher with his sharp gaze, "I want you to be responsible for creating a squad of snipers. Start with the men who have leg and mobility issues. If they can't run, then focus on making them the best possible sharp-shooters."

Catcher grew excited as he thought it over. It was tactically brilliant.

"If for some reason, someone doesn't have skills, _cut them._ I want your snipers to be the best of the best. They should all be ARC-quality by the time you are through with them. Is that understood, Catcher?"

"Yes, sir!" Catcher could hear the excitement in his voice as he responded.

"Excellent. Oh, and one more thing," Rex scowled a bit, "the doctor asked me to tell you that you're to begin, some, ah, physical therapy. She's quite, er, enthusiastic on such matters."

"I've noticed," Catcher grumbled.

"Yes, well, in this case, I happen to agree with her. So, consider it an order. You begin this afternoon. Viper and Blaze are coming by to provide you with transportation over to her clinic."

"This afternoon?" Catcher blinked in surprise. After months of a totally idle schedule of just lying around in bed with nothing to do, he felt a bit overwhelmed all of a sudden with all of this _activity_.

Rex's eyes narrowed, "Is that a problem, Captain Catcher?"

"No, sir, of course not."

"Good. I'll inform the doctor you'll be attending. You will attend everyday until otherwise ordered."

Catcher caught himself before he sighed, "Yes, sir."

Rex turned to let himself out, then paused and stopped at the door. He turned back, considering, "I was just going to visit Razor, Sabre, Tag and Sink." He tapped his chrono, and raised up his eyebrows. "You still have two hours before you need to see the doctor. Would you care to join me?"

Catcher immediately grew excited at the prospect at seeing his four brothers, the ones who like him had been confined to a bio-bed during the journey from Kamino.

"Yes, sir, I'd like that very much," he quickly set down his caf cup, grabbed his crutches, and headed toward the door. Then, he froze, mid-step, "Wait."

The Captain paused, and turned around, arching an eyebrow.

"I can't go," Catcher shook his head, headed back to his chair, and sat back down.

"Why not?" Rex asked, sounding slightly exasperated.

Catcher gestured toward his bio-braces, "The others… they've only ever seen me in a bio-bed. How will they react if they see me up and walking like this?"

"They'll be thrilled. Now, get your shebs out of that chair _now_. You are _not_ hiding from your own brothers. _Move_ it. That's an order."

"Sir?"

"Catcher," there was a warning threat in the Captain's tone, "I'm not used to having to repeat myself. If I have to bodily drag you down the stairs, I'll do it. It will be painful for both of us, but I'll do it."

Catcher had no doubt that the Captain meant what he said. He sprang up from the chair, grabbed his crutches and headed for the door.

Rex gave him one last exasperated look, "Catcher."

"Sir?"

"Is that all you're planning on wearing?"

"Uh…" Catcher looked down at his thin blue medcenter pants, covered by the braces, and the matching blue tunic. These were the only clothes he'd worn for months now. "I can't wear my armor yet, sir. I haven't had a chance to modify yet to fit with these…"

Rex shook his head, "I don't expect you to armor up, Catcher." He moved over to the door and flipped it open. A blast of cold air rushed into the kitchen.

"Ah," Catcher nodded, as the cold air hit his skin. He frowned, "I'm afraid I don't have anything else to wear, Captain. They just threw a few blankets over me when I was transported over here the other night. I haven't left the house since. "

Rex nodded again, "Alright, wait here." He headed out the door to the speeder, and returned a few minutes later with a coat slung over one shoulder. "This should fit you."

Catcher smiled at that comment, "Yeah. Guess so. One of the many advantages of being a clone."

As Rex helped his brother into the coat, he said sternly, "I want this back. It's just a loan. We'll see about getting you some appropriate cold-weather attire."

As the coat settled over his shoulders, Catcher whistled in appreciation, "Sweet."

Rex nodded, "Even fits over armor. It's called a fisherman's coat."

The ARC rubbed the fine material of the coat appreciatively, "I just might have to take up fishing."

"Hok says it's not quite all it's cracked up to be."

Catcher looked to the Captain in surprise, and then caught the glimmer of humor in the other man's eyes. He burst out laughing. "Now, Captain, that's not quite fair. Hok didn't exactly mean to take up fishing. Fishing took up _him_ from what I heard."

Rex shrugged, "Yes, well, he seems to be adjusting to civilian life well enough now. Just came from there, and for a man with that many stitches, he actually looked very content with himself. Let's move. I have a lot of visits to do today."

The coat cocooned Catcher in warmth from shoulder to shins.

"I could grow to like this coat," the ARC commented.

"Don't even think about it," Rex growled, leading the way to the speeder. He smoothly made his way down the steps, and across the firmly packed snow. He waited for Catcher, leaning up against the side of the speeder, arms crossed.

Catcher's movements were much slower and more halting. There was a slight bit of ice on the wooden steps leading down to the gravel drive, and Catcher felt himself start falling. But, he managed to thrust one of his crutches into the snow, secure himself, and keep upright.

"Ugggh," he felt his heart racing, and an adrenaline rush akin to when he was in battle. _And, I'm just trying to get down a kriffin' flight of steps._

The Captain watched his progress, but made no offers to help. He stayed silent, as he watched Catcher.

_This is impossible. I'm never going to make it down all these steps. I should just head back up and-_

Catcher felt his crutch hit the gravel drive. He was already down.

Chest heaving with exertion, he made his way over to the passenger side of the speeder. Panting heavily, he flopped down into the seat, and tossed his crutches down between his cybernetic legs.

"Well," the Captain commented, wryly, "that was _interesting_." He started the speeder, "I can see why you need that therapy." He chuckled, "But, I'll give you points for effort."

Catcher stared at Rex, his first reaction to be offended. _Didn't the Captain realize how much effort it took just to be up and about on these cybernetic braces? It was exhausting just getting across a room, much less making it outside, down the steps, into the speeder, and-_

Then, the ARC Captain caught the sideways look that Rex cast at him, and the slight teasing glint in his eye. He realized there were a lot of depths to the 501st leader's character, and suddenly felt a pang. _He reminds me of Bly. _

Catcher remembered the Commander of the 327th Star Corps having the same steely resolve, and serious command reserve, yet underneath it... a lurking sense of humor. Not everyone had a chance to see that sense of humor, because he didn't let many get close to him. Catcher tore himself out of his thoughts, and back to the present.

"Yeah, I'll consider myself fortunate that I didn't just fall flat on my ass there," the ARC commented.

"Ass?" Rex commented with a snort, "What kind of ARC says ass? I thought all of you lived and breathed Mando'a."

Catcher shrugged, "Yes, well, not all of that took with me. I'm fine with the culture. Vode An, and all that. But, I prefer to curse my way."

"Seems you prefer to do everything your way."

"Yeah, I think that's why they made me an ARC."

The Captain gave him an assessing look, "They made you an ARC because you're the best of the best."

Catcher looked down, "It wasn't enough, though, was it?"

Rex cast him a look, but waited patiently for him to go in. He could sense that the man next to him needed to get this off of his chest.

"They still sent me away." He pointed to Rex, "You. All of us. Being the best of the best, wasn't enough. We did our jobs. We did everything they asked us to do. And, they still sent us to be _reconditioned_." Catcher spat out the last word with obvious hatred and resentment,.

Rex said nothing, but a muscle in his jaw tightened.

"How do you live it it, sir? You were the Captain of the 501st! The most famous legion out there. And, still, they sent _you_ away. Of all people, they sent _you_ away."

Rex's jaw drew even tighter and the hands gripping the speeder controls were turning white.

"Don't you ever get angry, sir? Doesn't it ever strike you as unfair that-"

Rex abruptly pulled the speeder over the side of the road, and turned to face Catcher. "Of course, I get angry! I spent the entire time I was at ArmyMed being angry, when I wasn't stoned out of my head. And, then..."

Catcher watched as his brother's voice trailed off. He seemed to be debating about how much he was going to share of what he went through during that dark time.

"Then what, sir? I don't understand."

Rex sighed, still weighing his words carefully, "And, then... I lost hope."

"You, sir?" Catchers voice was full of disbelief.

Rex nodded, looking out at the town of Ando for a moment, lost in memories. "But, then, I found something worth fighting for again."

"What was that, sir?"

"You."

Rex pointed out toward the town of Ando, and pointed out a group of troopers that were walking, "...them, and the rest of our brothers here on Ando. I realized, that this whole time, I never was fighting for the Republic. I was fighting because my place was alongside my brothers. Does that make sense?"

Catcher nodded in understanding, mulling over the Captain's words. He'd been so busy mourning what he'd lost, he'd failed to realize what he'd found. Captain Rex was right. There was still a place and a purpose for them, together, as brothers.

Rex pulled the speeder back out into the street, "Alright then, let's go. We have some brothers to visit."

# # #

Viper and Blaze came at 1400 hours to pick Catcher up, as promised. As they watched the ARC slowly try to pick his way down the icy steps, the two commandos exchanged a look.

"This will never do," commented Blaze.

Without saying anything more, they each hoisted up one of Catcher's arms and simply bodily carried him the rest of the way down the steps.

"Hey!" Catcher shouted, protesting being hauled around like a crate of ammo. They carried him all the way to the speeder and tossed him in the back. The ARC sputtered and protested the whole way.

"Look, ARCie. You want to keep up with us, then you're going to have to learn to walk better than that," Blaze tossed in Catcher's crutches after him. "Come on, let's get you to physical therapy."

Viper nodded in agreement, "True. That was _pathetic_."

Blaze started up the speeder, and peeled out, tossing up gravel as he drove, "I mean, you're an ARC, for kriff's sake. You have a reputation to upload. You can't be tottering around town like you're on your dying breath."

Catcher just stared at the two Commandos, mouth agape.

"Like I'm on my-" Catcher just wiped a hand across his face, and shook his head. "Do you two have any idea what it's like to be severely injured-"

Viper put one hand up, cutting off his tirade. He removed his helmet, and pointed to the extensive burn scarring running up his neck, across his cheek, and disappearing down into his bodysuit. "Imagine being burned like this across half your body, Catcher. Yeah, I get it, OK? I know what it's like. That's why we're not cutting you any slack."

"Hey, I tried, you know. I was at ArmyMed. OrdMandell. OrdCestus. It didn't get me _anywhere_. I still got frakkin' reconditioned."

"Yeah, well, welcome to the club," Blaze commented, flatly, without looking away from where he was driving.

Viper turned around, "This isn't OrdCestus, Catcher, or any of those places. But, you still can't screw this up."

"We're here," Blaze announced, as they pulled up in front of the doctor's house.

"Now get in there, and learn how to walk _properly_. Until you do, we're going to haul your shebs everywhere, because you're too kriffin' slow. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," said Catcher, gritting his teeth.

Viper and Blaze came around, and yanked Catcher out of his seat.

They expediently hoisted him into Karyn's clinic, and tossed him onto the nearest available cot. Both commandos then pivoted as one, and left the clinic. Blaze returned a moment later, "Hey, ARCie, catch!" From just inside the door, he sent Catcher's crutches sailing at him. They came at him like high-speed missiles. On instinct, the ARC reached up and caught both. He was glad he did. He couldn't imagine the damage they would have done to the clinic if he'd missed.

"There's hope for you yet. Be back in two hours to haul you back out of here," he spun on one heel and quickly left. A moment later, Catcher heard the speeder peeling away down the gravel drive.

He turned to see Karyn regarding him from a few feet away.

"Well, that was a heck of an entrance," she said, lifting up an eyebrow.

"Let's get on with it," Catcher grumbled, pushing himself to his feet.

# # #

The ARC was absolutely exhausted by the end of his therapy. However, he had to grudgingly admit it was a good idea. Between Ashla's adjustments, and the doctor's coaching, he definitely walking more smoothly.

But, having been bedbound for several months, his muscles simply weren't used to prolonged periods of hard activity. His muscle-tone was still good. He just tired easily. Two hours of pushing around his entire body weight on just his arms, and he was completely spent. When Viper and Blaze came to haul him out of there, he was glad he didn't have to get to the speeder on his own. It was actually a relief to sink into his brothers' arms and get carried.

"You, OK, brother?" Blaze asked, peering down at him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm good," Catcher said.

"Because you feel like you're about to collapse," the Commando commented. "I've carried enough brothers to know _that_ feeling."

The ARC Captain hated to admit any kind of weakness, especially in front of these two. "Just a little tired. Had a great workout. But, I'm... good as can be."

Blaze snorted, "If you say so."

The two armored commandos hauled him up the stairs into Ashla's kitchen. They deposited him unceremoniously into a chair.

"All yours," Viper said. Without another word, the brothers left.

Ashla regarded the departing commandos with an amused expression. "Not much for conversation, are they?"

Catcher shrugged, "You kind of have to get to know them. Most RCs are sort of into themselves and their squad."

_Although, in their own strange way, it seemed to him that Viper and Blaze had taken an interest in him. Odd behavior for RCs who were known for just sticking to their own._

"RCs?"

"Oh, uh, Republic Commandos. They're elite soldiers. Specially trained for covert missions. Wear different armor, as you can see. Definitely a breed all to their own."

"I did notice they were _huge_."

Catcher wondered why he felt a twinge of jealousy at Ashla's words.

"Yeah, well, underneath they're no bigger than any other clone. That's all just armor,"

Catcher clarified, "whereas ARCs, we're actually physically bigger than other clones. Bred to be bigger. _Big,_" he emphasized.

Ashla's lips quirked with amusement, "I'll keep that in mind."

Catcher sniffed the air, "Food?"

Ashla shook her head with amusement, "Wow, you have a keen nose. I only just put dinner in the oven about five minutes ago."

The ARC grinned, "Superior sense of smell." He tapped his head, "Same thing applies to the rest of my senses."

The ship's captain looked amused again, "Well, then if my cooking sucks, it will be extra bad for you."

Catcher stared at her, enjoying her smile. "I'm sure it's fine. Can I help?"

Ashla gave him a considering look, "I think I could come up with a task that a keenly-created, unusually large, genetically-enhanced fellow like you could handle."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Perhaps. But, only because I like you."

Catcher knew she meant the comment in a casual teasing manner, but it still caused him to feel... unsettled.

"You any good at chopping onions?" she settled a cutting board and some large purple winter root vegetables in front of the ARC Captain.

"I don't know. I've never chopped up anything but tinnies before."

"Tinnies?" Ashla's brow wrinkled in confusion, but then she worked out the reference on her own, "Ah."

She watched as her houseguest attacked the vegetables with gusto, easily slicing them with precise, measured moves.

"Wow," she said, when he was done. "I've never seen anyone slice onions like _that_ before."

Catcher shrugged, "Spent my entire life doing nothing but train with weapons. Guess I'd better be good at something, huh?"

Ashla stopped what she was doing, and studied the man in front of her, "I'm sure there's a lot more to you than just that."

Catcher shook his head, and stared down at the braces on his legs, "No. Not really. I don't think there is."

The Andoan fisherwoman stood directly in front of him, planting her legs between his. She forced his chin up so he was looking into her face, "Then, we're just going to have to find out what that is, aren't we?"

"Why do you care?" Catcher asked, softly, staring up at her, puzzled.

Ashla put a hand to the side of his face, cupping his cheek. The ARC closed his eyes wearily, and leaned into her hand. She stroked his soft cut hair with the other hand, soothing him.

Catcher let out a contented sigh. He was exhausted after the day's activities. It felt so soothing just to let his eyes close, and sink his face down into her hand. Her palm was rough and calloused, much the same as his own. He could tell that she worked as hard as he did, just from the roughness of that hand. But, there also seemed to be a softness to this women, and he felt it in the way she was stroking her fingers through his hair. He'd never felt anything like it before, and he _liked_ it.

The clone wasn't sure how long they remained like that. He may have even drifted off to sleep for a few minutes. He began to topple off his chair. Ashla helped to his feet, handed him his crutches, and guided him to the couch.

"No, I'm fine. I want to help," Catcher protested. His words were just a weary mumble.

"You're exhausted. Rest until dinner is ready. I'll wake you up when everything is done cooking, OK?"

"Yeah… O.K." Catcher didn't put up much of a fight. The couch did feel invitingly soft. His head hit the couch cushions and he was out.

# # #


	69. Chapter 69 Appo

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**

**Chapter 69**

"So, what's going on between you and the Commander?"

Cody's jaw dropped and he looked over at Trapper.

"What?"

Cody and Trapper were walking laps up and down the hallway outside of his apartment. Barriss had gone to a routine weekly meeting required of all staff at the medical station.

"It's a fair question with the way the two of you were staring at each other yesterday. It's like the rest of us weren't even in the room."

Cody shook his head, "That's... nothing. You misunderstood."

"How could I misunderstand that? There is no mistaking when a woman is eyeing you like _that_... By the way, that was your best lap yet."

They reached the end of the corridor, and then turned around to begin again. Cody was pleased with how far he had just walked. It was the furthest he had gone since sustaining his spinal injury, and he wasn't even showing any signs of fatigue. It seemed the pace of his body's healing was accelerating.

"That was just... she's been doing healing on me."

"Uh huh. She's been doing some healing on my arm, too, but she does not look at _me_ like that."

Cody sighed, and paused in the hallway, "It's... complicated, Trap."

"Uh huh... are you sure you're not just making it complicated?"

They resumed walking as Cody mulled that over, "Yeah... maybe..."

He let go of Trapper and walked on his own, focusing on keeping his balance.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Trapper pressed.

"None of your business. I'm your Commanding officer, and so is she," Cody said, gripping Trapper's uninjured arm again to steady himself.

The ARF trooper laughed "Was wondering when you'd pull that on me."

They reached the end of the hallway, and pivoted around to start another lap.

"But, for what's it worth, thanks."

Trapper laughed, "If it means not having to put up with those stares and looks of longing between the two of you, it will all be worth it… Hey, you tired of walking this hallway?"

Cody cocked his head, "Why? What'd you have in mind?"

Trapper checked his chrono, "Thought we'd go someplace a bit more lively. You up for a longer walk?"

Cody looked unsure, "I should probably check in with Barriss…"

Trapper sighed, "She's stuck in that meeting. Come on, live a little." He tugged on Cody's arm, "Let's go."

Cody shrugged, "Alright. I'll do it. Lead on."

# # #

Barriss sat in her weekly meeting idly twirling her empty teacup in her hands. She considered getting up to get some more hot water… _anything_ to make the time pass faster.

Back in the Jedi Temple, or aboard the starships, she used to have to sit in long meetings just like this one. Never mattered what the topic was… these meetings never got any more palatable. She tried to look like she was actually paying attention to General blah-blah-blah who was speaking. He was giving a most detailed explanation of new evacuation procedures, and the roles and responsibilities of everyone aboard. Couldn't fault the man for his thoroughness. Barriss' mind began to wander to other topics that we're slightly more interesting.

Her mind wandered back to the dream she'd had the evening before. What was that all about?

Her fingers trailed round and around the rim of the plasti cup that now held just the quickly congealing remains of her cold tea bag.

She'd made vividly passionate love to Commander Cody, up against a wall, no less. Whoa. After that, they declared their undying love for each other, and then… she watched him...

Even now, it was hard to think about the ending of the dream. Seeing Cody getting destroyed in the end was almost more than she could take. After leaving the commander's room, she'd lain awake the rest of the night. The haunting image replayed in her mind over and over again.

"Are there any questions?"

_Oh, thank the Force. This meeting is finally drawing to a close. Please, nobody ask any questions... Ugggh! There's always somebody who has to go and ask a question! Now, we all have to sit here and actually pretend we are interested in hearing the answer to that! The only thing I want answered is 'what has my clone commander been up all this time while I have been sitting in this meeting all afternoon...'_

Barriss sat perched on the edge of her chair, datapad and plasticup clutched in hand, ready to bolt as soon as they were dismissed.

"If there are no more questions?"

Barriss sent just the lightest Force nudge of peace and calmness over the group.

"No questions? None?"

Peace and calm. Peace and calm. No questions. Just peace and calm.

"OK, then, dismissed."

Barriss tossed her cup in the incini-unit and fled the conference room.

"Well, that was an interesting meeting, wasn't it?" she overheard one of the doctors comment to another, "I think the new procedures will certainly-"

Barriss tuned out the rest of the conversation as bolted ahead of the doctors so he could beat them to the lift.

_That was interesting? Kriff! I'd hate to be in on a meeting that those doctors actually deemed boring!_

She tapped her fingers over the entry code to the apartment, and eagerly entered. "Cody? I'm home. I mean, I'm back."

The apartment was strangely silent. "Cody?"

She wondered if he was sleeping. Trapper was supposed to come by to help him with his therapy. Maybe he'd overdone it a bit, and decided to rest afterwards. Barriss headed to Cody's room, expecting to find him asleep on his bed. Maybe if she was quiet, she could sit and watch him sleep for a while. Watching him sleep was, admittedly, one of her favorite pastimes. Her steps quickened as she headed toward his room.

Cody's bedroom was empty.

"Cody?" Barriss started to panic. She rushed toward the one refresher in the apartment. The door was open. She hurried in, worried she might find the commander passed out on the floor from some tragic fall in the shower. But, the refresher was also suspiciously empty of her favorite clone.

Now, she was in full-scale panic mode. Cody was nowhere to be found.

# # #

"You getting tired?"

"I'm fine."

"You're a lousy liar."

"Trap, I'm _fine_. Where the frak are we going anyway?"

The ARF grinned, and pointed to a door just down the hallway, "There."

"And, what's down there?" Cody asked, looking at the non-descript doorway. They'd walked quite a ways from his apartment, back into the main part of the medical complex.

"You'll see. Come on, you're almost there. You're doing great. You'd never know you almost got fried in a minefield."

"Well, thanks."

"OK, we're here. You can do the honors."

Trapper's good arm was occupied with supporting Cody, so he didn't have an arm free to hit the door access panel. The Commander jammed the button, and the two entered the room.

"Commander!"

Cody blinked in surprise, as he was greeted by a number of familiar faces. He looked around and realized he was in the physical therapy room. He glanced back at Trapper, who grinned and shrugged. "All of us are usually in here at this time of day. You were up and about, so I figured I'd drag you down here to join us riffraff."

Working on various pieces of equipment around the room were the same men who had joined him in his apartment a few days prior, Trapper, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Woolley, Waxer, Fives, Echo, Kix, and Hardcase. There was a new addition, now, too. Sitting up on a padded physical therapy table, being carefully examined by Asori, was Boil.

"Boil!"

"Hello, Commander. It's good to see you."

"Likewise."

Trapper and Cody made their way over to Boil's side. Both of his arms, and one of his legs, was still bandaged, but he had a huge grin on his face. He was obviously glad to be back with the rest of the group again.

"Asori, is it OK if we sit here?" Trapper asked, indicating the empty physical therapy table directly adjacent to the one Boil was one.

"Of course," Asori nodded.

Trapper hopped up, and extended his good arm, giving Cody a tug up. Several of the other clones crowded around, leaning or sitting around them or near them.

"I guess this means work time is over the day?" Asori said, not looking too put out.

Waxer smiled.

Asori shrugged, "I'll go lock the door."

"We've been doing some digging, Commander," Fives immediately volunteered.

"_Hacking_," Echoed clarified, proudly.

"That's what I said, Echo," Fives said, with an annoyed growl.

"Go on," Cody said, shaking his head with amusement, at the two new ARCs.

"We went through all past mission reports concerning the Kaz'harians," Fives said.

"Any reference we could find in the database about them at all," Echo clarified.

Fives gave his brother another annoyed glare that clearly said, _Let me tell the story, Echo._

"Nothing came up-"

"-until we found the mission report of a lone ARC-"

"named Catcher."

Cody's brow furrowed, "Who's Catcher?"

Fives shrugged, "One of the original ARCs apparently. Worked for Commander Bly."

"What does he have to do with the Kaz'harians?" Cody asked.

"He was sent on a mission to investigate possible Separatist activity on a planet called Darkknell in the Outer Rim."

"And?" Cody pressed.

"Well, here's where the story gets a bit caught up in Republic rules and procedures. Catcher was badly injured on the mission, and never had a chance to formally deliver his final mission briefing. His datapad was taken off of him when he was injured, and the information uploaded into the Republic databanks. But, no one ever really took the time to look at it, or make the connections."

"What connections?" the Commander asked patiently.

Fives pulled up a datapad off of his belt, and accessed a file, "This was in his mission report. These pictures… look familiar?"

"Yeah, those are Kaz'harians. So?" Hardcase commented, "we all say wayyyyy too many of them while on Kaz'haria."

"Yes, except these pictures weren't taken on Kaz'haria," Echo burst in, unable to remain quiet any longer.

"They were taken on Darkknell," Fives said, tapping his data screen, solemnly.

Everyone in the room went silent, as the implication of his words sank in.

"You think our missing people are being held on Darkknell?" Cody asked, quietly.

"It's the only other place these Kaz'harians have ever been spotted other than Kaz'haria, and we know they're not hiding them there."

"Where is this Catcher now?" Cody asked, reaching his hand out for the datapad.

Echo and Fives looked grim.

"What?" Cody asked.

Fives jaw got really tight, "He… was critically injured. Shot in the spine."

Cody took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to hear.

"They reconditioned him."

Even knowing it was coming, it still hit like a punch in the gut.

The room immediately grew silent, like the air had suddenly been sucked out of it. Asori's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to ask the question. Waxer shook his head, and mouthed the words, "Later."

Cody studied the mission briefing, and then looked at the two young ARCs. "So, Darkknell, huh?"

Both Fives and Echo nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Alright, then, let's set a date for banging out of here. We're headed to Darkknell."

# # #


	70. Chapter 70 Ahsoka and Rex

_A/N: Many thanks to Sachariah for noticing I had too many pages in this chapter, (some of the pages that I had intended for future chapters, ended up uploading with this one. It has since been corrected and re-uploaded. Thanks for catching this error.)_

_As I mentioned previously. Catcher's timeframe is lagging behind the rest of the story. This chapter will catch him up. I know this created some confusion last chapter. I did explain the timing in the Author's Notes last chapter. But, hey, who reads these things?_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 70 - Revised**

_[Note: Just to clarify, this first scene takes place about a week before Rex gets his knee replaced. And, the timing of the other scenes should be painfully obvious, no pun intended.]_

Rex and Travis stood side-by-side looking over Fisherman's Field. Both men nodded with satisfaction as they watched the various drills taking place.

"The snipers are certainly coming along nicely," Travis commented, nodding toward where Catcher was running his team through a series of exercises.

Rex watched the team for a long moment, and then grunted in agreement.

Travis arched an eyebrow at him, "Oh come on, take credit where it's due, Rex. It was a brilliant idea of yours to deploy the team the way you did. Those troopers are pouring everything into learning how to be snipers, and that ARC is a talented leader."

"All of them are motivated to succeed. That makes all the difference," Rex commented.

"And, that motivation came from you. Much as I hate to admit it, you inspire people, Rex."

The Captain turned and regarded his second with a skeptical expression, "Are you actually giving me a compliment?"

"Don't get used to it."

Under his helmet, Rex chuckled and went back to supervising the drills.

# # #

"Catcher, it's Captain Rex, come in."

Catcher looked up from where he was cleaning his armor. "Good to hear your voice, Captain. How are you feeling? How's the new knee?"

"The new knee is fine, thanks for asking. Me? They tell me I'm an irritable bastard, at the moment."

"Ah," the ARC wasn't quite sure what an appropriate response was to that, so he continued on, "how is Lieutenant Travis?"

There was a slight pause, and then, "I see that news travels fast around here."

"Yes. Blaze and Viper, you know."

"Providing you with more than just transportation, it seems."

"Oh, they're wired into everything that's going on in this town."

Catcher heard the Captain mutter something under his breath with regards to 'clones' and 'gossip.' Then, he continued on to say, "Well, last I heard, Travis was completely passed out from his surgery. He doesn't do anything half-assed. He apparently did a good job rearranging all the bones in his hand."

"Ouch."

"Yes, not that this tyrant of a doctor will let me see him," the Captain uttered a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat, and Catcher had to hold a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. He was glad he wasn't the only clone who'd butted heads with the doctor.

"Anyway," Rex cut to the point, "we need your help."

"Me, sir?"

"Catcher, why do you always sound surprised when we put you to good use around here?"

The ARC wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he remained silent.

"I'm out of commission from this knee thing, and Travis was supposed to take over…"

"Ah…"

"You see the problem."

"I do, sir."

"Well, stop calling me 'sir' because until otherwise notified you are in charge of the Ando Legion. And, don't you dare follow this up with a question doubting yourself. Got it?"

"Yes, Captain!" Catcher was grinning, even though he also a stab of nervousness. "I won't let you down."

"You haven't so far. I'll expect regular progress reports from here on out. Rex out."

The ARC just stared at his comm.

"What's going on?" Ashla walked into the kitchen, toweling off her hair from a shower. "You look a bit freaked out."

"Ah, yes, well, Captain Rex has asked me to take over the Ando Legion. Just temporarily. He and Lieutenant Travis are both sidelined for the moment."

"Yes, I heard about what happened to the Lieutenant directly from Karyn," Ashla lowered her voice to a conspiring whisper, "Although, I would have heard about it anyway. Everyone at the docks was talking about her, and that _thing_, she's got going on with her new man. Quite the sparks flying between them I hear. Someone saw them out in her driveway the other day. And, rumors has it she's been chasing him all over town."

Catcher shook his head, thinking about what Captain Rex had said about 'clones' and 'gossiping.' It seems the women of Ando were just as bad when it came to talk about the private life of the head of their town. "Uh huh, _anyway_, until one of them is back around again, well, it's, uh…"

Ashla smiled broadly, "The Captain put you in charge!"

The clone shrugged modestly, "Yes. Apparently."

"That's wonderful! We need to celebrate! I'm making you an extra special dinner tonight."

The ARC smiled in surprise, "Alright, that sounds great. I'll never turn down food. But, it's only fair if you let me help prepare it."

Ashla shook her head, and then stared upwards as if thanking some divine providence, "Thank you for dropping this one down from the skies."

Catcher cocked his head to the side, staring at her in puzzlement. Why did it seem odd that he kept offering to help? Weren't men supposed to equally share in the work? He shrugged, and turned his attention toward the preparation of the evening meal.

# # #

Ahsoka lay back after healing Appo. She was exhausted, and just wanted to sleep. But, she wouldn't allow her body to rest, not when she was finally free of the Force collar. She closed her eyes, and focused on sinking into meditation again. Once she closed her eyes again, she could feel herself drifting off to sleep.

_No, can't sleep! Have to contact Rex!_

She was so starved for the feel of his solid presence in his mind that her body actually began quivering with anticipation as she thought of the 501st Captain.

_Focus, Ahsoka, _she told herself. _This can't work unless I'm focused._

Tapping into her newly honed meditation skills, she tamped down on her anticipation at contacting Rex again. Feeling at peace, and the Force filling her being, Ahsoka reached out to the one person that touched her spirit like no other…

_Rex? _

She hesitated while she awaited a response. What if she'd been wrong? Was it all just wishful thinking on her part? Maybe she had wanted so badly for him to not be dead, that she'd just imagined that she'd felt his presence-

_-Ahsoka!_

Suddenly, his strong masculine presence filled her mind with undeniable clarity. Ahsoka was overjoyed, as there was no denying that this was 'him.' She took several long moments to just bask in the feel of her Captain.

_It's true, then, you're alive!_

Not one to dwell on trivial matters, Rex's response was immediate and to the point:

_- Where are you, Ahsoka?_

_I'm… not sure… we were captured by the Kaz'harians. They took Master and General Kenobi. They're holding them in a lab. Rex, they're trying to clone them!_

She could feel Rex's astonishment, through their shared link.

_- Clone Jedi?_

_Yes, that's not all, they are also trying to clone the clones._

She could feel her Captain's serious military mind working through all the implications of what she was trying to tell him, followed by a solemn vow:

_- Ahsoka, I will find you. I am coming for you._

_# # #_


	71. Chapter 71 Getting ready

_Revised February 8, 2013 to fix some POV view, particularly in the love scene between Catcher and Ashla. I think I'm finally figuring out this POV thing. Gah, I'm slow sometimes._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 71**

"Alright, well, that's the last of the dishes," Ashla said, handing a freshly scrubbed pot over to Catcher for drying.

Using a trick he'd gathered from observing Captain Rex, Catcher kept himself leaned carefully up against the side of the counter so that he'd have both hands free. With quick expert, strokes, he dried the pan and replaced it back on its hook on the rack with the other cookware.

He dried his hands on the khaki pants Ashla had presented to him about a week before. He'd taken to wearing them after changing out of his armor each day. Ashla said these type of pants were commonly worn in the fishing trade. Catcher found the clothing to be both comfortable, and practicable, since seemed to have pockets everywhere. He didn't much about fishing, other than what he'd heard from Hok, but thought the pockets could be useful for things like ammo packs.

Ashla had made enigmatic comments, saying things such as the pants were a 'good look' on him. The following day after providing the pants, she'd procured him a snug fitting black tunic. When he'd asked her where the clothing had come from, she'd admitted that she'd purchased these items specifically for him.

Catcher looked around the kitchen, "So, what other household action items need attending to?"

Ashla laughed, "That's it. We're done."

The clone looked disappointed, "Oh."

"You're a chronic workaholic, know that? Hey, go sit in front of the fire, I need to put that gel on your back."

"That black goo?"

"Hey, that's top quality Andosian goo, and don't you forget it. Xyra thinks we might be able to even export it one day, assuming we ever actually get space travel off this rock again. So, stop complaining and go remove your shirt."

Catcher laughed, and grinned back at his hostess, "When you put it that way, it sounds much more appealing."

She flushed, red, and shook her head, but a smile was tugging at her lips as well.

Catcher headed over to the living room and lowered himself down onto the soft carpet in front of the fireplace. A cheerful fire burned within the stone grate chasing off the chill off the Andosian evening.

He slid his shirt off and waited for his host. He'd been staying with the ship's captain for ten days now. Applying the regenerative nerve gel had become a nightly ritual. The ARC had to admit that he rather looked forward to it.

Ashla sank down behind him. His sensitive ears detected the sound of the lid being unscrewed off the tub, and then he smelled the acrid, brine-laced tang of the healing gel. As Ashla applied her hands to his back, Catcher sucked in his breath.

"Did that hurt?"

"No, it's just that your hands are cold."

"Strange. You never complained about that before."

"That's because I never noticed-" the words stuck in his throat, and he turned around. His eyes met Ashla's.

She took her hand, and suddenly planted it right in the base of his spine. He arched up.

"Gah!" he complained, "Stop that! Your hands are as cold as Polus Prime!"

She laughed, "You can really feel that?"

He twisted around and pushed himself up on his elbows as he stared at the black mixture covering her hands, "Yes. I guess Hok and Captain Rex were right about this nerve regenerating stuff. It does appear to work."

Ashla shook her head, "Oh sure, give credit to Hok and your Captain. You know, it is _this_ ship's Captain here who does the actually work of gathering all of these materials up that have allowed you and your brothers-"

Her words were cut off by Catcher pulling her down toward him and placing a slightly clumsy but enthusiastic kiss on her lips. Her black schmeared hands placed themselves down on his bare chest, first balled up tightly in a fist. Then, slowly, her hands unclenched and she began stroking her hands down his sides.

The ARC broke off the kiss, looking a bit stunned himself, "Uh... that was to say thank you... You can warm your hands up on my back anytime."

Ashla looked up at him, breathlessly, taking a moment to find her voice, "Uh, you're welcome." She reached up a hand to touch her lips, inadvertently creating a black schmear on her face, "I like how you clones say thank you."

He laughed, a deep masculine sound that filled the room. His laughter died down, and they both grew serious again. Catcher reached up to brush away the gel that stained her lips used the tip of his thumb. Ashla kissed the sensitive tip of his finger and the ARC groaned from the simple pleasure of the sensation.

"Catcher," Ashla murmured.

"Hmmm…" the clone was leaning in to kiss Ashla again, obviously distracted at the moment.

"I was wondering…" the ship's Captain bit her lip nervously, looking down before looking up again.

"Yes?" Catcher stopped in his actions, and waited, wondering what it was that could have his benefactor so nervous that she could hardly get a sentence out. Ashla reached a hand out and stroked his lower spine. The clone shivered, amazed an area that was previously numb could produce such an explosion of sensation.

"Uh… I was just wondering…" Ashla whispered so quietly that Catcher had to strain to make out the words, "…how far down can you _feel _now?"

Catcher's eyes widened, hardly believing they were having this conversation. She looked up and met his eyes. He saw something there that he didn't expect to see in a woman's eyes again… desire. Desire for him.

He'd actually flirted with women before. Once. He and Bly had gone undercover as bodyguards once for General Secura at a diplomatic function. Several women there had openly flirted with them, and both men had enjoyed their attentions. Although, Catcher noticed the General eyeing them coolly when she figured out they had attracted such attention from the women in attendance. It had seemed to Catcher, at the time, the General's icy glares were more directed at Bly, than toward him. None of it had progressed beyond a bit of simple conversation and laughter, since they had a job to do. But, there was no doubt that the women were _flirting_ with them. It had been a powerful, heady feeling, and both men had talked about it for a long time afterwards. Now, Ashla was looking at him in _that_ way, except this was even more…

Catcher sucked in his breath as he realized the implications of what she was asking. _Kriff._

"I'm sorry," he said, immediately, flushing red, "I…"

"If you don't want…" she began, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

Catcher pivoted his body, and pulled Ashla onto his lap. His mouth descended onto hers, and he showed her immediately what he was feeling for her. He kissed her until they were both breathless.

"Yes, I want," he growled, "But, I was told after my injury, that I would not be able to do THAT again." He flushed, furiously, and confessed, head down, muttering, "Not that I had down it before." He began stroking his hands up her back, refusing to be deterred now that he had a beautiful woman who was interested in him again. He was through with wasting time and wasting chances, "There's a lot of other things I _can_ still feel, though."

Ashla nodded in understanding, and Catcher felt a thrill of victory as he saw a shiver of desire ran through the lovely Andoan woman. Catcher ran a trail of kisses up her neck, "Do you still want…"

Ashla groaned in response, and threaded her fingers into his hair.

The trooper turned her head so he could capture her lips with his own. She groaned into his mouth, and he smiled with his satisfaction. Then, he pulled back, and gave her a thoughtful look. He said, with mock seriousness, "Seems unfair, then, that I'm the only here with my shirt off…"

Ashla's eyes widened as she saw Catcher's hands coming toward her. He fumbled with the unfamiliar catches and latches on her clothing, but with some help from her hands, he managed to get her shirt off.

"Much better," the ARC murmured, staring in wonder as her half-nude form was revealed in the flames of the fire. He felt a slow burning flame coiling deep within his belly, and suddenly he wanted to see all of her. He reached for her again and soon he had Ashla completely bared to his sight. Catcher began exploring the lovely ship's Captain with his mouth and hands, and he delighted in every responding moan and shiver he received in response. They spent the night in front of the fireplace until the flames burned down and a chill began to spread through the house, but Catcher continued to warm Ashla with the heat of his body. He followed instinct and was rewarded when she cried out with pleasure. She fell against him exhausted and fell immediately asleep. They slept there on the rug in the living room with his larger muscular frame wrapped protectively around hers. He woke up first in the morning and just looked around the room, feeling Ashla's body pressed back against his, amazed at how much he could _feel_.

# # #

Catcher finished cleaning his sniping rifle, and snapped the barrel back on. He looked up as he sensed a presence at the door.

"Hey, ARCie," Blaze greeted, as he walked in, followed by Viper.

The commando studied Catcher for a long moment, critically, "You're looking particularly fit, this morning."

Catcher shrugged, and stood, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He caught his balance easily now, and could manage his hydraulic braces with just a single crutch.

Viper turned toward his fellow commando, "Have to admit, he's really shaped up."

Blaze nodded in agreement.

Catcher waited patiently, "Come on, guys, I'm ready." He waited for the two commandos to haul him out like a sack of ammo, as was their daily habit.

Instead, the two exchanged a look, and simply held the door open for him. "After you, Captain Catcher," Blaze said.

The ARC looked back and forth between the two, realizing he'd finally passed their 'test.' He gave them a crisp nod, head held high, and proceeded out the door ahead of them into the crisp Andoan sunshine.

# # #

Rex was awoken in the middle of the night by Ahsoka again. He opened himself up to her presence, getting used to the feeling of her being in his mind.

_- Ahsoka, what happened to you?_

Rex relayed to her the confused bits and pieces he'd gotten from the battle. He could feel the Jedi's dismay as she began gathering her thoughts, and then sent back her memories from that day.

- _It was a trap? But, how? Who-_

_I don't know, Rex. Somebody must have betrayed us. Someone who had access to all of our plans. We should have won this battle. Instead, they captured most of the 501st and a good portion of the 212th._

_- What happened to Cody?_

_I don't know. I haven't seen any sign of him since before the battle began. I heard there was a terrible explosion. A minefield. It was all so confusing. I don't know anything for sure. I'm sorry._

The Captain felt a terrible sense of dread. His newfound joy at discovering Ahsoka again was tempered with haunting images of what might have happened to the commander of the 212th. He lay awake for hours, sorting through the images and messages from Ahsoka, and thinking about Cody.

# # #

"Alright, up, you lazy barve. Time to start walking," Travis strode into Rex's room, and shook the Captain awake.

"Huh? What time is it?" Rex looked around, disoriented; feeling like he'd just closed his eyes.

"Listen to you! A few days of bed rest and you've become totally soft!" Travis strode over to the window, and yanked open the blinds. Early morning sunlight streamed into the room. "You plan on sitting around on your shebs forever, Rex?"

Rex put up a hand to shield his eyes from the light, "Cut it out, Travis."

"Hurry up!" Travis smacked Rex on the back of the head, earning an angry glare from his brother, "You couldn't wait to get up the other day, and now you're sluggish as a Hutt."

Rex pushed himself up to a sitting position, and growled, "Touch me again, Travis, and I'll break your other arm."

"That's the spirit! Karyn said now that the swelling is down in your knee, you can start doing some weight-bearing."

"Then, why are _you_ here instead of her?"

The Lieutenant grinned wryly, "Karyn thought you'd respond better to me. You may find this hard to believe, Rex, but there are people out there who find you a bit... uh, difficult."

"_Me_?" Rex scoffed, "_I'm _the difficult one?"

Travis nodded happily, obviously enjoying the conversation, "Yes. Karyn and I had a lengthy conversation on that exact topic."

Rex's eyes narrowed, "Yes. I'll bet you did." He threw off the covers, "Fine. Let's do this."

"Uh, Rex, you want to put some pants on?" Travis pointed to the Captain's black boxers.

"Feeling intimidated, Travis?"

"Intimidated? Hah! More like-"

From downstairs, a voice shouted, "You two, stop arguing, and start working already!"

In unison, the two clones both quickly acknowledged, "Yes, ma'am."

"Now see what you did," Travis hissed, "you got us in trouble. Like usual."

"Me?" Rex countered, stabbing an accusing finger in Travis' direction, "_you're_ the one who always gets us in trouble. Case in point-"

"Travis!" a shout, then warning footsteps came stomping up the stairs. Karyn came through the door. "You said you could handle him."

"I _am_ handling him."

Karyn growled in irritation, and stalked over to the dresser. She yanked out a pair of soft pants, and helped ease Rex's newly healing leg into the pants. Then, she nodded crisply, indicating he should finishing getting dressed on his own. The doctor then whirled on Travis, "This is not hyperdrive science, Travis. Try _again_." She left the room in a huff, and the two clones could hear her footsteps retreating down the wooden stairs.

Rex looked up, and noticed Travis was grinning. "She's beautiful when she's angry," he gazed fondly at where the doctor had disappeared.

The Captain snorted, "Glad you think so, because she seems to be angry a lot."

"Hey, she's under a lot of stress, OK? I'm trying to help her with some of her workload. Between the clinic, and the running of the town, she hardly has time to eat, let alone sleep. I'm pitching in so she can relax a bit more."

"Yeah, I can hear the two of you 'relaxing' at least twice a night, and several times during the day. What happened to warning me so I could at least use my helmet as a noise filter?" Rex grumbled.

Travis laughed, "Sorry. I swear, it's always spontaneous for us. We'll just be doing something else, and then, we'll like brush up against each other, and that's all it takes. Oh, and at night, well, Karyn likes it when I put my-"

"Ahhhhhh! I don't need to hear the details, Travis!"

"You brought it up."

"And, I'm regretting it already because now those awful images will forever be burned into my brain. Can we get on with this?"

"That's more like it, Rex! See? I knew this arrangement would work out. Karyn had her doubts. You being so difficult, and all. But, I assured her if I could take down angry of hordes of rabid, slimy Geonosians that I could handle one Captain Rex_._

"Thanks. That's a great analogy."

"I thought so," Travis helped Rex slide his leg to the side of the bed, and carefully maneuvered it down to the floor. "OK, you ready to try this?"

Rex nodded, taking a bracing breath.

"Alright, put most of your weight on your good leg, and just ease a little bit of weight on that lovely new knee of yours. Don't overdo it."

Rex immediately reared back, as pain shot up his leg. "Kriff! That hurts, Travis!"

The Lieutenant showed no pity, "Karyn said to expect that. You haven't used your quads in months, so those muscles are gonna' be stiff and tight. She said to expect a lot of bellowing."

Rex glared at Travis, "I do _not_ bellow."

The amused Marine arched an eyebrow, "Then, what do you just call that noise you just made?"

"That was…" Rex shook his head, "nevermind… let's try this again."

Travis turned toward his brother, "Hey, look, having just stupidly snapped my arm in two, I'm sympathetic on the pain front here. But, we've got to do this if you're going to start walking again. And, I've volunteered to help you do that, OK?"

Rex nodded, "Yeah. Fair enough. Thanks, Travis, by the way."

Travis shook his head, "Ugggh! Don't thank me, Rex. It destroys the whole thing we got going between us, you know?"

The Captain laughed, "You're right. Sorry," and then for good measure, he threw in, "Di'kut."

"That's better. Let's try it again. Up you go."

Rex gritted his teeth and stood, leaning heavily on his brother.

# # #


	72. Chapter 72 A daring escape

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 72**

"Hey, that's good, Rex. Later on today, we'll try the stairs. Then, you can start doing physical therapy downstairs in the afternoon with Catcher and the others. It's real social. You'll like it."

"Is Catcher managing alright, with the drills?"

"Amazingly well, actually. Those two other commandos, Viper and Blaze, have been backing him up. Between the three of them they're teaching the Legion some intriguing tactics," he gave Rex an amused grin, "I've been stopped by there for a bit each day to watch the practices, but to be honest, I hardly think they miss us at all."

The Captain smiled, "That is good to hear, actually. Glad to hear that ARC is working out."

Travis nodded, "He's a fine officer. Interesting guy, too. I've been talking with him when he comes in here for therapy."

"Yeah, I've spoken with a few times. Seems to have an interesting past… alright, let's continue. "

# # #

"Before you attempt the stairs, Karyn wanted you to have a new knee brace. Tek and I made it together, and we custom did the measurements based on, well, him and me. Anyway, it should fit you."

Travis held out the brace to Rex who studied it critically. "It's blue," he said, studying the lightweight, yet sturdy brace of interlocking metal and synth-plastic parts.

The Lieutenant shrugged, "Thought you might like something that matches your armor. Rah-rah, go five oh first, and all that shab."

"Did you paint this, Travis?" Rex studied the brace, pushing on it, testing the flexibility.

"Yeah, I did," he shrugged.

"It's…" the Captain studied it, touched by the effort his brothers had put into making this piece of equipment for him.

Travis put up a hand, not willing to take any credit or praise, "Don't say it," he grumbled.

"Yeah, OK," Rex smacked Travis affectionately on the shoulder, and Travis cuffed his brother lightly on the back of the head in return.

"Let me help you with that. Sit down and hold your leg straight out. I'll show you how it works. This will provide you with a lot of support while your leg continues to heal. It's a product of a lot of clone ingenuity."

Rex nodded, staring down at the brace while Travis showed him how to put it on. Suddenly, he was hit with images from Ahsoka.

Ahsoka's voice cried out in his head, _Rex, help!_

# # #

"Commander Appo, how are you feeling?"

Appo sat up carefully and tested his limbs. He still felt somewhat weak from the prolonged fever, but he was definitely _better_.

"I'm on the mend. Thank you, Commander Tano."

"I'd like to try to get out of here. I'm worried about Master and Obi Wan. I also need to figure out where we are so that I can tell… " Ahsoka paused, realizing she couldn't exactly tell Appo about her relationship with Rex. "…uh… we also need to get help."

"Understood, Commander. I'll do whatever I can to help. What's the plan?"

"I think we need to distract the guards, and the best time to do that would be during feeding time. We have the advantage of surprise, since they don't know I'm free of the collar. They also think that you're still very sick. We can use both of those things to our advantage. Now, all we need to do is lure the guards into our cell."

"How do you propose to do that?"

"Well… I was thinking of playing dead."

"Excuse me?"

"Both of us. I'm assuming they must have a policy about cleaning out the dead due to the smell and the sanitation issues. If they are the assumption that we're both dead, they'll have to open the door to the cell."

"Makes sense. But, how do we convince them we're dead?"

"Yes, I've been trying to work that part out. I think we need to leave our food and water untouched. Neither of us can move whenever the guards come by. And, I need to keep sending them strong Force suggestions."

"Suggestions such as 'they're dead.'?"

"Exactly."

Appo looked thoughtful. He was still very tired, so lying still for long periods of time was not going to be an issue. He was sorry that he couldn't have any food or water, especially now that his body was healing. But, it was a solid enough plan.

"Alright," he nodded his head, "let's do it."

# # #

_- You're going to try to break out?_

_Yes, Rex, I have to do something. Master and Obi Wan are in trouble. Appo said they were bad off when he saw them there in the lab._

_- Ahsoka, it's too dangerous. There's so much that could go wrong-_

_Rex, I can't just sit here._

_- I'm going to come for you, Ahsoka!_

_How can you come for me if I can't tell you where I am?_

_- There must be another way. You could be killed-_

_I'm a Jedi. This is who I am. I can't sit back when it is in my power to try and help. I must go after my Master and Obi Wan._

_- I don't like it. No, it's too dangerous. You can't._

_You're still trying to protect me, know that?_

_- If only I could. I miss you, Ahsoka._

# # #

"Rex, do you sleep at all at night, you look awful," Travis said, giving his brother a critical look.

Rex pushed himself up to one elbow, and looked blearily at Travis. "Huh? Is it morning already?" He looked down at his chrono, and swore.

Travis gave him a worried look, "You want me to come back later, or something? Honestly, you aren't looking too good."

The Captain pushed himself up, "No. I'm fine. Hand me some pants, will you?"

The Lieutenant scowled, but grabbed a clean pair of pants out of the dresser and tossed them to Rex. The Captain set them aside for a moment.

"Tex and I had an idea for an improvement to the brace. It might increase your range-of-motion while making the brace more comfortable to wear. We were thinking…"

Travis stared at Rex. "Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? Sorry, just lost in thought."

"You do that a lot, you know."

"Must be my old age," Rex tossed out.

"You came out of the gestation vat like seconds before me!"

"Yeah, but I was still first."

Travis laughed, "Well, good to see your sense of humor is still intact. Alright, did you hear anything I said with regards to your knee brace?"

"Yeah, I did. Sounds like a good idea."

"OK, I just need to take some measurements, and then borrow your brace for a day."

Travis noticed Rex had totally tuned him out again, "Hey, you OK?"

Rex suddenly dropped the pants to the floor. His eyes completely glazed over. Travis shook Rex's shoulder. "Hey, Rex! What's wrong?"

The Marine suddenly recoiled in shock, as his mind was flooded with images.

# # #

Ahsoka held her body completely still as she heard the door to the cell grate open. There was some harsh conversation in the Kaz'harians guttural language, and then heavy footsteps padded over to Appo's still form. Her eyes were closed, but she sensed one of the large ape-like creatures kick the still clone. She seized up in shock, but to his credit, no sound came forth from Appo.

She then heard one of the guards walk toward her, muttering in puzzlement. He poked her harshly in the shoulder. Ahsoka let her body drape limply to the side. The guard jabbed at her several more times, and the Jedi allowed herself to fall completely lax to the cold stone floor, not moving.

Focusing her Force skills, then, Ahsoka sent a single strong burst toward the guard's mind:

_They're both dead. Let's remove the bodies._

She saw the guard pause, and shake his head for a moment, frowning.

Ahsoka sent the thought again, even stronger:

_Prisoners are dead. Remove the bodies._

The guard signaled to his companion to grab Appo, and gathered Ahsoka up over his shoulder.

# # #

Ahsoka didn't dare open her eyes, so she stretched out with her Jedi senses. She sent Appo a strong sense of calm, urging him to remain as he was. She could sense that they were being carried up and away from the dungeoness cellblock that had been her unwilling home for many weeks now.

After a long series of steps, her nose told her that they had entered the area that was being used for the disposal of bodies. This was likely an area that was not heavily guarded. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, and began descending down a flight of stairs, Ahsoka made her move. She knew the guard would be off-balance while on the stairs, and not expecting the 'body' to fight back.

She sprang up and jabbed the points of two fingers directly into the guards' eyes. He bellowed in pain and reared back, swiping at her with a beefy fist. She dodged the blow, and immediately began striking at vulnerable points in his joints. From behind her, she heard Appo engaging in a fight with his guard. With the element of surprise, the Kaz'harian was quickly unconscious at her feet. She turned to aid Appo, but he already had his guard in a chokehold. With a vicious snap, he broke the guard's neck.

"Commander, behind you!" Appo warned, grabbing a blaster off of the guard and quickly dispatching the two technicians who'd been running up the stairs to assist. They both fell dead off blast wounds to the middle of the forehead.

The clone grabbed a blaster out of the unconscious guard at Ahsoka's feet, and then unceremoniously shot him in the head. The Jedi opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. Appo tossed her the blaster, and then looked up at her, awaiting further orders.

"Do you remember how to get to the lab?" Ahsoka asked.

Appo's brow furrowed, "It was up several levels. This whole place is a stone fortress. Dark corridors. Staircases. Ancient. The only modern thing in it was the lab. I think it was on the top level."

Ahsoka nodded, and indicated that he should lead the way. They cautiously crept out into the darkened stone corridor.

# # #

"Master!" Ahsoka cried out in alarm when she caught sight of Anakin, strung up in the lab. It was, just as the Commander had described, an oasis of modern, familiar technology, amidst all the darkened, ancient stone of the old fortress. It must have been night, since the lights in the lab were dimmed, and there were no attendants. They'd met little resistance in the corridors on the way as they crept their way up to the top level. Fate seemed to have smiled upon them. It seemed that the Kaz'harians were diurnal creatures, and not overly active at night.

Her Master was strung up by a pair of Force binders, held up against the wall, bound hand and foot. He didn't respond at all when Ahsoka called his name. She looked around the dimly lit room for Obi Wan, and finally spotted him in a far corner, strapped to a table. She nodded to Appo, who went to go to check on the General. In a few other places in the lab, strapped to tables, were clone troopers. One of them weakly stirred and called out to Appo as he walked by. He stopped, and conversed in low tones with his brother. He was about to release the bindings on his fellow trooper, when he stopped, and looked back at his commanding officer.

"What's the plan, General?" there was something in his tone of voice that suggested he wanted to release his brother, but the obedient soldier in him prevented him from saying as much. He stood there, body taut, not touching the bindings.

"Help me figure out a way to get Master down from here. We need to figure out where we are. See if we can signal help. Or, if we can commandeer a ship."

Appo nodded, and began looking over the controls. He studied them intently, and then scowled. "Don't suppose you can read, Kaz'harian, Commander Tano?"

The Jedi shook her head, "Sorry. You're just going to have to guess."

The clone muttered, "I _hate_ guessing…. Alright, then…" his fingers wavered over the control panel for a moment, hesitating and then he selected a button at random. They both looked around expectantly. Nothing happened. He shrugged, and jabbed at a second button. All of a sudden, a keening alarm went off, breaking the still silence of the lab. "Kriff!" Appo drew his blaster, and turned to face the door, "that's why I hate guessing!"

# # #

Deciding he needed better cover, Appo leapt behind one of the empty lab tables. Ahsoka was still at one of the control panels, frantically studying the display, and looking up at her Master.

"Commander, get down!" Appo barked, as the door opened and a number of Kaz'harian guards came thundering in. The Jedi nimbly leaped behind the table and drew her blaster, joining Appo. From their position, it was relatively easily to take down the first wave of combatants that came into the lab.

The Kaz'harians retreated, and all was silent.

"I don't like this," Appo peered out, cautiously, blaster drawn. "That was too easy."

Ahsoka sprang back up, resuming her position at the control panel. Heaving an impatient sigh, Appo rose up and covered her, glancing uneasily at the doorway. A moment later, blaster fire resumed. Red bolts cut across the lab headed straight for Ahsoka. Appo dove on top of Ahsoka driving her straight down to the floor of the lab. The bolts just nearly missed both of them, the heat searing by closing enough to be felt on the edges of their bare skin.

"Thanks," Ahsoka said, from her position, squished underneath the clone's form.

"Yeah, this is getting to be habit, Commander," the clone commented, but as he met her eyes, there was a twinkle of amusement in them. He smoothly rolled off of her, and they both took cover behind the control panel station. Blaster fire stopped again, and once again things were quiet.

Appo met Ahsoka's eyes, and he gave her a concerned look. A moment later they heard the hiss of escaping gas.

"Nergon!" Appo hissed, recognizing the scent of the non-lethal nerve toxin. He stood up, and made a charge for the gas canister. Halfway there, he was taken down by a blaster shot to the hip.

"Appo!" Ahsoka cried out, eyes tearing from the effects of the Nergon gas.

The clone commander pulled himself back up, dragging his injured leg, and dove at the canister. His fingers had almost closed around the gas canister, when a second blaster bolt caught him right in the chest. He shuddered, and lay still.

"No!" Ahsoka could feel her body succumbing to the numbing effects of the nerve toxin. All of her limbs began to feel cold, and the blaster fell from her numb fingertips. She tried to use the Force to counteract the effects of the gas. But, the toxin was too powerful.

She heard the heavy footsteps of the Kaz'harian guards thudding over towards her. Ahsoka reached out in the Force and sent out a desperate message to her last hope.

"Rex, help!"

# # #

"What the kriff was that?" Travis demanded.

Rex held his head in hands, ignoring his brother.

"Rex! Talk to me! What _was_ that? Wasn't that Appo? And, who was that…" Travis gasped, as recognition dawned, "…. the girl… that's _**your**_… she's the one!"

Rex gaped at Travis.

Travis jabbed an accusing finger at his brother, "I'm right, aren't I? She's the one, the one that you've been refusing to talk about every since we crashed here?" He rubbed at his head, "Kriff… that was the _weirdest_ sensation... I feel like I'm gonna' puke."

The Captain was still staring in disbelief, "I don't understand this."

Travis sat down on the bed, still rubbing at his temple, "So, vode, you gonna' tell me what in the nine hells of Corellia is going on?"

# # #


	73. Chapter 73 Final preparations

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 73**

"Rex, what was that!" Travis demanded an explanation for the painful blast of images he'd just seen.

But, the Captain's eyes had taken on a slightly defocused look, and he appeared not to hear anything that was being said to him.

_Ahsoka! Are you alright? What happened?_

Rex desperately waited for a reply, replaying the Togrutan's anguished cry for help in his head again and again.

_Come on, Ahsoka. Answer me! What's going on?_

Rex called out to Ahsoka but it was like calling out to a void. There was no response at all.

With a frustrated growl, Rex snapped his eyes back open again. He found himself staring right into the concerned visage of Travis.

"Rex! Shab," Travis' uninjured hand was on Rex's shoulder, firmly shaking him. "I thought you were having a seizure or something. You completely zoned out. Do you want me to call Karyn?"

The Captain didn't respond right away, so the Lieutenant reached for his comlink.

Rex grabbed his hand, "Don't."

Travis narrowed his eyes, "What's going on, Rex?"

Rex groaned, and ground a knuckle into his eye wearily, "Travis, what I'm about to tell you has to stay between us."

"Kriff, Rex. We're vatmates. We can't stand each other. But, we trust each other."

"Trav," Rex blew out a long breath, "what I'm about to tell you goes so beyond any stunt we ever pulled at Kamino."

The Lieutenant snorted, "Come on, seriously. With how bored we got on that water-logged-", he stopped at the look his brother was giving him. Travis looked uncomfortable, and he idly tugged a string off the sleeve of his thick canvas shirt. "How long has all of this stuff been going on with you, Rex?" His tone sounded mildly hurt, and betrayed.

Rex paused, gathering his thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain these life-altering events to the clone he'd known all his life, "In the beginning… I didn't even know how to interpret what I was seeing. I thought they were just a combination of nightmares, and hallucinations."

Travis' eyes narrowed, "That second day, when we were sharing a tent, you woke up from some kind of 'nightmare.' But, that was no random dream." He wagged a finger at his fellow clone, "it was _this_? This was happening back then?" 

Rex sighed, and nodded, "I think the Jedi call these cursed things visions."

The Marine's jaw dropped, "This is some kind of shabla Force thing?"

Rex scowled, "Unfortunately, yes."

Travis' face clearly showed his distress, "Fierfek!" He took several deep breaths, as he absorbed this new information, then demanded, "well, how is _that_ possible? We're clones!"

"I don't know, Travis. It makes no sense to me either. We shouldn't be able to do this, yet..."

"We can," Travis finished.

"Yeah," Rex grimly finished.

"The Kaminoans would absolutely snap a brain cell if they knew."

Rex snorted, "Would love to see that," he stretched and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed, "I do think they're involved, somehow, though."

Travis' eyes widened, "Blast, Rex. Now you're just scaring me. You _trying_ to get me to piss my handsome new civvy clothes?"

Rex looked dubiously at how close Travis was sitting next to him, and scooted over a good foot to put some distance between them. His brother gave him a wicked grin, and closed the gap again. Rex sighed, shook his head, and continued on, "I don't know, Travis. I've been thinking about this a lot. Remember when we sliced into our record files as cadets?"

"Uh, you're going to have to be more specific. We did that more than once. If I recall, we _excelled _at cracking Kammy terminals."

"Er… they were a bit lacking in security protocols. I'm thinking of the time we were trying to settle that bet about our lifeday."

Travis frowned, "That one. Which of us came out of the vat first."

"Which, of course, turned out to _me.._."

The Marine narrowed his eyes, "So not fair."

"Moving on. Anyway, remember how we ended up uncovering more data than we expected such as-"

Travis' eyes lit up at the memory, "-the fact that our DNA had been genetically altered...frak loads more than the average clone DNA."

Rex nodded, thoughtfully, "Yes, it was all such technical detail and we weren't interested in it at the time."

Travis smirked, "No, if I recall correctly, you were somewhat interested, but I think I slugged you-"

Rex smiled fondly,"-ah, yes, because you were mad about the bet." He snaked one hand out and planted his fist in Travis' stomach. As his brother doubled over, the Captain chuckled, "Payback. Anyway, now, I'm kind of wishing we would have taken the time to examine that data more carefully. I think it would have presented some clues as to what we're going through right now."

"You think the Kaminoans did this to us on purpose?" Travis gasped out, weakly, his one good hand clutching his stomach.

"No, if they had, I think they would have marketed this to the Jedi at an extreme premium. The only thing the Kaminoans love more than science is… money. Force-enabled clones would be worth a fortune."

Travis coughed once and straightened up, giving his stomach one last rub for good measure. His eyes widened as he thought about what Rex had just said, "Kriff, Rex! Of course they didn't know. They were just about to recondition us."

The Captain's lips twisted in a sardonic smile, "Joke would have been on them, huh?"

"Yeah, but we'd have been dead. So, not like we'd have been around to appreciate it."

"That's why we tell no one about this cursed stuff," Rex couldn't suppress an involuntary shudder, "You can imagine what would happen to us if they found out what we could do. I think the Kaminoans were trying for something else, and this was an unexpected side effect. They were probably just trying to make us faster, smarter, and stronger."

The Marine puffed up a bit, throwing his good arm around Rex's shoulders, "Well, brother, we are all that."

Rex threw Travis' arm off, "You _do_ actually have a point there. Remember, when we entered command school, we were told that we'd been specially picked 'from the start' to be command clones?"

The Lieutenant snorted, "Yes, I remember that ticked you off to no end, because you were under the impression you could only be picked based upon merit alone."

Rex frowned, "I was top of my class, Travis, and had worked hard to get there. I always wanted to command, but I wanted to _earn_ that right, not be given that right. Suddenly, I find out we had an unfair advantage all along. I never understood why that distinction never seemed to matter so much to you."

"Hey, I worked hard, too. I just wasn't so obsessive about everything like you. We made it into command school. Happy day. I was more of a live for the moment kind of guy."

"I wasn't obsessive."

"You were the most obsessed clone on Kamino, Rex. We were in command school. We weren't dead. That placed us so far above many of our classmates. You're the only clone I know who can look at success as a bad thing."

The Captain just shook his head at that comment.

Travis stabbed a finger at his brother, "When you found out that we were actually _bred_ to be better, you were more impossible to live with than usual."

Rex grimaced at the memory, "Made everything I worked for seem meaningless."

Travis shook his head, "Still not seeing the issue."

Rex paused for a long moment, before continuing, "Travis, there were times when almost all of my men were wiped out, yet I survived. That happened to me _twice. _All I could think afterwards is why didn't the Kaminoans give the others the advantages I had? Maybe they could have reacted faster, too."

Travis shook his head, "And, you think _that_ little bit would have made a difference? And, kept them alive?"

"Well, why didn't they give them that same DNA? Why make them slower? Why did I always live through the battles, and not them? If the technology was there to make the faster, then why not give a soldier every advantage on a battlefield?" He gritted his teeth in frustration, and muttered, "So many things about this war just don't add up sometimes." Rex heaved out a long breath, "You wanted my command so badly, Travis? That's the reality of it. That's the stuff that goes through my head at night when I think of all the men that died under my command."

"Kriff, Rex."

He stared at Travis, unflinchingly, "One of the places that I lost my men was Teth. My entire company… except for five men. We were trapped inside this monastery, pinned down by droids… and… then, that assassin came."

"Ventress?"

Rex nodded. Even now the memory gave him an involuntary shiver, but he took a deep breath and continued, "She... wanted information on Skywalker. She… pinned me up against the wall…" the clone subconsciously reached a hand up to his neck, and began to rub his throat. "Then… began choking me. She did it just using her mind. Jedi can do that. Skywalker does it, too, when he's _really _angry." The Captain scowled, revealing his displeasure at the memories it evoked when his boss pulled that particular stunt. He frowned again, seemingly lost in thought. Travis put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. Rex snapped out of it, nodded, and continued. "Uh…. yeah… there's more… she did more than just try to choke me with her mind."

"What she'd do?" asked Travis, completely intrigued by the story.

Rex blew out a breath, obviously reluctant to continue, "Uh…she… uh… she… tried to forcefully pry her way into my brain."

Travis gave his brother a concerned look. "What? How?" he demanded.

Rex grabbed his knee brace off the bed, and idly fiddled with the enclosures. He ripped the velcro open and shut, making 'pfffft' noises. "Well… uh….I pretended to cooperate… but, at the same time, I used it as a opportunity to signal the General that something was up."

Getting totally annoyed with the velcro, Travis grabbed the brace from Rex. He held Rex's leg in place, and slid the brace in place with easy, practiced moves, "And, then?"

Rex scowled, "That was it… really. She just tossed me into a wall like a Muja fruit. Busted a few of my ribs. I blacked out. When I woke up, she was gone."

Travis adjusted the straps on the brace, "How's that feel?" Rex flexed his knee gingerly and nodded his approval. "So, go on? What happened next?" the Lieutenant prompted.

"It did something to my head… being in contact with her… like I had to put up shields somehow to keep her out of my head. And, I don't know how I did it. Just instinctively I was able to it. It felt awful, though."

Travis listened to all of this with a look of both fascination and horror.

"Ever since then, some weird, dormant part of my brain has been activated or something," the Captain struggled for words to explain all these new and frightening changes.

Travis scowled, "Seriously? And, now you've somehow done the same to me?"

"This is not my fault!" Rex said defensively.

"It's not? Well, if I hadn't been around you, then this thing," Travis pointed to his head, "wouldn't have switched on. Now, _I'm _some kind of freak."

"Hey!" Rex said, defensively.

"Ugggggh!" Travis gritted his teeth in frustration, "can you just _imagine_ what the Kaminoans would do to us?"

Rex glare at Travis, "_Yes_. I've imagined that _a lot_, actually. Just one of the many things that kept going through my head on our way to Kamino."

"This is a mess, Rex," Travis said simply. The fight gone out him, he stretched out fully on the bed, and leaned his head back against Rex's pillow.

Rex glanced down at him, "Make yourself comfortable, Trav."

The Lieutenant yawned and closed his eyes, "Uh huh. I will."

Rex tapped Travis on the shoulder to get his attention, so he could talk to him. Once Travis' eyes were back open again, Rex asked, "Hey, you planning on sleeping?"

"Hey, I don't get a lot of rest at night these days, brother," Travis complained, "Karyn has _needs. _ You know, Rex, when women reach mid-life, their bodies change. They reach this peak, you see, and they actually need more sex, and not less. A ton of sex, actually. Thankfully, Karyn has _me_. Of course, I'm having to do some things one handed, so I've had to get inventive, but-"

"Ahhhh!" Rex threw a hand up and covered his ears. He unceremoniously threw Travis out of his bed. His brother hit the wooden floor with a loud 'thump.' A moment later, Rex heard footsteps stomping up the stairs. He tapped his hearing-impaired brother on the shoulder to give a moment of warning. Rex nodded toward the door.

Travis scrambled to his feet, and yanked Rex to a standing position. Both clones immediately began engaging in a therapy exercise based upon balance, just as the doctor came flying through the door.

"That's good, Rex," Travis said, in a loud voice, "be sure to keep your weight evenly balanced on both legs…"

"…uh, right, Travis, evenly balanced, got it," Rex immediately responded. He was the picture of perfect concentration as he worked on the exercise.

"What was that noise?" Karyn asked, suspiciously, staring back and forth between Rex and Travis.

"Noise?" the two brothers said in unison.

"I didn't hear anything," Rex said, "did you, Travis?"

Travis flashed a disarming grin, "Well, brother, I can honestly say, I didn't hear a thing."

Karyn rolled her eyes, "Very funny."

She stabbed a finger at the two of them, "You two are up to something. I can tell..."

The two brothers looked at each other, and then looked at Karyn with two pairs of identical honey-brown eyes, "Us?"

Karyn shook her head, shaking a finger at them, "Now, that's just plain creepy. You have this whole twin thing going on now."

Both Rex and Travis laughed in unison.

"Ahhhhh!" Karyn threw up her hands and fled the room.

After she left, the two brothers immediately stopped the pretense of exercising.

"You know, brother," Travis said, "it's a good thing, she didn't think to ask why you weren't wearing any pants."

# # #

"So, what is that place we saw?" Travis asked Rex quietly, as he helped his brother down the stairs.

"Ahsoka said it's some kind of lab," Rex explained grimly, as they emerged into the back entrance of the room that was used for physical therapy.

"A lab?" Travis responded, in surprise, holding open the door so Rex could go through, "like some kind of secret lab? Why would they be holding clones and Jedi in a secret lab?"

They both froze, as they realized they weren't alone in the room. Staring at them from across the room was Catcher.

# # #

Catcher ceased in the floor exercise he was doing up, leaning up against the far wall. He pierced both command officers with a stare and enunciated every word carefully, "Captain, Lieutenant, did you just say clones and Jedi in a secret lab?"

Rex and Travis just exchanged a look, and stared back at Catcher.

"Kriffin' clone hearing," Travis mumbled. "Why can't he just be deaf like half of the rest of the shabla legion?"

"Hang on," Rex said, limping across the room toward Catcher. A memory suddenly came flashing back to him of a series of dreams he'd had of this ARC somehow connected to Ahsoka. He suddenly remembered how his Togrutan Jedi had told him many times, 'The Force works in mysterious ways.'

Catching up with him, and lending him a supporting arm, Travis grumbled under his breath, "Rex, what are you doing? What happened to not telling anyone because of the crazy Kaminoans and what not?"

The Captain paused, mid-step, "Trav, trust me."

Travis nodded, and grumbled, "Thought we established might not like you, but I trust you."

The two continued on across the room and confronted Catcher. The ARC began pushing himself up from where he'd been doing exercises on the floor. Rex extended an arm, and pulled Catcher the rest of the way to his feet. The ARC nodded his thanks, and put his palms up against the wall behind him to support his weight. He pivoted to face the Captain.

"What do you know?" Rex demanded.

"This..." Catcher nodded his head toward the hydraulic braces on his legs, "happened on a mission to uncover possible Separatist activity in the far Outer Rim. There were reports that the Seppies had a new ally, someone we hadn't dealt with before. I went in alone, for one week, to see what I could uncover."

"And?" Travis demanded, wondering what this story from the ARC's past could possibly have to do with the conversation he and Rex had been having.

Catcher's expression turned grim, "I uncovered Separatist activity, alright, hidden in an ancient fortress dating back to the reign of the original inhabitants, the Ray'zek'elians."

"The Ray'zek'elians? Never heard of them."

"That's because you now know them by their more modern name. They've since spread out and colonized other parts of the galaxy," the ARC paused, and looked at both Rex and Travis, "we know them as the Kaz'harians."

Rex felt a tingling that spread throughout his whole system as everything began to fall into place. "Catcher, what was the name of this planet?" he asked, his voice deadly calm.

Even as the ARC said the words, Rex knew without a doubt that he'd found Ahsoka.

"Darkknell."

# # #

"Darkknell," Rex uttered the word like a dark oath.

"Rex, no!" The moment the Captain heard the words, he tore free of Travis' grasp and spun on his heel. His knee nearly gave out from the movement, but he caught himself. He was halfway across the room when his brother tackled him to the floor.

"Let me go, Travis," Rex growled, his voice laced with deadly intent. From across the room, Catcher watched all of this with a raised eyebrow.

Travis pinned Rex down using his body and his one good arm, "And, just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm getting my armor and weapons," Rex grumbled.

"And, then?"

"Get off of me, you di'kut," Rex growled. But, Travis just adjusted his grip and pushed the Captain down into the floor even harder.

"I'll call Karyn if I have to," Travis threatened, "knock you out one way or another."

"Travis," Rex threatened.

"The ship's not ready yet, and neither are _you_. How are you planning on getting off planet without a working ship?" Travis shifted and adjusted his grip, just in case Rex tried to throw him off again. But, the Captain just lay still and listened to what his brother had to say. "I've been working on the ship ever since we first spoke about it. After my little mishap, Tek recruited a whole team to help with the effort. He's even made a bunch of new _friends_ down at the docks. There's a lull in the fishing season at the moment, so he found some locals talented in the repair of ships' engines. We've been combining parts we've been able to gather locally, with the parts from the other ship. They've made incredible progress. But, it's not even ready for a test flight yet. And, neither are you. How can you expect to fight if you can't walk on your own? You plan on charging into Darknell with me hanging off your shoulder holding you up?"

"No, because you're not going, Travis."

"What? Kriff, I can't read your lips with your head smushed into the floor like that. I'm going to let you up, but if you try anything I'll totally take you down again."

He released Rex, who snorted, "As if you could take me."

They were about to start arguing on _that _particular issue again, when Travis put up a hand in surrender. "Alright, alright… now, what do you mean I'm not going?"

"You're _not _going. This is likely to be one-way trip. I can't ask anyone else to take that risk. You've got a life here now, Travis. A good one. Your place is here. I'm going alone. That's an order."

"You can't do this alone, Rex. If you do, you'll be killed for sure."

"You've got something good here," he gestured toward the house, and then toward the town in general, then sighed deeply, "Trav, I'm not planning on coming back. You are _not_ going with me. I won't let you throw all of this away on account of me."

The two brothers stared each other down in a battle of wills. Finally, the Marine relented. Rex could see something cross Travis' face- that same look he always had when he'd made up his mind about something.

The Marine nodded, solemnly, "OK, Rex. You win. I don't agree with your decision. I think you're a total di'kut. But, there's no way I can stop you from going." He sat back, offered Rex a hand, and helped him to his feet.

The Captain nodded, his eyes meeting Travis', "Thanks-"

Travis held up a hand, "Ah! Don't start with that."

"Right," Rex settled for giving Travis a characteristic slug to his good shoulder, which was reciprocated by a resounding smack to the back of Rex's blonde head.

Catcher watched this entire exchange, eyebrow furrowed. He carefully lowered himself back down to the floor, and resumed his exercises. He decided if the two command clones wanted to explain their bizarre exchange they would in due time.

"We've got a good ten days until that ship is space-worthy. Let's spend that time getting you as strong as we possibly can."

# # #

Rex sat down by the docks, staring out into the grey overcast ocean. It had been two days since Ahsoka's cry for help, and he hadn't heard from her since. He tried several times on his own to reach out to her, but there was only silence. His frustration levels just grew as the days ticked by. But, he had no way of getting off-planet until the ship was ready. And, Travis was right, Rex would be hard-pressed to fight when his knee still buckled unexpectedly. Neither clone had mentioned anything to Karyn about Rex's plans to take off, so clearly in violation of her agreed upon schedule for his still healing leg.

"You'll explain things to her for me after I go, won't you?" Rex asked Travis the following morning, as the two walked laps back and forth along Karyn's gravel driveway.

"Hah! Let me take the wrath? What kind of brother do you think I am?"

"You're the one who thinks she's beautiful when she's angry."

Travis laughed, "Fair enough. You know, when she's angry, it actually puts her in the mood. Once she gets done yelling at me, as long as I touch her in all the right place, the sex is even better than when we're getting along all nice and sweet-"

"Ahhhh! Travis!"

The Marine started laughing, "Hey, I'm just offering you pointers here. If all goes well, you'll be reunited with your Jedi soon. Surely she'll be grateful for the rescue? Or, better yet, maybe you can make her mad, and then the two of you can have some good anger sex-"

"Travis!"

The trooper's laughter rang out. "You are just so easy to bait, Rex. … You're getting much stronger. Why don't you try a lap on your own?"

The Captain paused, turning serious for a moment, "Travis, I know you don't want my thanks-"

"Ah!" The Marine put his hands up, obviously not wanting to hear any display of emotion.

"No, Trav. I've lost too many brothers. So, I'm going to say this anyway, whether you want to hear it or not. I'm leaving and I don't know if I'll ever see you again. You've been a… good brother."

Several emotions flew across Travis' face very quickly. There was something in his expression that Rex couldn't quite place that suggested there was something going on with the Marine. Rex just couldn't quite figure out what it was. Travis noticed the way the Captain was looking at him so he quickly clapped Rex on the shoulder, "Uh… yeah, Rex, you too… Hey, let's get back to work, OK?"

# # #

Rex worked himself to exhaustion focusing on strengthening his knee, and Travis was constantly by his side offering his usual caustic, if steady, support.

As soon as Rex was strong enough, he limped down on his own to Fisherman's Field to watch the morning drill practices. Catcher was still in charge of the daily drills.

Karyn hadn't given Travis medical clearance yet to take over the daily drills, for fear he'd do "something totally assenine again," as the clone laughingly retold the story. So, the Marine was devoting his hours to working with Rex, and also helping the doctor with her other duties, particularly the administrative responsibilities involved in running Ando. He seemed particularly interested in the intricacies involved in running the small town.

As Rex watched the practice, he realized it was exactly as Travis had described it to him. Catcher, Blaze and Viper were doing an incredible job leading the drills. Rex was especially impressed with how well the new squad of snipers was coming along.

# # #

The following day, after several more failed attempts to contact Ahsoka, Rex went out to visit their commandeered pirate ship.

"Captain! Good to see you!"

Rex squinted against the bright snow, and noticed a trooper working up on scaffolding high up on the hull.

"Giving this hunk of durasteel a new name!"

Rex recognized the trooper as Kinks, from the 566th Company.

"Ah," the Captain said, staring up at the Arabesh letters. Try as he might, he couldn't make heads or tales of what the clone was painting, "and, that name is…"

"Spirit of Ando!" Kinks declared proudly.

"Right, carry on then," Rex said, proceeding on into the ship. The interior of the ship was a similar hub of activity. As soon as he entered the main cabin, he came upon Gavex. Rex recognized the kindly clone who'd helped organize all of the food supplies on the first day they'd crashed.

"Hey Captain! Good to see you back up on your feet again!"

Gavex was assisting Razor, one of the fully-paralyzed clones. Rex was pleased to see the former pilot was was now in a mech-chair, a more simplified version of a grav chair.

"What do you think, Captain?" Razor said, "designed it myself, with the help of Tek. We've been pirating pieces off of both ships, no pun intended. Discovered that we had more parts than what we needed. So, we've been using some of the parts to create _other_ stuff. This is just the first chair. So far, I'm sharing it with the other three guys. But, we're hoping to make one for each of us. And, we have plans for other stuff. Some really cool stuff. Tek and I took a look at the computer systems down at the Ando school the other day, and they are in need of a _major_ overhaul."

Rex nodded, "Razor, I'm impressed."

The former pilot beamed, "Thank you, Captain. Just wait until you see what we've done with the ship. Might not look like much now, but this thing is being rewired from top to bottom. And, it wasn't in that bad shape to start with. We're just making it something that we clones would enjoy playing around in," Razor grinned happily.

Rex felt a sinking feeling. He had no idea if the ship would survive what he had planned for it, and he had no way of returning it back to Ando.

He nodded again to the two clones, "I'll let you get back to work," and moved on.

Odds and Chance were in the cockpit, working with Tek, and two women whom Rex vaguely recognized from his day spent observing the docks. The cockpit was a chaotic disarray of open panels, meshtape and crisscrossed wiring. It seemed there were piles of limbs and tools everywhere as people competed for space.

"So, uh, Travis," Rex said, peering over Travis' shoulder as his brother diligently adjusted something with a hydrospanner, "when is this thing going to be ready for a test flight? I'd like to get a hand at the controls before-"

Odds looked up at Travis in confusion, "I thought I was going to be-"

Travis immediately stopped what he was doing, and poked the hydrospanner into Odds' chest. The clone shut up mid-sentence.

Rex stared at the two of them oddly.

"Finish this up for me, will you, Odds? I seem to be stuck," Travis said.

The Lieutenant grabbed Rex and immediately steered him out of the cockpit. "Right… your test flight… for when you fly out of here _all by yourself_." He shot a look back over his shoulder at Odds, then grabbed a datapad off a precarious stack of supplies and tools, "I was just putting that on the schedule… huh… not on there yet… I'll get right on that… Hey, shouldn't you be headed back to the house and work some more on those knee exercises? Let's ride back together. I should check in with Karyn." He nodded crisply to Gavex and Razor, and led Rex quickly out of the ship, carrying on a steady stream of conversation about other topics.

# # #

_A/N: So, one more chapter on Ando, (a chance to say good bye), and then off to Darkknell. Up next, Cody and Barriss. Will they, or won't they?_


	74. Chapter 74 Cody and Barriss

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?'**

**Chapter 74**

Barriss stomped into the apartment, and tossed down her small shoulder bag.

_Emergency preparedness drill, indeed. _ When was she ever going to need that information? Odds were she was going to be long gone from the medical station before any such drill ever occurred. _What a waste of an afternoon. So many things I'd rather have been doing for the past few hours…_

"_Cody? I'm back." _

She was greeting by only silence. Barriss frowned, and did a quick check of the front of the apartment. No clone commander. She made her way back to Cody's bedroom. Maybe he was sleeping?

He'd said that Trapper was coming to help him walk some laps. She knew the commander had a tendency to sometimes work himself to exhaustion. She still encouraged him to take naps when he tired himself out like that. The sleep was beneficial to his recovery.

_And, admittedly, I like watching him sleep._

She'd spent many a pleasant afternoon in the chair by his bedside supposedly 'meditating'. But, to be completely honest, this could be code for "watching Cody take naps."

No such luck this time. There was no handsome scarred clone stretched out across the bed. She had checked every room. Cody wasn't in the apartment, at all.

"Cody!" she cried out. Her voice echoed emptily around the apartment.

For a moment, all she could think of was her dream from the night before. She saw the horrifying image of the clone commander being vaporized right before her eyes.

Barriss ran from the apartment, intent on searching for Cody. As she made a dash for the nearest turbo lift, she passed two doctors deep in conversation. The medical professionals gave her an odd look as she hurried by. The moment the lift doors closed, a terrible thought occurred to Barriss. What if they'd taken him again? She had horrific flashbacks to the last time Cody had suddenly gone missing at the medical station.

_Force! Why isn't this lift moving?_

Barriss suddenly realized she hadn't entered in a floor destination.

_Ugggggh. Stop panicking. Think, Barriss, think. Where would Cody go?_

Barriss bit her lip in frustration, unable to think of where the commander could have gone. _Wait! Our link- of course! Never tried it at a distance. Would be a strange thing if it does work. But, then again, everything about my relationship with Cody is unusual. It's odd that we have some a powerful link in the first place._

The Jedi closed her eyes, and breathed out.

_Cody?_

# # #

Cody was enjoying being back in the presence of his brothers. They'd finished up their meeting and assigned action items. Hawkeye, Hardcase, Gearshaft and Woolley had diligently resumed their exercises. The physical therapist, Asori, was once again working with Boil. The remainder of the clones were still gathered by Cody, engaged in various side conversations. He was just mid-sentence, talking to Fives, when Barriss contacted him.

_Cody?_

His senses went on high alert as he felt the Jedi's alarm.

_- Barriss?_

He could hear Fives trying to get his attention, but Cody tuned him out.

_- What's wrong, Barriss?_

_I came home and you were gone._

Cody was amused at her use of the term 'home.' But, he had to admit he'd come to think of the apartment in those terms as well.

_-Ah. Sorry. I'm with Trapper, and the others. We walked a bit… farther than originally planned. _

_Where?_

_-P.T. Room. Do you want me to come, uh, home?_

_No. Stay where you are. I'll be right there._

Cody opened his eyes and noticed Fives and Trapper were both staring at him.

"What?" he growled.

"See?" Trapper said, "I told you he would come out of it."

Fives frowned, "So, what was _that_ all about?"

Cody looked away uncomfortably. Several of the other brothers were starting to take notice of their conversation. "Nothing."

"No," Fives said, insistently, "you completely blanked out for a moment there."

Trapper grabbed Fives by the arm, and tugged him away, "Tell me more about this research you and Echo uncovered. Putting those ARC skills to good use, eh?"

Trapper looked back over his shoulder at Cody. The commander shot him a grateful look, and the two nodded in understanding. A moment later, the door to the P.T. room opened and Barriss flew in.

Barriss' eyes immediately sought out Cody's, ignoring everyone else in the room. The clone commander could sense every eye on him.

"Ah, Commander Offee, how nice of you to join us," Cody said, trying to divert the Jedi's eyes from him, "I believe you already know everybody here."

As if just suddenly realizing there were others in the room, the Jedi blinked and startled slightly. Recovering quickly, she smiled and said cheerfully, "Of course. It's good to see you all again. I just stopped by to walk Commander Cody back to his living quarters. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, thank you, Commander Offee."

Cody nodded to the others. Barriss offered a supporting arm. He took it, and the two left the room together.

Fives watched them leave, his face locked in a thoughtful expression.

# # #

"I can't believe you walked all this way," Barriss commented as they made their way back to the apartment.

"Easily," Cody said.

"Are you getting tired?" the Jedi peered up at him with concern.

"A little," he admitted, "but mostly, I'm starving."

Barriss laughed, "I should have known."

They walked along in silence for a while. Cody had to admit he liked walking with Barriss like this. If he let his mind drift a bit, he could imagine that they were just two ordinary people out for a stroll. He was surprised to discover they were back at the apartment already.

"Why don't you sit, while I make you something to eat?" Barriss led him toward to the couch.

Cody shook his head. The Jedi looked at him questioningly.

"I'll rest a bit. But, only if you sit next to me," the clone sat down, and tugged the Jedi down next to him. "Tell me why you were so upset."

The Mirilialan flushed green.

Cody's lips curled up in amusement. He reached a hand up to brush her cheek, "I love it when your face turns that color."

Barriss reached both hands up to cover her face. "I shouldn't be losing control this easily!"

The commander turned serious, "What's going on?"

The Jedi sighed, "I have to admit I'm a bit tired."

Cody frowned, and took one of her hands in his, "Is it... because of me?" He scowled deeply, "Is... taking care of me... too much?"

Barriss looked horrified, "Oh no! That's not it! Please don't think that!" She tugged her hand free, and put both hands on his chest.

Cody tried to slow down his heartbeat. The feeling of her hands on his chest did strange things to him. "Then, what is it then?" his voice sounded strangely husky to his own ears.

Barriss shook her head, "I haven't been sleeping well... I've been having these dreams... well, maybe not quite dreams..." she bit her lip, a move that Cody found most distracting. "But, not a nightmare either. I'm not sure what it is."

The clone commander tipped her chin up and forced the Jedi healer to look at him. "Barriss, start from the beginning. Tell me what's in these dreams."

"Ummmm..." Barriss worried her lip between her teeth again.

_If she keeps doing that, I'm going to kiss her and this conversation is going to be over very quickly,_ Cody thought. To help keep his eyes off of her lips, and her hands off of his chest, Cody repositioned Barriss. He tucked the Jedi Healer securely into his muscular arms. He slid one arm around her shoulders, and nuzzled his chin atop her head. She sighed, and relaxed into his embrace, not protesting. _Hmmmm... OK, she's letting me do this... Interesting..._

"Now, tell me about these…ah… dreams…" Cody prompted again, his voice a deep rumble against the top of her head.

"Parts of them are... embarrassing," Barriss whispered.

"Whatever it is…it's OK…you can tell me," he soothed in the lilting accent that the Jedi healer had come to love so much.

Haltingly, eyes downcast, the Jedi described the dream that had been haunting her sleep. The clone listened intently, his eyes growing wide as her description continued. Try as he might, he couldn't help his body from responding to her description of 'the two of us up against the wall in a fully erotic embrace.'

Cody continued to hold Barriss' lightly, but his mind could only focus on a single thought,_ 'Barriss has been dreaming about me. She wants me.'_

He almost didn't hear the last part of the dream, but was glad he was able to finally focus. Because after Barriss described his fiery death, she broke out into sobs and buried her face into his chest. He would hate to have had to ask her to repeat parts of it because he hadn't been listening.

'_I was daydreaming about the wall part and totally missed the whole reason you were crying. Could you repeat-_

Cody shook his head, and turned his attention to the crying woman in his arms. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but she seemed content to bury her face in his chest. It felt nice just to hold her, so he continued to do so, rubbing his hands up her back. She snuggled deeper into his pectoral region, and soon her sobs quieted. A few minutes later, her body completely relaxed as her breathing evened out.

Cody was about to say her name, when he realized she was asleep.

_Well, at least she's finally getting some sleep_.

He shifted his body into a slightly more comfortably position on the couch, and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he fell asleep as well.

# # #

Barriss woke up to hear a strange rumbling. She opened her eyes, and looked around in confusion. It took her a moment to realize that her face was completely buried inside of Cody's shirt. It took an even longer moment to realize that the sound was the commander's stomach. She tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a giggle. The Jedi peered up, and noticed Cody looking down at her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she responded back, lifting her head, "I think I better feed you."

He nodded, straightening up, "Fair enough. But, only if you let me assist with the work detail."

Barriss opened her mouth to object, but then stopped when she caught sight of the determined glint in Cody's eyes. She nodded, "Alright, then. We'll do it together. I suppose if you can go walking all over the medical station, you can manage in the kitchen."

The Jedi stood, and then went to give the clone commander a hand up. He shook his head. It took him a moment to regain his balance, but he succeeded in getting to his feet on his own.

"Impressive," Barriss said.

The clone shrugged, and then grinned, "Now, I'm just showing off." He reached for her hand, and tugged her toward the kitchen. It instantly felt natural to Barriss to slip her hand in his and walk joined with him.

She opened up the conservator and peered inside. Cody peered down next to her, imitating her every move. She laughed.

"You think you're cute, don't you?"

"Oh, I know I'm cute."

"So, what looks good to you?"

Cody arched an eyebrow at her.

Barriss began laughing. "Cody! Do you want to eat, or not?"

"Oh, I always want to eat."

They resumed their position of contemplative staring into the conservator. Barriss began grabbing out some ingredients, and handing them to Cody.

"Alright, take these and put them up on the counter," the Jedi ordered.

"Up on the counter, eh?" Cody asked, leaning back against the aforementioned item, and grinning slyly. "That would be a change of pace from the wa- hey!" He was cut off mid-sentence as Barriss beamed him in the head with a piece of blumfruit.

She wagged a finger at him, "Don't make me regret telling you about that dream."

Cody hopped up on the counter, grinning, "I'm not regretting it." He overcompensated and lost his balance. Barriss immediately dropped what she was doing, and leapt up to catch him. They fell down onto the kitchen floor in a tangle of limbs and smashed blumfruit.

"Are you OK?" Barriss asked, breathlessly, immediately feeling the commander over for damage. The commander was lying face down and shaking. "Cody! Cody!"

The clone rolled over, and faced the healer. He had a face full of blumfruit. He licked the remainder off of his lips, completely caught up in hysterics. He couldn't speak for laughter.

Barriss shook her head, and reached up to close the conservator door. "You're incorrigible."

He licked his lips again, "I'm tasty."

The Jedi stared down at his fruit covered lips with fascination, reaching down one hand to automatically clean off some of the fruit that had gathered up on the side of his face. She tenderly pushed the pulp away. Cody stared up at her, the breath caught in his throat. He licked his lips again. Barriss stared down eyes, wide. The clone grinned, and did it one more time.

Unable to resist, Barriss leaned down and pressed her lips down onto his. Cody emitted what sounded like a sigh of relief, and pulled Barriss' closer. Cody could have stayed there forever, savoring her on the floor of the kitchen. She tasted_ amazing._ But, his traitorous stomach broke them up again. Barriss laughed at the bass-like rumble that she could feel from her position pressed up against the clone. Cody cursed profusely.

"Stupid rapid metabolism," he grumbled.

"I really need to feed you," the Jedi healer said, pushing up.

"I am eating," Cody protested, pulling her down into another kiss. She allowed it for a time, but then lightly pushed on his chest. The clone released her, reluctantly. She rolled off him and sprang to her feet.

"Stay off the counter," she lectured.

"I like the counter," he sat up, and eyed the counter speculatively out of the corner of his scarred eye.

Barriss used the Force to call a clean kitchen towel to hand. She knelt down and cleaned off Cody's face.

"Liked it better when you were kissing it off," he grumbled, as he put up with her ministrations.

"Until you get your balance back fully, no jumping on the furniture."

"When will that be, exactly?" Cody asked, a bit gruffly, refusing any help on getting up.

The Jedi wiped the remainder of the fruit off the floor, and then turned to answer his question. "At the rate you're currently healing, I'd say less than a week." Her voice sounded both pleased and sad at the same time.

"Excellent," he grunted a bit as he got to his feet, but managed. "Some of the others- they're almost healed. If we're going to execute this plan, we have to do it soon. Otherwise, they'll get shipped out of here and back to active duty."

"You have your plan all set?" Barriss asked, trying not to think too hard about what had just occurred on the floor. She began neatly arranging some of the items on the counter, trying to focus on the meal preparation. It was not something she was naturally excelled at, but he skills had improved with practice lately. Most of the items delivered came prepared and she just had to reheat them, but they also delivered a few basic items that could be turned into simple meals.

"Everything except for the details about getting the ship. Fives and Echo are still working that out. We'll need to create some sort of distraction so that we can 'borrow' a ship. We'll be meeting everyday to keep hashing things out."

Barriss nodded, and began boiling some water for pasta. She reached up for a second pot for sauce. Cody's hands beat her to it, smoothly grabbing the alum pan off the hook and handing it down.

"Thank you," she said, politely.

He grinned, "I'm here to help."

Barriss pointed to a jar, "Can you open the sauce?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she kept an eye on the clone. With his neuro-coordination difficulties, unscrewing and popping the lid would be a challenge. She watched Cody eye the jar like he was planning a major offensive. He examined it carefully from all angles, running a finger over the seal.

"Want my assistance?" Barriss reached a hand over.

The commander immediately yanked the jar out of reach, "I've got this."

He set the jar down again, just out of her reach, studying it again intently. He scowled, causing the scar above his eye to slant down. Barriss resisted the urge to trace her fingers along the C-shaped line.

Cody took a deep breath, and twisted the top of the jar. His hands slipped right off the top. The Jedi jammed her own hands in her pockets, to keep herself from interfering. She could tell he was getting frustrated. But, the clone commander set his hands to the top again, applying even pressure and a moment later was awarded with a 'pop.' He walked over to her grinning, proffering the precious jar.

Barriss beamed at him. What seemed like such a minor thing to an outsider, was huge to the Jedi healer. All of the muscular challenges involved in what Cody had just done represented a huge step forward. The rate of his progress lately was astounding. The healer set down the jar, and impulsively kissed the clone. His response was immediate. Cody's arms came up around her waist, and he tugged her up against him. He growled, and murmured her name.

"If I'd known that would be my award, I would have been popping sauce jars all week."

"It's our only jar of sauce," Barriss murmured against his mouth.

"Pity," Cody responded, threading his hands, up into her hair.

Barriss sighed, and gave into his kisses. But, after several minutes, she pushed against his chest again.

Cody pulled back slightly, and gave her a querying look.

"I'm still going to feed you."

"If you must," the clone commander huffed, tracing a hand up her face. Barriss shivered. "But, I like what I'm eating just fine."

Barriss flushed green, causing Cody to smile with manly satisfaction. But, he released her as promised, and they both turned their attention to the preparation of the meal.

As the Mirilialan stirred the noodles, Cody stood behind her with his hands encircled around her waist. After a few minutes, he grew restless and slowly began trailing tiny nibbly kisses up against her neck. He couldn't get enough of the taste of her. Barriss couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through her body. "It's almost done," the Jedi declared, breathlessly.

"Good," the clone growled. He stared at the cooking food with almost angry resentment.

"Could you set the table?" Barriss gestured toward the cabinet that held the plates.

Cody sighed. Getting the plates meant taking his hands off of the Jedi's shapely hips. His hands were quite content where they were. He nodded, leaning down to nuzzle Barriss' neck one more time with his chin before heading off to get the plates. The Jedi shivered again in response, and glanced back over her shoulder admiringly at the tall clone commander. His back was towards her as he faced the cabinet, affording a most interesting view. Her eyes dipped down for a long lingering glance, before she turned back to her cooking.

"I saw that, you know," Cody growled, coming up behind her. As he walked by, he brushed the plates slowly along her lower spine before continuing on to the table.

"OK, I think this is done!" Barriss announced, without even bothering to check it or taste it.

"Thank the Stars," Cody grumbled, irritably. He grabbed silverware, and placed it haphazardly next to their plates. He waited by the sink while Barriss drained the pasta, and then carried it over to the table.

"OK, I guess that should do it," Barriss said, carrying over the sauce, and two cups of Muja juice, "unless you want something else? I wish we had a bit of groundnut oil for the pasta. Maybe I could throw together a Habbis root salad. I think we have some Elba bread-"

"It's fine," Cody hurriedly interrupted, "let's get to eating it." Without any further words, the clone tucked into his food.

Barriss was pleased to see his appetite was back. He had no difficulties polishing off a full plate of pasta. Matter of fact, he seemed to do so in record time.

"More?" she asked.

"No," he eyed her plate. "Eat." He leaned back in his chair, watching every bite intently as it traveled from her plate to her lips.

"Cody," she admonished.

"What?"

"You're staring," she protested.

"I am," he said, his eyes dark and intent.

Barriss brought her juice to her lips nervously. She drank it more out of needing something to do, rather than thirst. Telling Cody about her highly erotic dream definitely changed something between them. She sighed into her cup, the sound echoing slightly into the plasti-cup.

_How could it not? I told him that I've been dreaming about making love to him in a war zone right up against a-_

"What are you think about?" Cody's voice startled Barriss so much she almost dropped the cup.

"Nothing," the Jedi Healer quickly placed the cup back down against the table.

The commander's lips curled up in a slow smile, "Oh, now, I doubt that. The Jedi always seem to be going on about something." He leaned in closer to her, and placed his hands on top of hers, rubbing lazy circles on the back of her hands, "Now, what was it?"

Barriss shook her head. Before this particular conversation could go any further, she grabbed their plates. "Let's clean up."

Cody looked disappointed, but rose and took the plates from her. "Let me do that. You cooked." He shrugged, "I would have offered to do so, but I'm only good at frying things with my blaster."

Barriss stared at him for a moment, and then smiled as she caught his humor, "I'm not that good, myself. As I mentioned to you once before, my Master warned me that I do not seem particularly talented in this skill."

"I like your cooking."

Barriss stopped, and studied Cody. He was being totally sincere. Somehow, the simple compliment meant a great deal to her. "Thank you…Oh! I have an idea!" She spun around and began grabbing a few items out of the conservator.

"Now, what are you doing? We just ate."

"Dessert."

The commander looked torn between being pleased at the prospect of sugar, and irritated at anything that might keep them in the kitchen longer than necessary. "Very well," he relented.

"Finish the dishes. I'll get this started."

"What is it?"

"A surprise. Go on. Dishes."

The clone efficiently cleaned the table, and deposited all the dishware in the sanitizer. He washed the two pots, and dried his hands. Barriss felt his strong hands encircling her waist from behind again. "So, what is it? Smells good," he murmured, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder.

Barriss dipped the wooden cooking spoon into the velvety bluish-white mixture. "Blue milk pudding. Basically one-part milk. One part-sugar. Two parts delicious."

She turned around in his embrace, and brought the pudding-dipped spoon up to his lips. Then, pulled it back. "Ah! Wait! It's hot." She began blowing on it. Cody gazed at her in bemusement. "OK, try it now."

He leaned in a little closer, pressing his body intimately against hers. At the same time, his lips slipped over the spoon. Barriss stared at his lips, mesmerized. Then, her eyes widened as she noticed another part of the commander was definitely _commanding_ her attention.

"Oh," the Jedi Healer gasped.

Cody's lips released the spoon, and he leaned back away. His lips curled up in a sexy smile. "Delicious," he said in a husky voice. He moved over, and leaned up against the counter again. He folded his arms across his broad chest, and gazed at her.

Barriss felt strangely bereft when their bodies were no longer in contact. She tried not to show her disappointment. She pivoted and turned off the stove. "We just need to let it cool."

Cody watched her every move. His intense gaze was making his eyes seem darker than usual. The Jedi poured the sugary dessert into two bowls. She began to feel nervousness start to pool in her stomach.

_What am I doing? What is going to happen after dessert? I thought we had decided we weren't going down this path? Am I mad?_

"What are you thinking about?" Cody's head was cocked to the side.

Barriss' gaze flew up and met Cody's. She'd forgotten how in-tune they were to each other. It was difficult to hide anything from him. He seemed to be able to pick up on the slightest nuances of her moods and emotions. It was frightening, and exhilarating, at the same time to have somehow know you that well. She only shared such a close connection with her Master. And, her relationship with her Master was... different.

Cody frowned and moved closer to her. "Too much thinking." He put a hand above the pudding to judge the temperature, and then grabbed one of the dishes.

"I'll get the spoons-"

Cody gripped her wrist, and shook his head slowly. Then, he dipped his index finger into the bowl of pudding.

"Cody-" Barriss protested. But, her protests were cut off when the blue-milk dessert was brought up to her lips. His finger lightly traced along her bottom lip, leaving a sticky sweet trail. "You're making a mess," the Jedi weakly protested, feeling the pull of the sugar against her lips.

"I'll clean it up," the clone promised, eying his handiwork with satisfaction. He leaned in, ever so slowly, while the Jedi waited with baited breath. It seemed to take forever for his tanned face to reach hers. When his lips finally reached hers, Barriss actually gasped. He kissed her fiercely, possessively, and she had to reach back and grip the counter to hold herself up.

When he pulled back, all she could mutter was "Umph."

Cody grinned with satisfaction, as he eyed her. He leaned back and retrieved the pudding dish. "More?"

Barriss nodded eagerly. She didn't trust her voice to say anything beyond her inarticulate declaration. Cody seemed to have kissed her somewhat senseless.

The clone commander plunged his finger into the bowl, coating it thoroughly. He replaced the bowl on the counter. "I like your pudding." He brought his finger forward toward her lips again. Barriss thought she'd get a repeat of their earlier brain-numbing kiss. But, this time the clone teased his sugar-coated digit forward between her lips.

"Didn't have a spoon," Cody murmured.

At that moment, the Jedi healer had no idea what a spoon even was. She couldn't think past all of the new sensations currently being stirred up in her body.

Who knew the simple sharing of a dessert could be so enticing?

"Now, what are you thinking about?" Cody asked with an amused smile, as he ever so slowly removed his finger.

"I..like...pudding," Barriss said, breathlessly, finding it difficult even to speak at the moment.

Cody pulled the Jedi healer up against him, and she felt once again the evidence of how much the clone _liked _what they were doing together. He ground his hips once against hers, and she gasped.

"Barriss, if you don't want to go any further," Cody growled, "you better tell me now. As far as I'm concerned, dinner is officially over."

The Jedi stared up at the handsome clone, her mind racing. Her heart felt like it was going to skip a beat. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a giant precipice.

"I can think of so many reasons not to do this," Barriss said, and she immediately saw hurt flash across Cody's face. She felt him begin to pull back from her. She gripped him in place with her strong arms. "And, just _one _reason to do this." Barriss took a deep breath, "Cody, I can't deny my feelings any longer. My heart tells me that I belong with you."

She saw a rush of relief cross Cody's face, and felt a responding rush of emotion from him in the Force. He bowed his head for a moment, looking as if he was choosing his words carefully. Finally, he looked up and met her eyes, "I will always be yours, Barriss Offee."

The Jedi Healer felt a tear slip from the corner of her eye. Cody reached up and tenderly wiped it away. He lifted her up in his arms then, and with determined steps, carried her to his bedroom.

# # #

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day everyone! As you know, Rex is about to leave for Darkknell. Cody and gang is about to leave for the same, so the story is headed for its explosive conclusion. Wasn't sure how much, er, explosive detail was appropriate here between Cody and Barriss since this is a rated 'T' story. (Still wondering if I shouldn't bump this thing up to 'M.') If you want a peak behind Cody's bedroom door, let me know. If you wish to let your imagination fill in the rest, well, would love to get that feedback as well. I have no problems writing it, but I know some people are anxious to get to the big rescue scene. Let me know your preference.


	75. Chapter 75 A peek behind the door

Chapter Revised: March 22, 2012

_*** STEAM WARNING ***_

_* WARNING * This chapter was originally written when I first changed this story to an "M" rating. I have since changed it back to a "T" rating, so I went back in and toned this chapter down to something more suitable to "T." (Hiss... turning down the steam a bit. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?) However, that being said, there is still enough steam in this scene to fog up the inside of that old-fashioned car on the Titanic. (Yeah, you remember that scene. They got all hot and sweaty, and, er… steamy.) So, this is your official warning about what this chapter contains. You have been suitably warned. Enjoy. _

_For the rest of you, so we put this to a vote… "a peek" won out by a heavy margin. And… this is more than a peek. The door has been blown wide open. If you would rather stay outside the door, we'll rendezvous at Chapter 76._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 75**

As she was carried toward the bedroom, Barriss rubbed her face up against Cody's skin. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent that was so uniquely _Cody_.

The clone commander looked down, frowning slightly, "Are you… smelling me?"

Barriss smiled, and peered up, "Yes."

A slow knowing smile spread across the clone's face then. He realized she _liked_ the way he smelled, and it had a powerful effect and immediate effect on him. Cody shifted his arms, drawing the Jedi even closer to him. It was a move that was at once both protective, and possessive.

Barriss was savoring the luxury of just being enveloped in Cody's arms. But, after a moment, her Healer's instincts reared up. "Are you sure carrying me isn't too much?"

"I've got this," Cody growled, his voice slightly muffled since his lips were pressed right up against her ear.

She had thought the clone commander would deposit her on his neatly made bed. But, instead he flexed so that he set her gently down onto her feet, a few steps from the back wall. The Jedi Healer looked up at him in confusion.

Cody looked toward the wall, and then back at Barriss. Her eyes widened as recognition dawned.

"You can't be thinking-"

The clone cut her off mid-sentence, pushing her back up against the wall. He pressed his body up against hers, and raised her arms over her head.

"Yes," Cody rumbled, "you dreamt it. I'm making it a reality."

The Jedi began to tremble, whether with nervousness or anticipation, she wasn't sure. "I don't want all of it to come true," a familiar knot of anxiety began forming in her stomach as she thought of the dream.

The clone commander shook his head, his voice deep and reassuring, "Nothing is going to happen to me."

Barriss sighed, and brought her hands down to rub at the knot of scar issue at the back of his neck, "Says the person who walked into a minefield." She shook her head, trying to block out the terrible images from the dream. Her hands continued to trace the line of recent scar tissue.

"Barriss, I won't leave you," Cody pledged, bringing his mouth down against hers. He groaned as he tasted her lips, and his hands worked to pin her arms up again.

His mouth moved to her neck, and then began to work steadily lower. He pressed her harder into the wall as the taste of her skin hit his tongue. He worked his way back up, wanting to explore all of her gorgeous neck.

_The kriffing hood. It had to go._

Balancing the Jedi on one of his strong thighs, Cody attempted to tug Barriss' hood off. She pulled her hands' free, her hands instinctively going to her hood. Her movements threw them off-balance, overriding Cody's already precarious equilibrioception.

The commander tucked her into his arms to shield her from harm as they crashed to the floor. They both lay still for a long moment after they crashed down.

"Cody!"

The Jedi Healer tried to pull free from his sheltered embrace, but found she was thoroughly trapped. After what seemed to be an endless moment, his warm, brown eyes snapped open. Then, Cody's entire body began to shake. It took Barriss a moment to realize he was laughing.

The Mirialan frowned, "Cody! This is funny to you?"

The clone couldn't speak, so he simply nodded, still laughing.

"Do you realize you could have been hurt…falling like that?" the Jedi stared at him crossly, "Let me go, so I can check you over."

The commander shook his head, and continued to laugh.

"No? Why is this is so funny?"

Cody stopped laughing long enough to say, "Do you realize how often we fall?"

As Barriss thought about it, she joined in his laughter. It was so good to see Cody laughing.

The clone took full advantage of her moment of distraction. He gave her hood a firm tug, removing it the rest of the way.

"Hey!" she objected.

"Hate that shabla hood," he grumbled.

Barriss opened her mouth to object, but Cody cut her off. "You're beautiful, Barriss. You shouldn't cover that up."

As the Jedi stared at the clone, she saw the reflection in his eyes of how Cody regarded her. Barriss leaned in, her tongue darting out slightly between her lips in anticipation of what was about to come. The action was too much for Cody, and he gripped the back of her head and pulled her to him. His mouth came hard on hers, worshipping her with his kisses.

Cody slid a hand to her shirt, figuring this would be a good time to divest the Jedi of some of her clothing.

"Ow," Barriss mumbled, wincing.

Cody stopped, confusion and concern lining his scarred face. This was not at _all _the reaction he'd been hoping for.

Barriss reached under her bottom, pulling and tugging. "Something is poking me."

The clone commander swept his hand under her back and discovered his datapad. "Sorry."

Barriss raised an eyebrow up at the normally fastidiously neat clone.

"I was doing some of those floor exercises…" he made a rather intricate gesture with his hands to indicate which exercises he meant. The Jedi Healer began to smile. "Anyway, those are _very_ repetitive. I got bored, so I was doing some reading. Then, Trap came over and I had to hurry up to answer the door… Do we have to talk about this now?"

The Jedi Healer tried to hide her amusement.

The clone's eyes flew up to the bed, "Maybe the bed would be better?"

Barriss nodded, and didn't want to admit that the word 'bed' caused her to suddenly feel nervous. Anxiety began pooling in the pit of her stomach, as the reality of what they were about to do gnawed away at her.

_This is my first time. What if I'm no good at this? What if I disappoint Cody? What if I'm a terrible lover?_

Deciding to just take it one-step-at-a-time, she rose lightly to her feet and turned to help Cody up. Not surprisingly, he refused her help.

"I've got this," he grumbled, using the expression that had now become the trademark of his recovery and stubborn resolve.

Once they stood, he stared at the Mirialan standing in front of him and his eyes widened. Her hair was unbound and slightly disheveled. Her shirt was unbuttoned and the only thing between him and her breasts was a conservative black bra.

"Cody, you're staring again." Barriss objected.

"How could I not? You're shabla gorgeous, Barriss."

He nudged her back towards the bed. She nervously reached up and covered her breasts with her hands, out of instinct. She blew out of a breath, forcing herself to relax.

"I want to see _you,_ Cody," Barriss said, quietly. She began unbuttoning his shirt, "_all_ of you."

Cody groaned, forcing himself to be still, and let her continue. Part of him just wanted to impatiently shed his clothes and get on with it. He felt a burning _need_ to feel his skin up against hers. Barriss fingers trailed a slow path, following the course of the buttons.

"Barriss," he hissed, impatiently.

She smiled, and met his eyes, enjoying now the effect she was having on him. His shirt finally came away, and dropped to the floor.

Cody glanced down at the discarded shirt, and briefly frowned. Part of him wanted to grab the shirt and hang it up properly where it belonged. Part of him couldn't care if the kriffin' shirt burned in the fiery pits of Vulcar. Cody kicked the article of clothing aside, and turned his attention back to Barriss.

The Jedi skimmed her hands down the muscular planes of his chest, enjoying what she had just bared. She sighed with pleasure, and lightly raked her nails across the tightly knotted ridge of muscles that corded his abdomen. Cody sucked in his breath. Barriss' hand dipped lower, then, and stopped. She hesitated, then, at the waistband of his pants, unsure of herself.

Cody slid his hands down to his hips, to guide her hands. He didn't want any delays. Actually, he didn't think he was going to _last_ if there were any delays.

Barriss stilled his actions. "No. _I've_ got this," she insisted, and then that teasing smile gently graced her mouth again. She looked so irresistibly feminine, like a temptress, and _need_ for Barriss slammed Cody full-force.

He groaned and captured her mouth with his, burying one hand in her silky, black hair. Barriss thrust her hands into his exercise pants, smoothly sliding them down. He wasn't wearing anything underneath, since the pants had built-in athletic support. As soon as she tugged the pants down, he could feel the cooler air against his naked flesh.

Feeling himself bared before the Jedi only added to Cody's fervor. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he captured her face to his and pressed his tongue between her lips. She opened her mouth beneath his onslaught and accepted his tongue. At the same time, the flexible Jedi agilely used one of her long legs to help remove his pants the rest of the way. Cody stepped out of the pants, and kicked them aside. No thoughts of folding the clothing ever crossed his mind.

Pleased beyond measure with her progress, Barriss reached down to skim her palms over Cody's bare buttocks. The clone gasped, and shoved his hips into the Jedi. Barriss' eyes widened at the unexpected feeling of Cody prodding against her. She hadn't intended to do _that._

Barriss suddenly noticed Cody was staring down at her, frowning, "Why is it that I'm dressed like the day I was vatted, and you're still completely dressed?"

Barriss thought of her missing hood, and peered down at her obviously open blouse, "Well, I'm certainly not completely dressed-"

Cody grumbled, "Can't believe you're arguing with me at a time like this." With one deft move, he reached forward and unhooked her bra. The garment fell to the floor, in a puddle of unwanted black material.

The clone looked inordinately proud of himself.

Barriss stared at him, suspiciously, "How did you… Have you ever…" At the moment, she didn't even think to cover up her recently bared breasts. She was too busy trying to figure out how the commander performed that task with such expertise.

Cody folded his arms across his broad, muscular chest, still looking smug. Barriss noted with satisfaction that he'd added back most of the weight he'd lost. Their hours of eating and exercising had done him a great deal of good. The clone now looked every bit the impressive commander she'd known from before his spinal injury. He peered down at the black undergarment in question, and then back up at Barriss. His eyes were glittering with amusement, and his mouth lit up with that charming smile she'd come to love. "What is it you think we troopers discuss behind our helmets all the time?"

Barriss just stared at him, flabbergasted.

Cody began laughing. "There's only so much battle tactics one can discuss, you know. That got old by the time we were like… " he shrugged, "…six years old. So, we had to find more interesting ways to _pass_ the time," the clone commander took a step forward, and reached a hand toward one of Barriss' breasts. He stopped just short of touching it. "Especially during those _endless _mission briefings." Cody's palm came down and began rubbing slow lazy circles around Barriss' ample breast. He nudged her backwards with one knee, pushing her closer toward the bed again.

She stumbled back, not even aware of where she was going. "Wait! You discuss bras during mission briefings?" Barriss asked, her voice clearly conveying her confusion.

Cody's other hand came up so that he could touch both breasts at once. "Mmmmmm…." He said, thoughtfully, clearly getting distracted. Then, he blinked, as if trying to remember what they were talking about, "Huh? Oh, yes, we do… but, we make sure nod our heads at all the right times when you Jedi are going on and on. We have that part perfected down to a science."

"Can't believe you discuss bras!"

"No… it's more specific. Usually, we talk about how to _remove_ bras during the briefings. Sometimes we use our HUDs to share informative diagrams and videos," Cody added, helpfully. "They taught us at Kamino about the importance of sharing vital information." He gently tweaked one of Barriss' nipples between his fingertips, producing a gasp from the Jedi Healer. He grinned with satisfaction, "See? All those briefings paid off!" The clone commander shrugged, "Why do you think we choose to wear our helmets for those briefings?"

"Huh? Wha…" Barriss was finding it difficult to follow the flow of what Cody was saying. "Helmets? Uh…. " Why was he asking such difficult questions? "Oh… I always thought it was so you could access your… uh…" _Force! What were those things called?_

"Heads Up Display?" Cody murmured, leaning his head down.

"Yes, your…" Barriss frowned, wondering what the clone was doing.

"Heads up," Cody warned, as his mouth came down onto Barriss' breast.

She gasped and stepped backwards into the nightstand, clinging to it for support. Her fingers delved into Cody's thick black hair. His mouth began working a hot trail tasting her everywhere along her upper body, leaving no part of her untouched.

"So amazing," the clone murmured, his lips trailing behind her ear. "And," he whispered, "our Heads Up Display is vitally important. You're right."

Barriss' hands clenched the muscles of his back restlessly, "Cody," she pleaded, not even quite sure what she was asking for.

The clone began working his way back down again until his lips had reached the hem of her thick skirt. His eyes looked up at her, blazing dark now with passion.

He began unrolling the dark grey garment, savoring every moment as he slowly tugged it down her slender hips. Once the skirt was past her knees, gravity took over and pooled it down by her feet. Barriss obligingly stepped out of the puddle of fabric.

The Jedi stood in front of him now just wearing a serviceable pair of black stockings. Cody knelt down in front of Barriss. His eyes swept up and met hers, as if double-checking for approval before proceeding on. Their eyes met for a long heated moment. The Jedi Healer gave him just the briefest of nods, and that was all it took. The clone's lips descended to her stomach, while his hands slid inside the waistband of her stockings.

Barriss gasped from the double sensation of Cody's mouth heating up her sensitive flesh and his hands plundering her waistline. Her stockings began to give way, following the path her skirt had just gone. His mouth trailed after his hands kissing his way all the way down to her leg.

_Force! Where did this man learn to kiss?_

The Jedi held onto the small table behind her, already feeling as if she might shatter from his relentless verbal assault. Suddenly, she felt carpet underneath her bare toes, and knew the stockings were now gone. The only thing between her and Cody's heavy arousal was just her modest pair of black underwear.

The clone commander had finished kissing his way all the way down one leg, and had now shifted his attention to the other shapely limb. He was kneeling down, beginning at the ankle, and working his way up. His hands were trailing up the inside of her thighs, paralleling the course of his slowly teasing mouth. Barriss thought she might go mad with the pace of it. But, at the same time, she'd never felt such an explosion of sensations before. Her body was starting to get almost irritable. She wanted something more, but all these sensations were so new and unfamiliar.

"Cody…" she murmured, shifting her body restlessly.

"Shhhh…." Cody soothed, as he kissed, his fingers and mouth trailing around her mid-thigh, "I'm almost there." He peered up at her grinned, "I want to taste _all_ of you, Barriss." One hand casually reached up and lightly brushed her across the front of her female mound, over her underwear, causing her to startle. At the same time, it made her shift even more restlessly. The clone stroked his hand firmly across the mound once more, and Barriss pressed into his hand. He drew his hand back. "Cody," she protested, feeling a strong _need_.

He shook his head, and grinned. "Something else I want to do first…" He stared down at her pointedly, then looked back up and met her eyes. "_You_, cyar'ika, are absolutely delicious, know that?"

Barriss' eyes grew wide as he suddenly realized then what Cody had in mind. "Oh no, you can't possibly mean to-"

Her protests fell upon deaf ears. The clone had already worked his way up to her last remaining article of clothing. In less time than Barriss would have thought possible, her overly practical underwear was down around her ankles. Suddenly, Cody was pushing her upper body backwards and spreading her apart.

"Cody…" Barriss said, nervously.

The clone commander raised his eyebrows at her, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I don't know about this," the Jedi said, uncertainty evident in her tone.

Cody sighed, and stood, bringing his lips up to hers. He gave her a long, slow lingering kiss. He waited until he felt her begin to relax again. Then, he began working his way back down her body. He moved at a much faster pace than the previous time. Barriss could feel herself heating up as his mouth worked a fiery trail down her stomach. When Cody's tongue suddenly delved into the most sensitive part of her, she cried out in shock.

"Cody!" she'd never even been touched there before, and now…

Barriss practically fell off the nightstand from the intensity of the sensation. She closed her eyes, and then heard a low deep moan.

_Force! Was that me?_

She opened her eyes, and looked down. Cody's paused and lifted his head. She could see both satisfaction and amusement in his passion-soaked gaze. "Should I stop?" he asked, in a voice deeper than she'd ever heard him use before. Somehow she knew he had no intention of stopping.

Barriss couldn't even speak so she just stared at him. After a long moment, Cody chuckled and resumed his self-appointed task.

The Jedi gripped her hands into the clone's silky dark hair. She always loved his hair, but she would never look at it the same way again now that she'd felt it brushing up so intimately against her. Suddenly, she felt a sensation building up, the likes of which she had never felt before.

"Co… dy!" she cried out helplessly as waves of pleasure began to wash over her. Her fingers dug into his scalp, digging in deeply.

Cody repositioned his body. She could feel that he was practically shaking with need. He stood, his hands gripping her bare shoulders. She felt something pressing up against her sensitive core. The clone gripped her body, pulling her close to him. Suddenly, he was _inside_ of her. There was no pain, like she thought there might have been at their first joining. Her waves of pleasure were still washing over her. She looked up and saw Cody grit his teeth. He pushed himself in deeper, bracing himself on either side of the table. Barriss gasped from all the sensations hitting her all at once.

Out of instinct, she wrapped her legs around Cody's waist. The action drove Cody deeper inside her womb, and they both cried out from the feeling.

The clone immediately froze upon hearing her cry out, and stared down at her. "Are you OK?" the concern in his gaze almost undid her.

Barriss nodded, and adjusted her hips again clutching Cody's back. Her movements caused him to once again slide deeper, and he groaned.

"Kriff, Barriss," Cody's eyes were closed, and he rested his chin down on the Jedi's shoulder for a moment, "you are so tight."

The waves of pleasure had stopped, and all the Jedi Healer could feel now was Cody. He was huge, hard, and she wondered if she might rip in two if they continued on their current course. But, she was determined to see this through. Barriss tried to begin moving, but the clone held her still. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead, and she could see how difficult it was for him to keep himself from moving.

Their eyes met, and Cody shook his head gently. He tipped her face, and took her mouth in his gently. He began kissing her, slowly at first, until she began to relax again. As their kisses began to heat up again, Barriss could feel a fire begin to build in her again. She felt to a great urge to _move_.

"Cody, _please,_" Barriss moaned, pushing against him restlessly.

Only then, when she signaled she was ready, did Cody finally release her shoulders. She realized, then, that he'd been restraining himself this whole time just for her.

"Oh, Cody," she murmured, her feelings for the considerate clone washing over her like a bright spot in the Force. She'd never met anyone like him before.

They began to establish a rhythm together. Cody braced his muscular arms on either side of the nightstand so he could slide in and out of the Jedi with ease. Barriss released her legs from his waist, and let them glide down. Cody immediately nudged her legs further apart, allowing him greater access to her jeweled depths.

The clone kissed her neck again, savoring her, "Ah, Barriss…" he groaned. "You feel so…" he shifted his muscular legs, adjusting the angle at which he was taking her on the table, "… ah…." Cody couldn't articulate anymore to finish the sentence. He was lost to the pure pleasure of being inside of Barriss.

The clone had lain in bed, night after night, dreaming of the dark-haired beauty. But, nothing compared to the reality of claiming her on this small piece of furniture adjacent to his sleeping pallet. No matter what came in the war after this, he could never forget the amazing intensity of this first time with Barriss.

Cody could feel himself losing control. He was surprised he had lasted this long, considering how much the Jedi Healer aroused him with just her very presence.

The clone closed his eyes, willing himself to hold back just a little longer. He released one hand from the table and brought it forth to caress the Jedi's chest. Then, he leaned his head down to lavish attention on her neck and breasts. He felt an immediate reaction from Barriss. Her nails raked across his back, and her pace against his increased, becoming more desperate. He continued his efforts, further stimulating her body.

_Just hold back a little longer, Cody._ He begged his young body to have the stamina to delay his release long enough so that the Jedi healer could join him.

His patience was soon rewarded. He felt the Jedi's hips buck under his and for the second time that night she cried his name and shuddered underneath him.

Cody's tenuous control snapped. His mouth immediately sought out hers, grinding his lips down onto hers in a mercilessly onslaught. He braced both arms down onto the table and drove his hips into the Mirialan with several deep forceful thrusts. _Mine._

He felt an answering spark. Barriss' arms came up around his neck, just as he heard a whisper in his mind.

_I am yours._

Cody growled out deeply and let himself go, emptying himself deep inside the Jedi. His arms swept around her protectively, cradling her within his strong reach. Cody cried out as his body spasmed in pleasure.

Afterwards, the only sound that could be heard was the clone commander's deep breathing. Barriss slowly started to become aware of the wooden corner of the small table digging into the soft flesh of her buttock. She shifted slightly, and winced.

Seemingly always in tune with her moods, Cody immediately came back to reality and asked, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah… table… butt…" Barriss grimaced.

Cody stared down at the Jedi in shock, mouth agape. "I've never heard you talk like that…" He shook his head. Then, he immediately repositioned their bodies so that she wasn't supporting his body weight anymore.

Barriss noticed that he carefully avoided disengaging their bodies. He merely flipped her so that she was now on _top_ of him, and he was the one leaning against the wooden table.

"Is that better?" he asked, with an impish grin.

Despite their recent activities, Barriss noticed that Cody was still fully 'ready to go' within her. "How can you still be…" she shifted experimentally, in her new position.

Cody grinned, watching her move. "Some of those superior genetics we discussed, remember?"

Barriss brought her legs up, and balanced them on the clone's muscle-bound thighs. "Well, I guess I'm fortunate that I can be the beneficiary of these superior genetics." She smiled, leaned forward and planted a long, lingering kiss on his lips. "You, up for a round two?"

Cody laughed, the sound light-hearted and ringing through the room, "I think we have established that I am already 'up,' Commander Offee." 

Barriss burst into an uncharacteristic fit of giggles at this, prompting Cody to raise up an eyebrow. His hook shaped scar rose up as well, and she smoothed it back down again with her fingertips. She leaned forward and kissed the intriguing scar. The movement placed her chest close to the clone's mouth, which he was quick to take advantage of. Barriss squeaked in protest as Cody unexpectedly grabbed her breast with his lips. But, it did turn out to be a promising start of 'round two.'

By the time their second round of lovemaking was over, Barriss and Cody were both stretched out on the floor, just stared at each other with dazed wonder.

"You know," Cody said, his gaze briefly darted toward the bed, "we never even made it to the bed."

Barriss giggled.

The clone's eyebrows raised, surprised at hearing the Jedi make such a sound again.

The Jedi blushed, and shrugged. She was too relaxed around Cody to be bothered by the little things anymore. "Do you want to… ah… _try_ the bed?" She raised up one long shapely leg and used it to point toward the piece of furniture in question.

The clone raised up his foot, and used it to stroke her leg intimately, before he grabbed her and pinned her into an intimate embrace underneath him. His mouth claimed hers for a slow lingering kiss, before he finally answered, "Actually, I was thinking we might try the sonic shower."

# # #

A/N: So, it has been bumped down to "T," but not too shabby, right? Still enough there to fog a mirror, I hope. If anyone has any issue with any particular word choices, please let me know. I'm anything, if not flexible, (just like Cody and Barriss. Hee hee. I want their love life.)


	76. Chapter 76 Leaving Ando

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 76**

"It's a suicide mission, you know that, don't you? You can't do this by yourself," Travis argued, as he blocked Rex from walking up the ramp into the _Spirit of Ando_.

"Get out of my way, Travis," Rex growled, putting his arm on Travis' shoulder to push him aside.

"I've seen what you've seen."

"Then, you know why I have to go."

The Marine grabbed his arm, "Rex."

The Captain whirled on him, "Travis, I have a responsibility to Ahsoka, and I have a responsibility to the 501st. How could I possibly remain here?"

He tugged himself free, and made for the ramp again. Undeterred, Travis grabbed him again, "Those aren't your men anymore, Rex! Hard as it is for you to accept, the 501st isn't yours anymore. But, you _do_ have a responsibility to the men here."

Rex stopped, and turned, sighing heavily, "Travis, the 501st will always be part of me." He looked down at his heavily scored, blue-striped armor and then shook his head, "I might not officially be part of the GAR anymore, but I still can't turn my back on them." He extended his arm, and grasped Travis' forearm, "You're in charge here now, Travis. Take good care of the men."

"No."

Rex paused, mid-step and pivoted, as if not quite sure about what he heard. He cocked his head to the side. "What did you say?"

"No. I won't do it."

The Captain fully turned around, his irritation apparent in his taught body language. "Travis-"

The Marine shouldered right past Rex, and walked ahead of him into the ship, "Well, I can't very well take charge here if I'm going with you."

"What? No!" said Rex, adamantly, hurrying to catch up with him.

"It's simple, Rex. I can't watch out for our men if they're all going to be on another planet." Travis came to stand inside of the hatch of the ship, and folded his arms across his chest, "Captain on deck!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" A booming chorus of male voices echoed throughout the ship's main cabin.

Rex turned around, startled, to see the cabin packed to capacity with the entire Ando Legion. He turned to Travis, opening his mouth to protest.

Hok jumped up, "Welcome onboard, Captain!" He grabbed Rex firmly by his arm.

"Wait-", Rex objected.

Travis grabbed his other arm. "Well, we know you're in a hurry, Rex."

Together, the two quickly shoved Rex into the nearest jumpseat, and made fast work of buckling him in.

"Travis!" Rex bellowed.

"No time for arguing, Rex," Travis said, with a chuckle, as he double-checked Rex's seat straps, "just making sure you are buckled in tight _this _time. Rumor has it you have a nasty habit of whacking into bulkheads."

This earned a good-natured chuckle from the men of the Legion. Rex noticed they were all fully armored up, and gripping their weapons.

Travis spoke into his comm link: "We're set back here, Odds. Chance." He buckled in next to Rex, as the engines roared to life.

Rex looked around at all the troopers, buckled in, geared up, and ready to go. Seats had been assembled and crammed into every possible space in the revamped pirate ship. The main bay was a sea of white armor. He looked over at Travis, who was grinning ear-to-ear.

"How long have you been planning this?" Rex asked quietly, as the ascent pressed them back into their seats.

Travis shrugged, his grin slightly strained from the forces of the acceleration, "Since about 30 seconds after you mentioned you were going."

The Captain shook his head, "I should have known."

"You should have just asked us to come along in the first place," Hok grumbled quietly from the other side of him.

Rex stared at him, and then looked out at all of the troopers who were looking at him expectantly. "Thank you," he finally said, addressing the group at large.

Next to him, Travis sighed heavily.

"What?" Rex asked, exasperated.

"Such a shame we're all strapped in," Travis said, rolling his eyes, "this would have been a great time for a group hug…. Hey! Ow!"

Rex leaned back and smiled. Travis hadn't strapped him in so tightly that he couldn't maneuver his arms for a strategic strike at the mouthy Marine.

Hok cast an eye over at the Captain and the Lieutenant as they went through their usual routine. Anytime now, Lieutenant Travis would try to strike the Captain back. Hok wasn't sure why the Captain tolerated this behavior from the Lieutenant, when he was generally so strict with everyone else. But, it was apparent they were brothers with a history, so everyone let it go at that.

_Thud!_

_Ah, there he goes._

Travis had tried to retaliate, but as usual, the Captain seemed to evade his efforts with slightly faster reflexes. The Lieutenant had attempted to drive an elbow into the Captain's ribs, but ended up with his arm driven into wall behind him instead.

_Good thing that wasn't his injured arm or he'd be in a world of hurt right now._

Hok eyed the Lieutenant and noticed he was no longer wearing his plasti-cast. He'd still had it on the previous evening when they'd done their final mission briefing, so he must have just cut it off.

_Wonder if he cut the thing off himself. I'm sure the doctor is going to be none too pleased._

The muscular scout sighed. He shifted in his seat, easing the imprint his armor was making in one of his buttocks. _Kriff. None of our women are going to be pleased when they figure out what we did._

They'd decided as a group the only way to go was covertly. If they let anybody know they were going, then soon, everyone would know. Ando was just too small of a town to keep secrets. So, the only ones would knew about their plans were the brothers, save for Rex.

Hok glanced over at the 501st leader again. It was a miracle they'd been able to keep their intentions from the Captain. The Lieutenant had done an admirable job of keeping him distracted, working him to exhaustion on rehabilitating his knee. Catcher had remained in charge of the Legion, telling them everything he knew of the planet known as Darkknell. They'd worked through every possible strategy for infiltrating the complex with their available resources.

Hok sighed again, absent-mindedly rubbing at the still healing muscles on his leg.

_The odds weren't good._

They had the element of surprise on their side. They had three highly trained ARCs on their team, and a new team of snipers. But, they were still less than 100 men. And, their supply of weapons and ammo was limited. It would be a miracle if they came out of this alive. _Travis was right when he said this was a suicide mission. _

But, not one of them had even hesitated for a moment when Travis had mentioned the mission. It was enough for them that Rex needed help, and their brothers were in trouble.

_The fact that they kicked us out of the GAR never came up for debate. _

He leaned his head back against the bulkhead.

_Things aren't complicated between us brothers._

He glanced sideways again at Rex and Travis. He could tell from the way the Captain's head was moving just fractionally within his helmet that the two were talking.

_It's more complicated on Ando, though. It's great and all. Just more complicated. _

He began disassembling his DC-15A blaster rifle and checking the sights, out of habit. He tried to focus ahead on his anticipated role on Darkknell with the other scouts. But, as his hands went through the ritualistic motions of disassembling and assembling, he couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to what he'd left behind on Ando….

# # #

"Hok! What are you doing home so early? Don't you have drill practice?"

Hok smiled broadly, as he entered Xyra's kitchen. He felt a warmth spread through him at the way the beautiful scientist now referred to the two-story wooden structure as 'their home.'

Xyra was over at the conservator, packing up a few food items into a shoulder bag.

The trooper walked over and leaned onto the counter next to her, "Actually, I have the next few days off."

The scientist stopped what she was doing, and looked up at him, puzzled, "Why?"

Hok shrugged, "Catcher sent the scouts on a three-day training mission. After all, there is only so much drill practice you can do when you are a scout. But, Lance didn't think it was a good idea that I go hiking." He waved his hand, generally in the direction of his leg, then flexed it gingerly, "Said something-something about when the fibers of the muscles are pulled apart, you lose muscle function. Need to let it heal so there's no permanent damage. He shrugged again. "Big bite from sea beastie means no three day hike for me."

"Is everything OK?" Xyra looked at him, suspiciously.

Hok sucked in a breath. _There's no way I can tell her that the medic told me I need to rest up if I want to be fit for the Darkknell mission. And, Catcher sent the Scouts on a training-scenario to get them ready for where we're going next week._

"Of course," Hok blustered, "why wouldn't it be?"

He winced inwardly. _Yeah, that was smooth._

"Well, Lance is very wise," she gently placed her hands across his torso, "Ah, so that means _I_ get you to myself for the next few days?"

Hok nodded, and smiled. "It would appear that way."

The scientist frowned, "Unfortunately, Hok, your timing isn't very good."

The reconnaissance trooper looked at her, worried, "What do you mean?"

Xyra sighed, "We're scheduled to be out at sea for the next three days. I'd push it out, but we're pursuing a rare algae bloom."

"A rare algae bloom?"

Xyra nodded, and pursed her lips thoughtfully.

Hok crossed his arms his chest, thinking how when her lips looked like that it was most distracting. "I could... ah... go with you."

Xyra looked surprised, "After your last experience, you want to go out on the Manifest Destiny again?"

The clone nodded, "Going out to sea again actually seems appealing. I'm interested in your work."

The scientist studied him, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was sincere. He _was_ always peppering her with questions. His grasp of the information, and attention-to-detail, was nothing short of amazing.

"Come on. You're always saying how you're short-handed on the ship," Hok shifted his body so that he was in front of Xyra. He began rubbing her arms in an enticing manner, and it wasn't long before other parts of him reacted to the nearness of their two bodies pressed up against each other.

"OK! OK! You're hired!"

Hok whooped with joy, picked up the scientist and spun her around.

"Hok! Put me down!"

The trooper began sliding Xyra slowing down his body, deliberately taking his time. "You know," he said, huskily, "I have _nothing_ to do for the rest of the day. What say we celebrate this new job of mine?"

"Hok, when I said 'hired,' it was just a figure of speech. We can't actually pay you. We're broke."

"That would make it comparable to every other job I've had." He tugged at the shoulder bag she'd been filling with food, "Just feed me."

"That I can do," her lips twisted into a frown, as his words sank in, "just because you haven't been paid before, doesn't make it right. Now, I feel like we're _using_ you, Hok."

He laughed, before bringing his lips down to hers. "Ah… there are other compensations, I think, for this particular job, that sets it apart from the others."

Xyra locked her hands between Hok, bringing their bodies as tightly together as possible, "Ah, yes, other compensations. Well, considering how lousily you've been paid in the past, I think I have a lot to make up for. What say we head upstairs, and start _compensating_ you?"

Hok grinned, and pushed himself up against the scientist, "No need for all that fancery. I'm ready to collect _right now._"

He pressed her back against the kitchen table, and quickly began working them out of the most relevant clothing. His stitches had only been out for a few days, but he had learned much in that time. He had ten days of pent-up frustration of desiring Xyra and not being able to act upon it. Ever since then, he couldn't seem to get enough of the brilliant, compassionate Andosian who'd risked everything to save him from the freezing waters.

Xyra cried out underneath him as their bodies joined on the kitchen table.

_Kriff. Don't let her sister or cousin walk in now._ Hok thought, knowing Xyra never locked her doors. They would certainly get an eyeful the moment they walked in the door. He'd been in too much of a hurry to fully undress. His shirt was off and tossed halfway across the kitchen. His pants were down around his ankles. Xyra was only undressed from the waist down, but her hair was in a wild state of disarray. _She looks absolutely amazing._ Hok thought. _I'm the luckiest man alive. If her sister walks in, I'll just have to shoot her._

He wasn't going to let anything interrupt this perfect moment with Xyra.

# # #

The scout found his second journey at sea to be infinitely more enjoyable than the first. No giant sea creatures were trying to eat him. His flesh wasn't sliced through from top to bottom. He didn't nearly drown in near freezing waters. However, he had all of the highlights of the first journey, which was Xyra.

The berths about Manifest Destiny were tiny. So, it meant they practically had to sleep on top of each other to accommodate two people. Hok thought these were great sleeping arrangements. He loved sleeping on top of Xyra. He fell asleep sleeping on top of her every night, and several times during the night. Whenever they'd get a break in their work time, he'd tug her back to the crew cabins and give her some Hok time then, too. During those three days, he managed to find every nook and cranny where two people could 'compensate' each other.

Hok wasn't sure what the other two crewmembers thought of all this, and he didn't particularly care. He was the happiest he'd ever been.

# # #

"You, OK, Hok?" Catcher asked, as he walked through the cabin of the Spirit of Ando, checking on the troopers.

"Yes, sir," Hok eyed the Captain thoughtfully, then confessed, "just lost in thought, sir."

The ARC Captain paused, then gestured to the trooper next to Hok. The clone unbuckled, got up and went to find someplace else to sit. With a slight hiss from his hydraulic braces, Catcher eased himself down next to Hok. He settled his single crutch between his knees and then said quietly to Hok. "So, you and Xyra, huh?"

Hok shook his head, then chuckled, "Is it that obvious?"

Catcher stared straight ahead for a moment, then looked back at Hok, "Well, to me? Yes. I have something I've been meaning to tell you." The normally serious ARC surprised Hok then by actually chuckling. Hok had never once heard the man 'chuckle' during their drill practices. The scout stared at his superior in open-mouthed shock. Oblivious to Hok's shock, Catcher continued on, "Since they are cousins, to each other, well, you're going to find this out very quickly anyway, so…

Hok gaped, "You and Ashla?"

Catcher's brow furrowed, "Why do you sound so surprised?" The ARC frowned, "Do you think that a woman wouldn't want-"

Hok stared at the Captain, "No! That's not what I meant at all. Of course, she would want _you_, Captain. I was just surprised you would want..." The reconnaissance trooper stopped, realizing he was just digging himself deeper.

Catcher frowned again, staring at Hok. "You're surprised that I would want Ashla? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sorry," Hok shook his head, "I'm messing this up terribly, sir."

"Drop the sir, Hok, because I'm coming dangerously close to hitting you here. And, all the 'sirs' aren't going to change that. What is it you're trying to say?" Catcher's eyes glittered dangerously.

Hok puts his hands up defensively, "When I was first on the boat with Xyra, Ashla seemed to be a bit of a…"

"A what?" the ARC's voice had a menacing edge now.

"A… uh… handful," Hok finally came up with, "but, it seems that...uh…" The scout bit his lip, trying to think what Xyra would say in a situation like this.

Catcher leaned in closer to him, waiting for his response. Hok could see how lethal his ARC Captain could be when riled up. Inspiration from Xyra suddenly came to him.

"You must bring out the best in Ashla. Sounds like you've brought out a whole new side of her," Hok said, remembering at the last moment to not tack on 'sir.'

_Last thing I want is for him to go all crazy ARC on me,_ Hok thought, waiting for Catcher's reaction.

Catcher leaned back, considering Hok's words carefully. Finally, he nodded his head, "Yes, I believe you're right." The ARC then smiled broadly, and clapped Hok on the back. He did it so hard that the scout actually ended up coughing. "We do bring about the best in each other. Never looked at it that way."

He grabbed his single crutch, and with a massive push of upper body strength struggled to his feet. Hok wanted to help him, but knew it would be a bad idea. The ARC caught his balance, and in an impressive move, easily turned himself around to face the scout. Hok was surprised how well the Captain had learned to master the hydraulics which powered his legs.

"Hey, Hok, when we get back, we should get together. The four of us, for dinner, or something," he smacked the scout on the back again, bringing on another coughing fit, "with us being brothers, and our women being cousins, well, that makes us... " he looked thoughtful, then shrugged , "... like family, right? So, dinner?"

Still coughing, the scout just nodded. The ARC nodded, and moved on to check on the next group of troopers.

"Family?" Hok grumbled, imagining having to get through a dinner with the intense ARC as he rubbed the sore spot on his chest, "oh, that's just great."

# # #

Rex idly as watched Catcher settled down, and began engaging in a long, intense quiet conversation with Hok.

He turned his attention back to Travis, "So, Trav, just what did you tell the men anyway?"

"The truth."

"The truth?"

"Yes, that we were following the Captain on some damn fooled crusade."

Rex raised an eyebrow at that and waited for a further explanation.

"I told them you'd been in contact with some of the 501st and they needed our help. It was enough for them. The men trust you, Captain."

Rex looked at Travis grimly, "Let's hope that trust is not misplaced."

"Ah, that's the Rex, I know, looking at the grim side of things. Can't we just enjoy our first big trip together? We got the whole gang together. We've got our cool new ship. The paint is fresh. Come on. Let's have some fun!"

"Travis, we're about to head into our first major battle together. I'd hardly call this fun."

"First battle? What about that thing with the pirates?"

Rex and Travis both thought back to the incursion with the pirates, and broke out into grins.

Travis shook his head, "OK, yeah, forget I even brought that up. Hardly counts as a battle. That was more like target practice. We should've asked more of the local pirates to stop by to give Catcher's new snipers something to practice on."

Rex sobered up, "Trav, this is going to be different. Not like before. We can't treat this lightly. If we're going to win this thing, we need to tackle it like a major offensive."

"Way ahead of you, Rex. Catcher and I have spent the past week going over scenarios."

Rex smiled, "More of that obsessive planning that you do so well?"

Travis clapped his brother on the shoulder, "You know me… Catcher!" The ARC Captain was just passing by, and pivoted to face them. "Captain Rex would like to meet with us." He nodded his head toward the crew lounge, and the three made their way back together.

"So, Rex," Travis asked, as they walked, "just how were you planning on breaking in there alone, without a formal plan?"

The Captain shrugged, "Not really sure, Travis. Just had this strong feeling it was all going to work out."

Travis snorted, and shook his head, "Frak, Rex. You're lucky you have me as a brother."

"I managed just fine for a year and a half in the 501st by myself," Rex grumbled, as they walked.

"You got kicked out of the GAR!"

"So did you."

Catcher held open the door to the crew lounge, trying to hold back his amused smile at the other two officers. He didn't understand their relationship, but they were entertaining to be around.

"Lieutenant, Captain, why don't you sit? I need to get something," he gestured toward one of the tables, then walked on through the lounge toward the galley.

He returned a few minutes later carrying a thermos in one hand. He set it down on the table between Travis and Rex.

"What's this?" Rex asked, curiously, looking up.

Catcher reached into the largest pouch on his belt, and pulled out three plasti-mugs, since he'd run out of spare hands while carrying the thermos. He set a mug down in front of the captain.

"I'm fulfilling a promise that I made to you a while back, Captain," Catcher said. He uncapped the thermos, "I believe I owe you a cup of caf." He poured each of them a steaming cup of caf, and then took a seat across from Rex.

The 501st Captain thought back to the moment he'd first the bed-bound ARC and teasingly told him to fetch him a cup of caf. During the ensuing conversation, the determined trooper vowed to get back on his feet and indeed get that drink.

Rex nodded respectfully, and raised his cup to Catcher.

# # #

A/N: So, the gang's on their way to Darkknell.

Didn't get a chance to post an update last week, so there will be two this week.


	77. Chapter 77 Heartache on Ando

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 77**

Karyn woke up slowly, and rubbed her head, trying to figure out why she had such a throbbing headache.

Memories of the night before started coming back to her slowly. A half smile crossed her lips as she remembered all that had occurred between her and Travis. She certainly couldn't offer up any complaints about their love life. But, at some point, she was going to have to start actually getting some more sleeping done at night. Her body couldn't keep up this pace forever, pleasant as it was. Was this what she was experiencing now? Some kind of sex hangover?

"Ugggh..." Karyn rubbed at her eyelids blearily. She totally felt out of it this morning. "Travis? What did we _do_ last night?" she threw a hand over to his side of the bed. Her fingers grasped over, reaching, "Hey, you awake?" She expected for her fingertips to burrow into the soft down of Travis' dark hair. But, instead, she was greeted only with an empty pillow.

Frowning, Karyn flopped her sluggish body over to stare at the refresher door. Was he in the sonic shower already? They both always needed a thorough showering after their marathon sessions in bed. Her athletic lover never ceased to amaze her with his flexible body, stamina and imagination. They were both soaked in sweat by the time they called it a night. She tried to sometimes hit the sonic before falling asleep, but rarely had the energy. Plus, Travis often insisted on following her in there, and then no actual showering got done...

A smile tugged at Karyn's lips as she thought of how many different angles and positions they'd tried in the refresher alone.

"Travis?" she called out, in the general direction of the refresher door. Her voice was hoarse, and she coughed dryly. _Odd. My mouth is almost cottony-dry. Almost like a reaction to a med..._

There were no response to her call. Karyn pushed up and tugged on her robe. Bright sunlight was already streaming into the room.

_Gah! How late did I sleep?_

The doctor staggered over to the bedroom doorway, which was open, and called downstairs. "Travis? Why didn't you wake me up? Did you start the caf? You know how Rex gets if he doesn't get his four cups in the morning."

She was still greeted with only silence. The doctor frowned and grabbed her chrono off the dresser.

"0730?" she yelped, "You've got to be kidding me!"

She charged into the sonic, and stayed in just long enough to scrub off the sweat and residue of the night before. Hurrying back out, hair wrapped up in a towel, she randomly grabbed the first clean clothes she could find. She ripped the towel off her head, tossed it into the clothes sanitizer pile, and combed her fingers through her hair.

"Ugggh," she groaned, taking in her dishhelved appearance in the mirror. Her complexion was awful today.

_I look almost ill. Odd._

_No time to do anything about that now. I'm late for my rounds._

As the doctor neared the door of the bedroom, she glanced down at the corner where Travis normally kept his armor and weapons stacked in a neat pile. She frowned. The floor was empty.

_What? He wasn't supposed to go back to Drill Practices until his arm fully healed. I thought working with Rex, and helping run the town was enough to keep him busy while he healed. I underestimated him. As soon as I get my caf, I'm headed down to Fisherman's Field to have it out with him. He is sleeping in Rex's room tonight._

Karyn walked by Rex's room. She peered in, and was not overly surprised to see the Captain was also not present.

_Of course, where one is getting into trouble, the other is going to follow. It's amazing those two ever even made it into adulthood. Well, pseudo-adulthood._

Out of curiosity, she stepped into Rex's room, and gazed toward the corner where he kept his gear.

_His armor and weapons are also missing. What are those two up to this morning?_

Karyn stomped down the stairs, not feeling well was starting to combine with a sense of general unease. She gritted her teeth.

_Now my head is pounding. Ugggh._

_I'm getting some caf, and then I'm getting some answers..._

_# # #_

Karyn headed into the kitchen, and noticed it was impeccably neat. Not the slightest sign that either clone had eaten breakfast. Not even a residual quarter pot of caf leftover. The caf pot was still clean and unused.

_Odd. I've never seen Rex leave the house without caf. And, Travis hasn't skipped a meal since he started living here. What's going on?_

Her sense of anxiety growing, Karyn hopped in her speeder and rushed over to Fisherman's Field. The sight that greeted her chilled her blood.

"Oh, no," Karyn stepped out of her speeder, and just stared. There was not a single clone in sight. Fisherman's Field was as barren as before the clones came to town.

Xyra came pulling up in her speeder, "Karyn! Where are they? I just came into port and Hok's gone! He's not at the house, he's not here, and he's not in any of his other usual hangout places. Ashla just called me in a total panic. She can't find Catcher anywhere," the scientist's eyes grew wide and hopeful, "Is Travis still here?"

Karyn's stomach dropped then.

Another speeder pulled up, piloted by several of the women who worked at the docks. Since things had been slow lately at the docks, Karyn knew they'd been assisting the clones in their efforts to retrofit their ship. "The ship is gone! They took the ship!"

"Karyn? Karyn?"

Karyn heard Xyra calling to her but she suddenly felt a wave of blackness wash over her and stumbled on her feet.

Next thing she knew, the scientist was grabbing her firmly by the elbow and pushing her into the passenger seat of her speeder. "Come on, I'm driving you home."

It hit Karyn then, "Xyra, they're really gone, aren't they?"

Xyra met her eyes, before looking back at where she was driving. The look in her eyes mirrored the hurt she was feeling. "Yeah. Looks that way."

# # #

Karyn stomped into her house, followed by a concerned Xyra.

"We were out at sea until just about an hour ago. But, you didn't see or hear anything unusual this morning?" Xyra prompted.

Karyn frowned and shook her head, trying to think. She was normally such a light sleeper. Why had she slept so late this morning?

"Caf?" Karyn held up the pot.

Xyra shook her head, "No. Too upset to eat or drink anything right now."

Karyn sighed and shoved her caf mug into the dish sanitizer. It was then that she noticed a glass in the sanitizer, and a memory instantly hit her.

Travis was laughing, dressed just in his sleep pants. He was enticing her into having a drink with him. She was insisting she didn't need one. She'd had a long day, and was already tired.

Undeterred, he left the room and returned shortly later with two glasses half-filled with strong Andosian liquor. Her drink had tasted a bit... off.

"What'd you mix this with?" she frowned, staring down at her glass.

For just a moment, something flashed across Travis' face. Then, his charming smile returned, all innocence, "Nothing. Finish your drink. I want you to relax. Then, I'll give you a massage."

Karyn smiled. Travis gave the best massages. She tossed down the remainder of her drink, still grimacing at the slightly odd taste.

"There. You happy now? You trying to get me liquored up?"

The muscular Marine shook his head, laughing, protesting his innocence. He finished his own drink, and then set both of their glasses on the nightstand. He leaned in and said huskily: "You ready?"

Karyn realized she couldn't remember anything past the time Travis started digging his knuckles into the arches of her feet. Had she fallen asleep during one his lovely massages? She frowned, trying to figure out why her recollection was so fuzzy. Well, she supposed it was possible. Travis was a natural when it came to therapeutic massage. He always did get her so _relaxed._ But, shortly after, things always got so exciting, so she'd never fallen asleep before…

Xyra's voice interrupted her recollections, and she almost dropped the glass.

"Hey! Ando to Karyn. What are you thinking about? Your eyes were transfixed for a moment there." Xyra was peering at her with concern, again.

Karyn sniffed the glass in her hand. It just smelled like Andosian liquor. She peered around, and spied the other identical glass.

"What are you doing?" Xyra asked, baffled.

Karyn pulled the glass out, and sniffed it. There was the strong smell of liquor alright, but, something else...

Determined, the doctor stalked out of the kitchen, and into her clinic.

"Karyn!" Xyra followed her, frustrated.

Karyn stuck the glass under her med-analyzer. A moment later, her suspicions were confirmed. "He drugged me!"

"Who?"

"Travis!"

"Why would he..." Xyra's voice trailed off.

Tears began streaming down Karyn's face. She spun around to face her friend. "Isn't it obvious? So, he could leave! And, I wouldn't try to stop him." She stared down at the glass, as anger and betrayal washed over her. She grabbed the glass, and whipped it into the far wall.

"Hey!" the scientist protested, staring at the wall, and broken glass. She paused, "Nice shot." Then, she gripped Karyn's arm, "Look, you need to get a hold of yourself. You held yourself, and this entire town, through a lot worse than this."

The doctor took her anger out on her friend, "Yes! I did! I lost my husband! I lost both my sons! And, now..." she sank down to her knees, whispering, her anguish apparent, "something really good finally happened to me again…. Why did he _leave_ me?"

Xyra knelt down and held her, and the two stayed there, rocking, "I don't know, Karyn. I can't help but think if they left, it had to be with good reason. I know my Hok, and he's... steady. Reliable." Her voice drifted off, and Karyn could hear the genuine sorrow the other woman was feeling at her loss as well, "... he was genuinely happy here. I know he was." The scientist's voice drifted off for a moment, before becoming steadier, "I never asked him where his name came from… But, I always thought of him as my rock." She sighed again, "His name suits him."

Karyn looked over at her friend, and squeezed her hand in support. She took a deep breath, and then tried to get herself back into 'leadership' mode. "OK, let's stop and think this one through. Did Hok take everything with him?"

Xyra shook her head, "No. I checked. He only took his armor and weapons. All of his other clothes are still here. Plus, there are a few mementos that he's managed to accumulate during his time here. They're just little things, but thinking about it, I can't help but feel if he'd left for good, he would have taken those things with him."

The things were…" the scientist paused again, "…special to the two of us."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Karyn's eyes, "Are _all_ of the clones gone?"

"I was assuming so..." Xyra began.

Karyn immediately stood up, forcing Xyra to stand with her, "Has anyone checked on Razor, Saber, Tag and Sink?"

The scientist's eyes widened, as she thought of the four troopers who were fully paralyzed.

"Come on!" Karyn said, tugging on Xyra's arm and practically dragging her out the door.

# # #

Karyn gritted her teeth with frustration. Stopping by to visit Razor and Sink proved fruitless. The clones' beds were empty. Their hosts hadn't heard them leave.

"However, ever since he got that new mech-chair, he's been coming and going at all hours," an elderly farmer, Killric L'yel, host family to Razor, said as he leaned on the gate in front of his homestead. "Says he's been out working on that ship." A touch of pride entered the man's voice. "Imagine that, the boy can't use his arms or his legs and he's off fixing ships." He gave his town leader a concerned look, "Did the boy do something wrong?"

Karyn shook her head, "No. It's nothing like that. We're just trying to track down the clones."

"Track them down?" Killric looked alarmed. He stood up straighter, "That doesn't sound good at all. What do you mean?"

Karyn took a deep breath, "I mean. The clones... they've... uh..."

"Left," Xyra filled in.

The man frowned, "Left? Where'd they go?"

Karyn shook her head, "We don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

The man paled. His wife, an older woman with a kindly face, came out of the house and stood next to him, "What is it, dear?" She looked at her two visitors, "Karyn? Xyra? What brings you two out here? Is something wrong with our dear Razor?"

Killric shot a warning look at Xyra and Karyn, shaking his head slightly.

The woman didn't see his look, and leaned forward, touching Karyn's arm, "I have to thank you, dear, for suggesting we take in, Razor. He has been such a blessing in our lives." She gestured back at their farmstead, "he helps fills the emptiness here."

A lump formed in Karyn's throat, "I'm glad it's working out so well..." she stood there, awkwardly, not knowing what else to say, "I... have to go finish my rounds. it was nice seeing you two again."

She nodded to Xyra and the two of them hastily got in their speeder and pulled away.

As they were leaving the homestead, Karyn mumbled, "If we find these clones alive, I'm going to kill them."

# # #

As they approached the back kitchen doorway of the next homestead on their list, Karyn heard the deep rumble of male voices from within. Her heart leapt as she suddenly realized she was hearing _clone voices_.

Xyra must have come to the realization at the same moment, because the two ended up running to the doorway. Without knocking, they barreled into the kitchen and found themselves face-to-face with Tag, Razor, Saber and Sink.

Razor and Tag were both in mech chairs. Saber was lying propped up on the couch, and Tag was comfortably situated in a well-padded chair that fully supported his limbs. As one, four pairs of identical brown eyes turned to them, startled, when they barreled into the kitchen.

"Uh oh," Razor murmured, "guess they noticed..."

Karyn stomped into the middle of their gathering. "Alright! Where are they?"

"Would you believe us if we told you we didn't know?" Saber asked, innocently, from his position on the couch.

Having just seen that look the night before, on her innocent lover, who then proceeded to drug her, Karyn had no patience.

"You brothers don't take a piss without consulting each other first!" Karyn hissed, looming over the clone. She put her face right into his and started yelling, "you know exactly where they are. Now spill it!"

Saber's eyes widened, "Whoa. The Lieutenant was right when he said you could yell," he mumbled. "Impressive." He nodded toward a package on the table, "We're not allowed to divulge where they went. However... Lieutenant Travis... he left that for you."

Karyn's eyes went wide, and she practically dove for the package. Whatever was inside was hard and odd-shaped. She tore the package open.

It was the plasti-cast from Travis' arm.

She held it up, staring at it. All sorts of emotions ran through her. First off, she was furious at him for taking his cast off before his arm was healed. Second off, she was enraged for flaunting it in her face like this. Third off, she was irate that he hadn't left something more… romantic.

Saber cleared his throat, getting her attention,"Turn it over."

Karyn turned over the plasti-cast, and noticed there was writing scrawled across it. The letters were a bit shaky. Either they were done in a hurry, or Travis was still having some difficulties using his hand. And... they weren't in Basic.

"I can't read this," she said, in frustration.

"We can," Flex commented, "it's in Mando'a."

Karyn had sometimes heard Travis and Rex using a sprinkling of phrases from the colorful language they said they'd picked up from other troopers, and their training officers. She'd never heard the language before they'd come crashing into her life.

"What does it say?" Karyn squinted at the unfamiliar lettering.

The four looked back and forth at each other awkwardly.

"Well?" Karyn demanded. "Are one of you going to translate this for me?"

Tag sighed, "Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi bajuri verde."

Karyn and Xyra stared at them in puzzlement.

"What does it mean?" Karyn demanded.

The four looked back and forth at each other, looking mildly embarassed.

What could Travis possibly have written that was causing this level of embarassment and confusion amongst the last four remaining clones?

"Well?" Karyn finally demanded, unable to wait any longer.

Saber said solemnly, "It translates to 'We are one when together, we are one when apart, we will share all, we will raise warriors.'"

The four clones then just stared at Karyn, their identical eyes studying her intently. She looked back and forth between them, puzzled, suddenly feeling like she was being scrutinized. She bit her lip, and then stared down at the item in her hands, thinking over the words.

"Karyn began repeating the phrase, puzzled, "Dar-"

"No! No!" all four clones exclaimed at once. Of the four, Tag looked the most panicked.

"Please! Don't repeat it!" Tag said, an air of desperation in his voice.

"Why not?" Karyn said, frowning, staring down again at the item in her hands.

"Kriff! Don't you see? It's a wedding vow!" Tag blurted out.

Karyn felt all the blood rush out of her face, "A vow?" she whispered, not sure she had heard correctly.

All four identical eyes met hers again, all confirming what she'd just heard.

Razor elaborated, "It's a Mandalorian tradition. One partner says the words. Once the other person repeats them back. You are married."

Karyn turned to Xyra, wide-eyed with shock, and noted her friend looked both amused and surprised. She turned back to face the troopers again, "So, let me get this straight, Travis just asked me to _marry_ him?"

The four of them nodded, all looking somber. They continued to study her intently, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Actually," Saber clarified, "he's actually already written down his vows. You just need to confirm them. So, it's stronger than just _asking_ you to marry him. His vows are already done."

The meaning of what Travis had done was just beginning to sink in with Karyn, "So, if I repeat these words back, we're married?"

Tag met her eyes, "Yes, just make sure you repeat them back to _him_." He grinned, "not me."

"You know what this means?" Karyn whispered to Xyra, staring down at the object in her hands. She still wasn't sure whether she was furious with Travis, or, just desperately wanted him back safe.

Xyra nodded, "They're planning on coming back."

Behind them, the four clones looked back and forth between each other and smiled.

# # #

_A/N: OK, I'm probably the only one obsessive enough to look up details like this but it turns out that quadriplegics can actually nod their heads, (although some cannot.) The simplest definition of a quadriplegic is someone who has a spinal cord injury, is paralyzed from the waist down and cannot use their hands and legs. However, some quadriplegics do have some use of a single hand, or some fingers. _ _I do envision these four continuing to heal and do better doing their time on Ando, perhaps regaining some functionality. Although, none will never be like they were before. Being clones, I have a feeling they will adapt… _


	78. Chapter 78 Sink

**A/N: This chapter was guest-written by Reulte.**

Chapter revised March 13, 2012.

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 78**

Auset strode to Karyn. She appeared to have come directly from the field, her trousers and coat wrinkled and dirty, her boots crusted with mud and wet from the snow and her hair shoved under the knit cap.

"I want one, Karyn," she stated baldly with no preamble or greetings.

"I have to take everyone's wants into consideration, Auset."

"I'll agree with that, but are you taking the wants of the men into consideration also?" She tilted her head. "When the women volunteer, has anyone specified they wanted one of the paralyzed men? Even now, when rumors are rampant that the others won't return, are you getting offers to take these four men?"

"No," admitted Karyn. "Razor is with Killtric and his wife, but there's a lot of extra care involved and most of the women are afraid or must be away fishing for several days or weeks at a time." Her cheeks turned pink in anger, "and a few – not many, but a few – particularly requested not to have one of those men." Karyn crossed her arms. "Odd, I thought, that none of those women has a houseguest."

"Mmmph," Auset gave her opinion of the sloppy excuses, recognizing that Karyn had removed their names from the hosting lottery. "So you asked Rosanne if she would mind and she took them all." Auset, needing no real confirmation from Karyn, nodded. "She's got the room and the temperament, but even so that's a bit more work on her. Even if the biobeds take care of almost everything and only need occasional checking. I'm sure that one of their brothers would be happy to temporarily move in to assist if their host was on an extended trip."

"They do," Karyn sighed. "Their brothers help Rosetta when they visit. Even so, I had to," Karyn picked her word carefully. "Prevaricate to Rex and Travis about how many people wanted Sabre, Tag or Sink. Killtric wanted one or more of 'the boys' and he was very open about 'like a son' but he was delighted when I suggest Razor."

"I would think the two officers will get suspicious very rapidly." Auset pursed her lips. "Does anyone visit them?" she asked. "I mean beside their brothers and their captain. Besides you, as their doctor?"

Karyn sighed and shook her head. "I'm sure they will soon enough, but at the moment it's only been…"

"Too long and you know it, Karyn. You know that so very often the able-bodied ignore people that are perceived as less capable than themselves. You know that most people tend to ignore 'plegics and flats."

Karyn winced at the derogatory term and nodded. Travis had told her he was ashamed of forgetting the men in biobeds, forgetting they had needs, on the aborted trip to Kamino.

"I'm asking, Karyn." Auset leaned forward into Karyn's personal space and Karyn almost took a step back. "I'm asking for one of the most handicapped men because I've had the most experience. I'm asking, Karyn, because it burns my heart to think of some man getting all angrily bitter and hateful simply because he's invisible." Her lips curled up into a smirk. "I'm asking because if I can take care of one of 'those cripples'…"

Karyn flinched again, knowing Auset had heard those words from one of the women. She suspected she knew who. Auset nodded to her unasked question then continued speaking.

"If the 'Coruscanti whore' can take care of one of those men, then perhaps someone else may consider it as well."

Karyn rolled her eyes. "I am not running a dating service, Auset."

"Don't be a prude, Karyn." Auset spoke softly. "Do you think there isn't sexual sizzle in any of the homes where one of the wounded men has been hosted by a woman?"

Karyn blushed. There had certainly been a lot of sizzle in her home since Travis.

"Do you think their satisfaction and happy voices aren't telling their brothers the truth?" Auset smiled as she recognized that her point had been made.

Karyn nodded. "Ok, Auset. Some of the women won't like it, but they'll only grumble a little."

"I don't think making a public announcement at the town meeting would be a good idea, but if you want to let the gossips know, which is just as good and far more effective, then here's my ultimatum. If you don't give me one of the tetraplegics, I'm going to take my choice from some other woman."

Karyn couldn't help but laugh as she nodded. "That would frighten most of them into letting you have all four." Then she sobered. "Sink, I think, has the worst injury. C5. I'm not sure if it's complete, but I think so. What can you do sexually with a tetra- or even a paraplegic? There's no feeling below the lesion site, no sexual response."

Auset raised her eyebrows. "Karyn," she exclaimed, "of all the people on Ando, I would have thought you knew better. Nerve damage is not as precise as people and even trained doctors believe. I've seen quadriplegics use their fingers and hands. Not strongly, but sometimes strength isn't what's needed or wanted, sometimes just the stroke of a finger. I've seen 'plegics who managed erections sufficient for penetration, who eventually made their wives happy and pregnant."

She paused and spoke more softly. "If nothing else, I can touch him, kiss him and hold him in the night. I can stroke his face and his scalp – you know how many nerve endings are there. I can give him purpose in assisting me in cataloguing the botany of Ando after I teach him the dichotomous keys. I can talk with him and laugh at his jokes, commiserate with his problems." Auset smiled softly. "Being a CPC on Coruscant was never about sex, Karyn. It was about pleasure, about acknowledging that all people are worthy of love."

Karyn rocked back on her heels, worried about Travis and what he might say. He'd agree and Sink would probably be quite happy to be housed with Auset.

# # #

Sink looked around the house they'd brought him to. He almost quivered with excitement. Except, of course, he couldn't really quiver anymore; he couldn't much move or feel anything below his collarbones. Not his arms or hands which he considered floppy white fish attached to the lank line of his arms, nor his legs somewhere far beyond his tactile reach.

They had talked, the three women, as they brought him and his biobed to the house, as if he'd been invisible. He knew it was a she who lived here. She lived alone. Sink had cleared his throat twice, trying to break into the conversation to ask who she was, but they hadn't paid attention so he simply listened. She was often in the field for days or even weeks, they'd said, and he would end up back with his two brothers.

Sink wouldn't mind that, if he could stay while she was in residence. Then he'd have someone different to talk with and someone to talk about with his brothers. Rosetta had been nice, but not much of a conversationalist about anything except cows, milk and cheese. Besides, between the milk cows, Sabre, Tag and him, she was obviously overworked. His visiting brothers tried to help her, but she refused. "No, no, the cows are used to me and let down better." She'd left the room for the barn and the five of them had tried to decide what 'let down' meant in relation to cattle.

She, the woman of this house, was a sexual woman, had been a prostitute, and what was Karyn doing providing her with a man? "For all the good…"one of the women had started saying then abruptly closed her mouth as she caught Sink's dark-bronze eyes watching her.

Sink frowned. She can't know what she's getting. She'll probably just ask Karyn to take me back to Rosetta's. There was a sour taste in his mouth and he looked around again, a frown on his face. Don't get used to it, said a quiet voice inside his head.

It was a single story house and from where they'd placed his biobed, Sink could see a double-wide chair with a window behind it. In the late afternoon, a short time from now, light would stream into the room from that window. There was a desk against the south wall, covered with flimsis, publications and things he couldn't quite identify other than tell they were organic; maybe wood or leaves or grass. To the north side of the house was an attached bedroom with no door between it and the living room though there was a door in the bedroom and Sink thought it might be the refresher. He'd caught a glimpse of the food preparation area though his back was now turned to it; there'd been a window there also and he could imagine breakfast and caf by the early morning light.

His eyes and mind drifted back to the bedroom with no door. Neither the house nor the bedroom appeared too large and, unless the 'fresher was a disproportionally huge, maybe she dressed and undressed in her bedroom. Maybe he'd catch a glimpse of feminine skin… he could still appreciate beauty and to him, there was nothing more beautiful than the curves of a woman.

"Hi." It was her voice and Sink didn't think he'd ever heard a nicer one. She was at the front door and, only because he had asked to be turned around, the women had set the biobed facing the door. He could see her enter then turning to make sure the door was securely closed. "I'm Auset."

"Sink," he replied, still frowning. She was lean, dressed in dark clothes, and pulling a cap from her head, loosening a thick braid of hair and mussy strands straight out from static.

No, he'd be back with Tag and Sabre before tomorrow night.

She removed the heavy jacket and dropped it on a bench next to the door, then sat and unlaced the heavy boots and pushed them off with a groan at how good it felt to remove them.

She, Auset he knew now, raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Sink. Verb or noun?"

That caught him by surprise and his lips twitched in near-amusement. "Noun. I was..." He frowned again as he looked down and gave a shrug; full-shouldered and hands lifted in his mind, but only a tremor of actual movement and the useless sliding of fingers over the slick, easy-to-clean, covering of the biobed. She wouldn't care about his name; he'd be gone soon enough.

She took several steps closer to him. "I'm sorry for the scent, eau de swamp, but I've been out in the field collecting for a couple of weeks." She pressed the cap to her face and wrinkled her nose. "You must think me a mess."

"No," he replied. I'm the mess, but he didn't say that. "What were you collecting?" Maybe if was interested in her interests, she'd come visit him occasionally – wherever he ended up. That would be good; not as good as staying but good nonetheless. It wasn't as though he'd have much opportunity for his own interests anymore.

"Botanical specimens." She grinned as she came closer. "Usually much neater and less icky than Xyra's fish collection, but not always." Auset tilted her head and looked squarely into Sink's face. He suddenly realized that almost none of the other woman of Ando had looked into his face.

"May I touch you?" She asked. "In greeting; the back of my fingers to the side of your chin."

Sink blinked. It was another difference that he suddenly realized had bothered him, even his brothers guilty of this small offense. They touched his body without acknowledging him. He didn't realize it had bothered him, the only time he had noticed was with Karyn who did announce what she was doing and he'd only thought she'd been much more pleasant than the doctor at ArmyMed. The head clanker, General Grievous, would probably be more pleasant than the doctors at ArmyMed.

"Please," Sink gave a small nod of his head then held his face motionless for her. He even sighed with pleasure at the smooth touch of her skin against the rough stubble of his cheek and the soft pull against his own skin then her fingers dropped to her side. He wished he could return the gesture and glanced down at his floppy fish hands.

"Sink," he said abruptly. "Noun. Boggy ground. In my first solo assignment as a scout, I waited over a day in a water-filled sinkhole to collect information from a Separatist camp."

"You must be a very patient man."

"If I wasn't before, I certainly am now," he quipped as he gave her a tentative smile. The other women and even some of his brothers didn't always approve of him making light of his injuries.

"Are you patient enough to wait for dinner until I take a shower?" She gestured at herself, and Sink laughed.

"Considering you look like you've been in a sink for a day or two, yourself, I guess so." He grinned, teasing. "If you're not out in three days, I'll be in after you."

"How?" She was direct and Sink appreciated that. He wouldn't get false promises and cheery, nonsensical advice from her. He glanced at the window, where the afternoon sun was coming in, all golden and warm over the snowy mud of the yard.

"I don't know yet, but I'll start thinking on it immediately."

Auset nodded, her own lips curling into a secret smile, and she moved into the refresher room on stocking feet.

Sink listened while she showered and when she went from the 'fresher to the bedroom, Auset had a cloth draped around her dark hair and another around her body.

She dressed in the bedroom!

# # #

"What would you like?" she asked as she came out of the bedroom in a knee-length tunic of a light-colored material which seemed to flow at her movements.

You, his mind replied. He grimaced; both at his body's lack of reaction to his mind's thoughts and the thought of dinner. "I can't feed myself." It was almost a mumble and he was looking down, his face a shameful red.

"Why not?" Her eyes, dark brown velvet, darker than any of his brothers, appeared concerned. "Karyn told me you were a C5 paraplegic."

He blinked, astonished she knew more than 'broken neck'. "Yes," he admitted hesitantly. "C5-C6 break and torn spinal column." He tried to be humorous. "It was me or the wall; the wall won but I gave it a good fight." Again came the tiny twitch that substituted for his full body shrug. "I've demanded a rematch for next year."

Auset frowned and came over to him; in front of him and so close he could smell the aroma of her skin and a slightly floral scent he took for the soap. Apparently, she didn't like jokes about his deficiency any more than anyone else.

"I understand that there wasn't a lot of time between your injury and your arrival here on Ando, but how much therapy did you have?" She reached back for one of the dining chairs but didn't quite sit down.

"There was no going back to the battlefield." Sink's voice was emotionless. It had to be, otherwise all that pain and anguish would overwhelm him, drown him. He looked down, in his semi-prone position, to one hand, giant white useless floppy fish.

It was her turn to blink in confusion. "No, of course not, but how much therapy did you have?"

Sink was quiet, looking at her with solemn, bronze-gold eyes. He spoke slowly as if she spoke a foreign language and didn't understand. "If there's no going back to the battlefield; there's no reason to train me." He turned toward her slightly, using his elbow as a fulcrum and the long bone of his upper arm as a lever. "In anything."

Auset leaned back and her eyes narrowed. "I want to make sure I understand this, Sink. Are you saying you had no therapy?"

"None. There'd be no purpose to it." He fell back into the semi-prone position of the biobed.

Again she blinked and sat on the chair with a small huff of breath, stunned.

"What about Tag, Razor and Sabre? What about Catcher and his mech-legs?"

"Same with the others. Catcher was an experimental program which failed in its objective."

"I've heard he does very well with the braces."

Sink shook his head. "The objective was to get him back into the field. Battle ready."

Auset was still for a long time, her eyes flickering in thought, occasionally darting to his face. After a while, she took in a deep breath and let it out.

"I can go back, if you want." Sink said sadly. "Obviously you've overestimated my capabilities."

She smiled absently at that, just the corners of her lips tilting up. "No, you've underestimated them. But that's understandable because no one explained them to you. You're C5. You can move your arms and hands, can't you?"

"I know that," he snorted. "It doesn't do me any good if I can't hold something in my fingers. If there's no control or strength." He moved one shoulder, twisting it slightly back, and his arm rolled over so the palm of his hand was now facing up. "Watch," he ordered and her eyes went to his fingers. He squeezed – rather he used what he could of the muscles that told his hand to squeeze – and his fingers twitched closed; not tight enough to grip anything.

"You moved your thumb, that's good." Her fingers were over his hand, almost close enough for his fingers to touch. If he could control them; slippery uncatchable fish.

"A little thumb wiggle makes you happy?" His frown showed he expected no answer to his sarcasm but she turned those velvet dark eyes to his bronze ones and had a nicely wicked smile on her lips.

"Under the right circumstances? Deliriously." Her voice was dark, mysterious, heady and Sink glanced into her eyes. He blushed as he realized the right circumstances but she continued speaking.

"Can you move your arms? Say, touch your chin with either hand?" Her voice was openly curious.

Again he shrugged, although he didn't try to lift his arms. He really couldn't control his wrists and it looked … ridiculous.

And it didn't matter… not really.

"Perhaps after dinner?" she asked softly. "But I'll only feed you tonight. Tomorrow, you'll be spooning yourself your own soup."

Sink laughed harshly with a shake of his head. "I'm useless, hopeless."

"May I touch you," she asked, as she had before, raising her fingers to his face.

"No," rebuked Sink sharply. "And I'm not hungry either."

Auset nodded and withdrew her hand. "Very well. I will have some soup. If you change your mind you only have to let me know."

Sink watched her heat and eat some soup. It smelled appetizing even though Sink had no appetite for food. Then she washed out the bowl and spoon and went to her desk. She was very good at neither noticing nor ignoring him; it wasn't awkward to be there with her, even in the silence. It wasn't a momentous silence like the moment before battle, after the captain had given them a speech and they all suddenly realized they might die. It was simply peaceful quiet.

After eating, she turned some music on and went to her chair with a reader to catch the final rays of the golden sun. She pulled her long legs up and curled into the chair, leaning to one side. With a start, Sink realized it was large enough for two people. Her hair was shiny and the fading sunlight gave her skin a sheen that highlit her cheeks, the curve of her shoulder, the bending S-curve of her lower legs.

Sink wished he'd had soup with her but not because he was hungry for food.

Finally, it was dark and she stood, stretched gracefully and set the reader on the chair then flicked off the desk light she'd turned on when the sunlight had faded to dusk.

"Is there anything you need, Sink? Anything I can do for you?"

"No," he replied, much quieter than his earlier words. "Thank you for asking." He smiled a little. "Thank you for at least considering me as a guest. I think you'll have to arrange for someone to take me back to Rosetta's or Karyn's house."

"Would a couple of days' trial be ok, Sink?" She had moved across the room toward the bedroom, her finger was on the light switch. "I have a lot of botanical samples that I need to work on so they won't mildew and wasn't planning on leaving the house for two or three days once I got back from this trip."

Sink thought about it. The biobed should be checked daily, but probably wouldn't need attention for a couple of days. He could easily tell her what readings to check and Karyn would probably show up as well. "I don't think there'd be any problem with that." He grimaced, "just realize that I can't…"

"Haven't," she cut into his words then shook her head. "Will you give me time to explain my thoughts during breakfast? Hear me out tomorrow and I won't speak of it again except at your request." Her finger turned the switch, but there was some dim light coming from the bedroom. Her form, facing him, was outlined and Sink simply stared, drinking in the beauty of her silhouette.

"I don't want hope, Auset," Sink spoke into the darkness. "If there's nothing that can be done. Nothing I can do."

"I understand, Sink. I won't talk of anything more than what I've seen you're already capable of doing." Auset moved into the bedroom and Sink watched, catching glimpses of her skin in the dim light as she disrobed for bed.

Sink wished she had asked to touch him one more time before she'd gone to bed. He would have said yes.

He snorted and looked down at the floppy fish fingers squirming at his sides on the biobed.

What did she think he was capable of doing?

# # #

He was the hungriest man she'd ever seen.

Auset lay in the darkness of her bedroom contemplating tomorrow.

Caf, of course. Karyn had told her they lived on caf and the harsher it was, the more they liked it. She'd been kind enough to give Auset, who drank only tea, some of her supply.

Auset wished she'd been back early enough to see them drill, but she'd heard some of the stories of their precision and taking down the pirate ship from Rosetta. Rosetta, who ran the cow dairy just a kilometer away, had a sharp, discerning eye for details. She had probably been front and center of the fight with the pirates and had actually seen the fight between the 'two herd bulls' as she called them.

Karyn had also told her what wasn't yet common knowledge among the small Ando community; they'd been going back to die because they were no longer considered battle worthy.

Auset hadn't believed that, not really. From what Karyn had said these four tetraplegics were the worse injured, that some of them had full mobility with mild seizures or only partially impaired mobility. These men were capable of so much, even as wounded as they were now. Witness the two mech chairs they'd built, witness the fact they had repaired a ship and marched off to battle; though she did wonder why they'd left the four biobed-confined men behind. Her eyes narrowed, she'd have a talk with Karyn in a few days and later, probably the men who'd gone as well as the four men left behind.

She hadn't believed they were going back to die until she'd spoken with Sink. Catcher was an experiment that fail. She shivered, not just at the thought but the way he delivered the words, as if the experiment was more important than the man.

He didn't want hope.

Without hope, we die, Sink. Tears stung her eyes. She didn't think dying was what he wanted, he had too much interest to want to die, but considering where they'd been headed perhaps it was what he expected, what he assumed he deserved. She didn't have to give him hope so much as let him know that he was expected to live; didn't have to give him hope so much as let him know there were things worth hoping for; didn't have to give him hope so much as let him know it was permitted.

Auset could hear Sink's breathing in the other room. He wasn't asleep either, his breathing was too calm and even, but he was thinking. She hoped he was thinking about what he could learn tomorrow. But if he didn't have hope, she'd have enough for him; for all three of his brothers as well.

She took a deep breath and released it, curling into the warm cushions and blankets of her bed.

# # #


	79. Chapter 79 Caf and golden sunlight

**A/N: This chapter was guest-written by Reulte.**

Chapter revised March 13, 2012.

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 79**

Sink decided she was quiet. He'd been trained to wake at the slightest noise but she had made it to the kitchen. It was morning and the light was behind him now, its golden rays lighting up motes of dust in the air and lending a golden polish to the wooden furniture she had; it picked out flecks of red in the wooden desk as well as long, pale linear strands in the wood of the door.

There was a click and small whir then the aroma of caf seemed to seep into the golden sunlight.

"Caf?" Her voice was behind him and he sighed as he wondered what she was wearing and how her hair might be. He'd seen her arms and her arms' shadows last night, doing something to her dark hair. He was simply curious.

"Please," he answered. He'd been rude last night; she was hosting him in her home. She had tried to make him feel welcome. It certainly wasn't her fault he was useless.

"What was the sigh for?"

"Nothing much."

It was her turn to sigh. "Sink, we're not going to get very far if we don't answer each other's questions. Maybe I can't do anything about why you're pensive, but neither of us will know unless we talk."

Auset was right but more than that, if he spoke of his thoughts then social give-and-take allowed him to ask questions of her. Sink chewed his lips just a little before answering.

"Last night, I faced you. I saw you enter because I asked them to position me so I could see the door." He paused. "Old habits, you know, have a wall at your back. But now, I wished I were turned toward the kitchen so I could watch you make breakfast and see out the kitchen window."

She was at his side, in the knee-length tunic and braided hair, static-y strands floating around her face. He gave her a smile which faltered at her look of anger. He bowed his head again, the sight of his useless, curled hands mocking him. They twitched as he thought of them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make extra work."

"Not you, Sink," she muttered as she reached under the biobed and… Sink couldn't see what she did, but it made noise like metal against metal, like the clicks of a stabilizer lock.

"But If I ever," there was a shuffle and snap under him. "Meet the idiot who did not give you therapy, who did not tell you what you might be capable of, who could not even be bothered to show you the controls…" She slapped a small box on the edge of the bed near his hand. "…he'll have a biobed up his own backside orifice."

There were small bumps and dimples on the box's surface, curved to fit a half-curled useless hand, and a long corded wire which seemed to attach it to the undercarriage of the biobed.

Vaguely, Sink remembered seeing that before; when they'd set the bed's configuration for him. That had been the first day and he'd been fighting them to retain his armor, to retain his dignity… Her words brought him back and it was just as well. Armor and dignity were planets and parsecs away.

"May I touch you, Sink? On the hands to show you how your fingers can work portions of this bed." It wasn't really a question.

Eyes round and large, Sink nodded. Kriff! No wonder she was angry, he hadn't even bothered to learn his bed had controls. They'd taken apart and put back the ship then made two mech chairs, but had been too cautious to experiment with the biobeds which, in his case, was attached. He laughed softly at himself and his brothers. Karyn probably thought they knew how to use the beds and they thought the beds had no functions beyond taking care of the intimate biological necessities. The medical personnel at ArmyMed knew they were only going to Kamino and had no need of all that information.

Auset took his hand in hers and Sink thought he saw her give the fingers a gentle squeeze. Then she set his hand down on the curved surface, the tips of his fingers in some of the dimples.

"It's triple redundancy so the three dimples and bumps closest to each other have the same or similar functions. There's texture to help catch the surface of your skin. It's laser guided so you don't need any strength." Then she slipped a stretchy band from the underside of the box over his hand, binding them together. She stepped back. "See what you can do, Sink. Remember that you probably can't feel differences, but you can see what's happening. You have to watch what you're doing."

"I can't move my fingers," Sink muttered, even though they twitched and seemed to squirm sideways as he stared down at them. At least her last few words hadn't been angry.

"Then move your arm, or your shoulder to make your hand go palm up. Try something, Sink." She turned back toward the kitchen and Sink realized she had already turned on the caf-maker. The sharp aroma flowed with the golden sunlight. He turned his head toward the kitchen and saw she had two cups on the counter as well as a small, moveable shelf next to the beverage.

The angle of his biobed shifted toward the eastern window and Sink glanced down at his fish fingers. He couldn't feel anything beyond the nothing-void of his fingers which he should have felt, but when he moved his head, his shoulder had shifted and that had moved his arm turning his curled hand slightly. It had been the pressure of his smallest finger causing the movement. He turned his head the other way, toward the west, making sure to stretch a bit and pull his shoulder as well. The bed stopped its right-hand circle and started turning left. There was only the faintest hum of servo-motors.

"Ha!" Sink laughed once. He looked down at the control where the pull of his arm had brought his thumb down on the opposite side of the curved control. He considered wriggling his thumb but shifted his shoulders right again as he watched his hand move in reaction to his arm's movement; after all he did want to look into the kitchen. The bed turned until he was facing the window. He pushed his arm a little forward at the shoulder and the backrest started to move up, from a semi-prone to a sitting position.

Sink's eyes sparkled as the bed pushed him to a fully seated position. He liked that, sitting up straight and now eye-to-eye with Auset. Sink grinned widely.

"Auset, will you please help me drink some caf?" His eyes took in the contents of the kitchen; a small table, sink, conservor. Outside the window was the twisting trunk of some tree and the snow-tips remnants of stalky plants.

"Plain?" she asked, wrinkling her nose, as she set her cup down.

He grinned. "The only way a trooper takes caf unless he flavors it with mud." Sink glanced at her cup.

Auset smiled at him as she picked up the small shelf in one hand and his mug in the other. "I prefer tea."

"So the caf is special? For me?" He was both surprised and delighted that someone had made a little extra effort for him.

"Karyn gave it to me. For you," she affirmed with a nod.

"Thank you." Sink's grin faded into a softer smile. "I'll tell her thanks also next time I see her." His eyes flicked over the canisters on the counter. "Can I see how much?"

Auset reached back and set his mug on the counter again, the narrow shelf still in her other hand. She removed the lid and held out a canister for his inspection. He leaned forward slightly. "I'll get more when you run out," she said.

Sink raised his eyebrows and a corner of his lip turned up. It was fresh powdered; rather than the re-hydrated premixed caf he'd had so often on the battlefield. "If I don't drink it all," he told her, "don't pour it out unless you grow caf on Ando. Three days old and ice cold, it will still be better than any caf I've ever had before coming here."

"Ok," she set the canister back, covering it with the lid. "I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. Ando doesn't grow caf beans. I'll go buy out the store next time I'm there." Then she held up the shelf. "Can I set this in place and move your arms to the shelf?"

Sink nodded; amazed that she'd even consider buying an entire store's worth of caf. He watched her put the narrow shelf over his lap then handle his lifeless limbs.

Thoughts of caf fled as Sink wished – yet again and, he suspected, forevermore – that he could feel. She took a bit of care setting his arms, supporting each forearm and hand in both of hers, in what seemed a natural position. She held them, her hands lightly caging just above his wrist. "Move your shoulders a bit, Sink. We can determine if this is a good placement for the board."

It wasn't quite, and she patiently adjusted it closer to his body. "Later, I can find something to make a wider lap board if you prefer." They tested it again and this time the placement seemed right.

It was…comfortable. Even though he couldn't feel it, he could tell it was comfortable. His shoulders felt better, like they didn't have invisible weights – Sink laughed at himself – very visible and useless hand-size, floppy fish weights.

Standing at the side of his biobed, she paused. While he'd been considering his hands, she had picked up his mug of caf.

"Will you give me your hand to hold the mug and I'll support it with my hand?"

Sink was about to say 'no' then realized she'd given him a little bit of new freedom with his biobed and comfort with the small shelf. She'd even consider buying a store's worth of caf for him – even if it was a tiny store. He wondered how much that was and if anyone else realized that Ando would be caf-less in time without imports. He nodded.

She was at his left side and he swallowed as he raised his hand from the narrow shelf. It flopped at the wrist, his fingers in a half-curled position, totally useless for anything. Gently she placed the mug in his hand, supporting the bottom of the mug with one hand while curling her other hand around his fingers. Sink suspected the mug's outer surface was warm. He wished he could feel it. He looked at the mug, at his fingers and hers, curled around the mug. His fingers actually looked happy with hers twined around them.

"Guide me with your arms, leading with your shoulder. Let's see how that works?" It was a suggestion and Sink knew if he dropped his hand to the side of the bed, he'd still get caf but her expression wouldn't be the smiling one he already liked seeing.

Sink nodded. "Sure," he murmured, concentrating on his arm, on squeezing the bicep, on rising his lower arm. He did, she followed the movement of his arm, her only guidance was the twisting his hand just perfectly as he brought his lips to the cup. But he had moved his arm.

At ArmyMed he'd been able to flail his arms around. He'd tried to use that to prove he wasn't a quadriplegic. Useful movement, they'd told him at ArmyMed and floppy flailing wasn't useful.

"No strength, but you had control." Auset nodded in satisfaction as she looked him in the face, her brown eyes full of wisdom.

Sink moved his arm down, slowly letting the muscles in his shoulder, his neck and his upper arm, the ones he could feel, relax. It was essentially a controlled drop of his arm; less control and more drop, because just those few tiny movements had exhausted him.

She let the mug lower and he guided his arm so the cup would set next to his hip on the bed, the shelf too narrow and tilted for him to be confident of the mug not slipping into his lap. He laughed at himself again. Not that he'd feel the wetness or burning of hot caf, but he could try to not make a mess she would have to clean up. If he kept his messes to a minimum perhaps she would let him visit her occasionally.

Sink glanced toward his other hand on the shelf, resting on the control box, the dark band across the back of his hand.

"We could," he paused and licked his lips suddenly dry, his eyes down on his hand. "We could make a band like that," he gestured with his face, a sharp move of his chin, "for a spoon, maybe a fork. I could try to feed myself. Do you think that might work?" He didn't dare look at her.

"I think it would, Sink," Auset said softly. "I think it would work very well if we added a brace to provide support for your wrists."

Sink nodded. "You wanted to talk to me last night about that and I was too much a hut'tuun to listen. I didn't want to be disappointed and that was ridiculous because what could be more disappointing than what I am right now." He turned his face to her. "You know more about this than me. Where'd you learn? Some kind of medical training?"

She laughed, a sweet sound to his ears, and moved to retrieve her cup of tea then back closer to him. "Some medical anatomy and physiology," she admitted. "I was a Certified Professional Courtesan on Coruscant specializing in RSF. Rehabilitation. Several of my clients were para- or tetraplegic learning to deal with the sexual effects of their new conditions."

She took a sip of her tea and Sink watched her close her eyes as she held the tea in her mouth enjoying its flavor and aroma, then swallow. She opened her eyes to look at him and smiled.

Kriff, she liked smiling. Sink didn't quite feel like smiling back, but he didn't frown. She was beautiful when she smiled.

"There's a set of instructions to the biobed. If we can find a way to give your fingers a little more traction, we could set up a sloped lap board on your lap to hold it while you're reading."

"We can," Sink nodded. "Karyn probably has some synth-skin or skin glue. Both of those provide a sticky texture and just a drop on my finger would probably last for a day of page-turning."

"I have some skin glue," Auset smiled. "In my camping gear. I also have some botany wax, for preserving specimens. Trust me when I say it's perfectly tacky. Here, let me show you," she turned and began moving toward her desk.

"Auset, wait, please."

She stopped and turned around to face him. Sink liked that. She faced him and looked at his face; not at the bed and not averting her gaze as though he were bad luck or ugly or pitiful; though he might be all three.

"Please talk to me, tell me what you think I can do; what I can be capable of."

Auset nodded and came back from the desk. "What do nerves do?"

"They let me feel." He smirked. "Which I can't do from the chest down anymore." He glanced at his mug of caf by his side. "More, please?"

She nodded, moving to his side. Once she was there, he chanced trying to move his arm closer to the mug. Without her presence he would have knocked over the caf, but her hand held the mug tight when his curled fingers would have tipped it over. Her other hand curled around his and he, again lifted his arm. This time she had to help support his arm. It still felt like floppy fish on a line, but the caf, at least, was good.

"What else do nerves do?" she asked as the mug made it safely to the surface of the biobed.

Sink narrowed his eyes in thought. "Allow reaction to what is felt?"

Auset nodded. "Exactly. Nerves are a feedback loop of 'feel react' or 'feel adjust'." She took a step to the table, grabbed a scrap of flimsi and wrote down the two words then quickly drew curving arrows, one coming from each word and pointing to the other. "When you have a spinal cord injury something in this loop doesn't work. It could be one of the pathways or either the 'feeling' portion or the 'reaction' portion of this equation."

"Viper," Sink nodded. He looked at her questioning eyes. "One of my brothers, out on the ship." He gestured, mostly with his face and shoulder, but his arm came up from the shelf, just a little, as well. "He's got burn over half his body; over his hands as well, mostly his right hand."

"Ahh," Auset nodded with understanding. "And the nerves are dead in his right hand? He has problems handling things."

"Yeah," nodded Sink. "Not my kind of problem but yeah."

"But it is your kind of problem, Sink. See here," she pointed to the little diagram. "He can't feel, same as you can't feel. It just so happens that your lack of feeling is more extensive. So have you noticed what he does to compensate?"

Sink gave a sour laugh. "Uses his other hand, mostly."

"Uses what he does have," but she smiled and turned back to the diagram. "We could make a brace that simply holds your wrists straight. Can you imagine what this might permit you to do?"

Sink thought, his forehead wrinkling and his eyes narrowing. She had to give him credit there, in spite of his pessimistic view, he thought. He was brilliant in some ways, perhaps they all were gifted with that penetrating intellect.

"Help handle delicate tasks, provide stability so my arm can provide movement in tasks such as writing or linear motions such as feeding myself. Maybe even provide enough support to use as a fulcrum to turn from side to side?"

"What else might help?"

He glanced down at the makeshift lap board they'd set up. "This. Already I can tell that the support it provides my arms prevents stress that tires me out." He raised his curled hand slightly and let it drop, tapping his knuckles against the board, twice. "Perhaps some sort of spring mechanism for a grip. A palm loop like for the spoon only at 60 or 90 degrees for moving some objects. A stick-type attachment for separating things."

Auset stood regarding him. "I have no doubt," she began slowly. "That if I hadn't come out of the refresher, you'd be in there long before the end of three days." Then she turned and began cook breakfast.

Sink basked in her confidence.


	80. Chapter 80 Sink and Auset

Chapter revised November 11, 2012.

_Note: this chapter is currently undergoing revisions to fit nicely and respectfully in with the ratings system here on FFN. I'm trying to ensure that this story truly fits into a "T" rating. Please be patient while I finish these revisions. At one time this story had an "M" rating, and I'm still working on getting all the steamier parts of the story whiddled back down to T. This is one of the chapters that originated back during the "M" rating days. This is a much tamer version of the original chapter. It is still undergoing revisions.**  
**_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 80**

Auset found a larger flat board and brought some cushions and pillows from her room and off a chair to make sure it was a good height for Sink's arms. After some experimentation, they decided to have her undo the bed controls and put a sticky drop of plant paste on the outer edge of his smallest finger and a drop on the edge of his thumb. Finally, he was satisfactorily settled, facing the living room and desk, with the instructions on the tilted board. A little more experimentation led to him folding one arm against his body and tucking the bottom of the flimsis between his arm and the board. A sweep of his other hand, with its light coat of sticky, moved the page. Sink smiled, delighted; not just at being able to read by himself, but at the fact that the pillows smelled like she had last night, and that she had been touching him. It had been an awful lot of touching and if he couldn't feel it all; she had touched his face or shoulders occasionally with her slender, warm hands and that had felt good.

"I'll be pretty oblivious when I'm keying out plants. Bog plants can be difficult. But if you need anything or I forget to feed us lunch…"

"I won't let you forget that," Sink exclaimed as he experimentally dragged his hand over the instructions, the page catching on the stickiness and turning.

She laughed and gave the arm she'd just adjusted to his direction a pat then turned toward the desk. For the longest while, Sink spent little time reading the instructions and mostly observed her. She'd done her dark hair in a braid again. In the sunlight of yesterday, he thought he'd seen red highlights and after her closeness setting up the board, he knew it. Her eyes were dark brown. Sink didn't want to think of her eyes as 'mud-colored', but … well, they were mud-colored. But a dark mud, a good, thick, gooey rich soil mud mud-colored. Then it was lunch time and he'd barely gotten to page four in the manual. Auset heated some soup. Apparently soup was popular in the cold weather of Ando. She also removed the stretchy band from the control box and twisted it around his hand and a spoon, adding two pieces of slender wood to brace his wrist.

It was messy, but by the end of lunch, Sink had fed himself half a bowl of soup before his exhausted arms had refused to do anything more than flop around. He also had ideas about the angle of the spoon, but that could wait. She offered to help him with the remainder but he shook his head. "I'm really not that hungry. Put it with the caf and I'll try some more later." Sink smiled, she hadn't argued or tried to entice him to eat 'just a bit more' like Rosetta had; simply accepted that he didn't want any more right then.

"Tell me about more about your first solo scouting assignment," she asked as she moved around the kitchen then sat at the table with a mug of tea and Sink's remaining caf at her hand.

"Not really that much to tell. It wasn't as if I did anything more than lie there in mud and leaves and cold, brown water surrounded by spiders and snakes and leeches."

Auset wrinkled her nose and shuddered. Sink liked what the shudder did to her body, particularly her breasts.

"The water was cold but the body glove took care of that. Mostly, as well as the leeches. It was the insects that were bothersome. I had a spider the size of my thumb," Sink glanced down at the appendage. "Well maybe a bit larger, make its way into my armor and the body glove." Sink shook his head slightly. "I don't know how. Later I found out is has a deadly toxin."

"Gahhh! Spiders," Auset covered her face with her palm and shuddered again, only partially exaggerated. "There's a reason I'm not an entomologist."

"Spiders aren't insects." Sink informed her.

She stood with a smile on her face. "I guess that's another reason." She held out her hand, palm up, toward him and Sink knew what it was for.

He moved his shoulder back at the same time he lifted his forearm. Graceless, but his hand and its slippery fish fingers moved to her palm. With a caress to his hand, her thumb sliding twice against the back of his hand, she set up the control box for him.

"Are you going to be at the desk some more?" he asked as he turned the biobed on its servos toward the room.

"Until I stop for the day and relax a while," she gestured toward the big white chair where she had tossed the book she'd been reading yesterday.

Sink nodded, setting the bed in the best position for watching her in the chair with the setting sun at her back, though the day had been grey and threatening snow or rain. He set up his biobed a little more to one side than earlier, his view of her at the desk curtailed a little but still within sight if he turned his head. "Here," he nodded and she removed the control box from his hand and set him up with the instruction flimsi-book. This time he bent his head to his reading.

Some time later, Auset heard a sharp intake of breath and a low murmured word. She glanced up from the Phoecyanopsis andoian leaf in her hand to look at Sink. He was upright, his arms resting on the slanted board they'd set up, one curled hand on the bottom of the flimsi with his braced arm ready to turn a page. He was staring at her hungrily, his eyes seeming to devour her, his lips partially open.

"What?" she asked, her eyebrows rising as she looked around; particularly after their talk about spiders. "You haven't spotted a spider, have you? They sometimes come in with the samples." She stood and dusted the back of her shirt, then her pants just in case once had landed there.

"No. No spiders." Sink glanced down, then up again, hiding the hunger of his eyes. "Nothing, just some information from the instruction manual. It's quite…" he breathed out and glanced down again. "Comprehensive." Again he bent his head to his reading and, after tilting her head and observing him, Auset turned back to her samples.

Sink glanced out the window. It was getting dark and Sink's mind wandered back to what he'd read in the instruction booklet for the biobed. It had been very informative, not just about the biobed and its operations which were extensive, but about spinal injuries and functions. For instance, the slow-movement pumping function, which prevented skin lesions and infection, could be adjusted for a massage. Not that he could use that function, but it would be popular with his brothers after drill practice.

It was the other information that tugged at Sink's mind now. Most SCI injuries above T10 may achieve reflex erections associated with physical stimulation though not psychogenic erections achieved through erotic visions or thoughts. He'd read that sentence twice to understand it fully, then another time more slowly to understand its implications.

"Auset," he began then his words faded even as she turned. "Nothing," he murmured.

"Nothing."

He looked so hungry.

She moved forward, coming so close it was almost a physical pain.

"May I remind you what I said this morning?" Her hand rose, as if coming to touch his face, then she paused.

"Auset," he whispered to her as he stared at her fingertips. "You have permission to touch me. Anywhere. Anytime. From now until the day I die. I will never revoke it."

Her dark eyes were like pools of eternity. "You know, that is an excellent marriage proposal."

There was silence in the room, the steady downpour of frozen rain and sleet drumming against the roof. Sink looked down and sighed. "I wouldn't mind, but," he shook his head sorrowfully. "You couldn't want me. I'm just a burden. Maybe one of the others…"

"Shh, hush." Her hand stroked his cheek. Once he would have closed his eyes to better feel the caress but now, with feeling so restricted, he kept his eyes open.

"I think Rosetta will visit tomorrow, along with one of your brothers." Auset smiled. "When I'm here, we visit each other every five or six days." She tilted her head and shrugged a shoulder. "We talk – her about her cows and me about my plants, then a bit of gossip."

Sink nodded slowly, not wanting to dislodge her hand from his face. Her fingers pushed back a stray bit of his hair.

"Before then," she asked, "tonight, would you like a bath? Would you like for me to take care of some of your personal needs?" Her hand dropped to his fingers, stroking those lifeless floppy fish. "Your nails are getting long. I could give you a shave." Her mud-velvet eyes met his bronze ones. "I know how and could detach the bed from you without Karyn being here. Your body needs a bit of freedom from the biobed." Her spread fingers pressed lightly against his chest, high enough that he could feel the warmth of her palm.

"Auset," his voice dropped in anguish. "It's not easy, it's very intimate and personal and…" He bit his lips. "I'd rather you not think of me in that way."

She nodded and her hand dropped from his chest. "I'm going to take a bath, then."

The moment called for something to lighten it and Sink called out. "Don't use up all the water."

Auset turned and chuckled, gesturing at the window where freezing rain, which had begun sometime during his reading and her categorizing, kept a constant tapping. "There's plenty on Ando."

Sink leapt into the void of uncertainty, his heart simultaneously sinking to his feet and sticking in his throat. "Save some for me."

# # #

Sink watched her as she bent and made sure one leg was secure, braced against the wall of the tub and her feet, then gently picked up his other leg setting it into her lap; rinsing it with a sponge and water. She'd already shaved the stubble from his face, already roughly scrubbed his scalp and soaped his shoulders, massaging them thoroughly, already soaped and washed the rest of his insensate body. Sink felt an entirely different lassitude than quadriplegia soak through his body.

"Why are you so gentle with me, Auset?" he murmured, watching her through half-closed, sleepy eyes.

She shrugged her shoulders as she squeezed the sponge, water sliding down his leg, dripping back into the tub, dripping down her legs as she sat on the rim. "Different reasons. You deserve gentleness. I'm usually a gentle person – botanical specimens aren't that sturdy until after they've been preserved, you know. It's peaceful right now, relaxing, being slow and deliberate. There's no reason not to be gentle. You like it, you are enjoying it."

Her last words allowed him to ask. "I'd like to sleep with you tonight." He got the words out quickly, before he changed his mind about asking. "If you could stand having me in your bed with you."

She stilled and Sink felt a moment's panic at how she might reaction. She didn't seem disgusted, merely thoughtful, so he continued. "But... I don't think I'm up for sex." There was a flicker of a smile at his joke so he continued. "But I'd like to… no, make that I would love to be next to you." His lips went tight, firmly white, as he pressed them together then opened them to take another leap, another level. "I'd love to kiss you and... to be kissed by you."

She squeezed the sponge again, the water running down. Sink waited, seeing her decision working its way to her face. Slowly, quietly, deliberately she nodded and set down the sponge then stood, her feet in the tub with him. She reached down, caught the edge of the shirt in her hands and pulled it over her head, her breasts swaying with the twisting motion as she turned and tossed the shirt aside. She pulled down the pants until they were around her ankles then stepped out of them, leaving them in the water.

He gasped, "You're beautiful, Auset...the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'm sorry that I can't do more on my own."

"Hush, Sink." She bent and lightly brushed her lips against his forehead as her finger brushed against his lips.

Getting out of the tub was slightly more laborious than getting in had been. Sink was torn between shame, embarrassment and tormented anticipation knowing she was going to slide him in her bed and curl up next to him.

She was transferring him from the biobed to her bed; he was over her shoulder - a modified wounded-man carry, he recognized. His cheek was in the small of her back and his lifeless hands swinging against her lovely ass. Sink grinned, squeezed the muscles in his arms and brushed one cheek with the inside of his arm. "I feel a perfect ass," he murmured. Well, he didn't really, but it was a good joke nonetheless and he heard her laughter.

Then she knelt and Sink was sliding off her shoulders onto the bed, caught by her hands which slowed his descent to the mattress.

She settled him in the bed quickly; for once he didn't have any preference as to the arrangement of his arms or legs, then lay beside him, her hands around his neck scattering kisses on his face. He moved his head, catching her lips as they skimmed from his cheek to his chin. Everything he'd ever known or heard or thought about kisses came to his mind. He sucked softly, tracing the outline of her lips with his tongue, sliding it into her mouth, flicking her own tongue into play.

And, everything else was a whirlwind of sensations and pleasure as he explored his new boundaries and limits together with Auset.

"Let start gentle, Sink. This is your first time since your injury."

He chuckled, "This is my first time _ever_, Auset."

Many long pleasurable minutes, he couldn't believe it.

"Sink," Auset groaned his name.

"Kriff, Auset," he stared up at her, and at them together, "I love seeing us together."

She nuzzled into his neck, planting small kisses and breathed out a heady sigh.

Sink smiled, content.

# # #

A/N: Reulte carefully researched spinal cord injuries as I'm sure is evident from the extensive detail in these three chapters. She asked me to provide thanks and acknowledgement to a certain website, but ffn automatically blocks out links. So, I'll have to spell out the link, and you'll need to remove the spaces, and replace the "dot" with "." The website is spinal – injury dot net. (Kriffin' spammers are ruining things for everyone. I must get 50 emails a day to enhance and thicken a body part I don't even have.)

Oh! And, Reulte also did an amazing write up on how the bio-beds work, and what function and care they would actually provide to someone like Sink, Tag, Razor or Saber. If you'd like to see it, send me a PM.


	81. Chapter 81 Journey to Darkknell

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 81**

After the meeting, Rex decided to stretch his legs. He stood, grimacing as his knee stiffened up from the prolonged sitting. He reached down under the brace to rub at his knee.

Travis, still intently making last minute notes in his datapad, looked up. He frowned as he watched Rex trying to work the ache out of his knee, "Are you OK?"

Rex pulled at the brace, making an adjustment, "Yeah, I'm fine."

His brother eyed him critically, "You want me to check it? Karyn said at least six weeks, and it's only been two. Even with a clone's advanced recuperative abilities, that's pushing it, Rex. You need to be careful-"

"Travis," Rex growled.

The Marine threw up his hands in surrender, flinching a bit at the sudden movement of his wrist.

Rex snorted, "You're a fine one to talk."

Travis quickly tucked the hand onto his lap, out of sight, "This? No, that's totally different. It's… fine."

"Uh huh, _right_," the Captain smirked, dragging out the syllable and shaking his head, "Anyway, I'm going to check in with the pilots." He grabbed his helmet, tucked it under his arm, and head out the front hatch toward the cockpit.

Travis watched him go, idly flexing and contracting his hand, trying to work the stiffness out of the joint. He frowned, as he noticed Rex's gait was still off. It certainly was an improvement over not walking at all. However, if they'd still been in the GAR, Rex certainly wouldn't have been cleared to return with his knee in such condition.

_We're not in the GAR anymore_, Travis reminded himself, _and we're doing this of our free will to rescue our brothers. _

He stared down at the datapad in his hands, still idly flexing his hand again and again. He tried to quell the churning uneasiness that they were terribly outmatched and this battle was _not_ going to turn out well.

# # #

Rex could immediately see the improvements as soon as he entered the cockpit of the pirate raider. It was amazing how much work had been done in such a short amount of time, and he recognized many components salvaged from the Republic ship.

"Captain," Chance acknowledged, glancing behind him. He reached behind and to his right to pull down the jumpseat.

Rex nodded his thanks, but decided to stand for a while longer. He was stiff from sitting for hours since leaving Ando. He looked over the shoulders of the two pilots, observing their work.

"Everything looks good. Should be there in another 18 hours or so," Odds said, tapping on the nav console, and pulling up their course. "Catcher advised we take this route to avoid detection coming in."

A sophisticated 3-D animation appeared above the nav screen and highlighted their course. Rex blinked, momentarily surprised the pirate raider was equipped with such a sophisticated display system.

"The advantages of this route is that we avoid potential skimming Separatist space…here…." Odds tapped the map, "…or possibly running into any Republic cruisers, and getting fired upon by our own, well, which would also be bad. So, we need to avoid crossing here… and here…" he tapped the map again, and it shimmered and glowed around his hand. "Catcher is very familiar with this part of space, so he recommended we can in around here. It will take us a few hours longer, skirting around this way, but it's the best way in."

Rex nodded, and studied the sophisticated display with a puzzled look creasing his brow. The one-armed pilot turned around, and noticed the Captain's reaction to the upgraded display capabilities. He smiled broadly, as he shut off the display, "Ah, yes, well, this is just one of the improvements Tek and Razor managed to squeeze into this cockpit."

"One of the _many_," Chance chimed in, his pride in his brothers' work apparent, "this ship is just _loaded_ with them."

Rex watched them work in silence, enjoying the chance to stretch out his leg and gaze forward into space.

After a few minutes, Odds reached over to flip a switch, and then made an exasperated noise in the back of his throat. He'd thought he was used to compensating for his missing limb, after over two months now, without it. But, he hadn't actually done a lot of flying since losing his arm. He hadn't realized he'd made the noise out loud until Rex said something from behind him, startling him, slightly.

"What?" the Captain demanded, leaning forwards.

"Nothing," Odds shook his head, then at a sharp look from Chance, quickly remembered protocol, "I mean, nothing, sir."

Rex folded his arms, checked his chrono, in his typical 'intimidating Captain' stance. He scowled, "Eighteen hours is a long time to keep things to yourself, Odds. Want to tell me what's on your mind?"

Odds glanced upwards and back at the Captain, obviously unsure if he should speak his mind.

_Aw, kriff. He was a pilot. He always spoke his mind. OK, yeah, something was bugging him…_

He unbuckled his belt one-handed, twisted and faced the Captain, blurting out, "Sir, we left men behind."

Rex looked startled, and said gruffly, "I'm listening. Talk to me, Odds."

"Razor, Sabre, Sink, and Tag. We left all four of them behind," the pilot's annoyance at this fact was apparent in his voice.

Rex looked behind him at the jumpseat, and then sank down into it, "The men in the bio-beds." He threaded a hand through his close-cropped blond hair.

"No, we didn't forget them, if that's what you're thinking. They volunteered to stay behind. Insisted, actually. "

Rex looked up, staring at Odds, blinking. "Why would they do that?"

"They said they would just get in the way. That they would just get in the way, be a hindrance. Didn't want any brother risk their 'able-bodied' lives for theirs," Odds shook his head at that last part.

"As if any of us is able-bodied, sir?" Chance threw in his opinion, looking back over his shoulder at the Captain.

Rex shook his head, and rubbed at his leg, the one he just so recently started walking on again.

Odds turned and gestured with his one hand toward his screens, "Yet, now that we are underway, I find that I could really use another pair of eyes up here. For example, someone to monitor and work the line screen."

The Captain leaned forward in his seat, already working on the problem, "Do you want me to send somebody up?"

Odds shrugged, a curious one-armed gesture. "Well, for now, probably best to let everyone rest. But, yes, when we get closer to landing, I'd appreciate it. However, it needs to be someone with the right experience. Tek would probably be the best choice. But, really, what I could've used would have been another pilot. Somebody like-"

"-Razor," Rex supplied, as he thought of the pilot they'd left behind on the planet. He blew out an exasperated sigh, scowling fiercely, "I want you to know, I don't approve of leaving those men behind."

Chance turned back and shot him a look, "Yes, well, you were going to leave all of us behind," and then, he quickly remembered to add in, "sir."

"Alright, I guess I deserved that," the Captain admitted. "But, when we get back, we need to have a talk with those four about this attitude of theirs."

Rex suddenly felt a stab in the gut as he realized _he_ wasn't going back to Ando. If he successfully rescued Ahsoka and the rest of the 501st, well, then, his future lay on a different path than the rest of these men. It was an incredibly painful realization.

He probably would never see the four paralyzed clones ever again, or know how they were progressing. He sighed, surprised at how painful the realization was. How had he become so attached to the men, the people and the town in such a short amount of time?

Odds immediately picked up on the look on Rex's face. "Are you alright, Captain?"

Rex nodded, and stood, putting the jumpseat back into place. "Yes. I'm going to check on the others… encourage them to get some rest in the sleep cabins. I'll let Tek know he'll be needed up here later on."

Odds gazed after him thoughtfully, thinking there was something a bit 'off' about the Captain. He wondered what was bothering him, other than terrible odds they were facing at Darkknell.

"You know, Chance," Odds said, tapping his chin thoughtfully for a moment as he looked out into the star cluster ahead of them, "it strikes me as strange that our Captain didn't get himself a nice woman back on dear sweet Ando."

Chance shot him a look, "What makes you think he doesn't have one? He is always going around visiting houses every morning. Plenty of opportunity."

Odds shook his head vehemently, "If he had somebody, we would _know_. The way brothers talk? We would _know_."

The other pilot shrugged, obviously not nearly as intrigued with the topic as Odds, "So? Maybe he just hasn't met _the one_."

"You don't find it odd? He's the most famous clone of all us! You would think he'd have three or four women at least! I would think he'd be beating them off with a stick! The numbers are certainly in our favor in that town," the one-armed pilot grinned, and held up his hand, "this used to be my only hope for some action, but not anymore. Less than a month in Ando, and I've been with two women already. There's a third one, too, who I think is interested in me. I think I would have gotten her, too, if we hadn't had to leave on this little trip. I plan on pursuing her when we get back."

"You mean, _if _we get back? The odds aren't real good on this one, you know."

The one-armed pilot snorted, "That's why they call me 'Odds.' I'm always looking on the bright side of things. I know we are getting back. Hey, I have to get back. The women of Ando will be devastated if I don't. There is only of me, after all, and soooo many of them!"

Chance shook his head again, "I was sure you'd gotten your name for your distinct oddness."

The pilot made a humping gesture with his hips, "The ladies like me."

Chance gave him a disgusted look, "Can we talk about something else?"

Odds checked his chrono, "Still 17 hours and 50 minutes to go. What else is there to talk about?"

"I wish we'd brought Razor, instead of you."

Odds looked thoughtful, "Yeah, I wonder what those four are up while we're away."

Chance snorted.

"What?" Odds asked.

"I was thinking how they now have an entire town of lonely women all to themselves," Chance said.

"Lucky bastards," Odds stared at the stars for a while, and Chance thought he might actually get to pilot in peace. But, Odds chimed up again, "Well, the rest of us better make it back from this thing and give those brothers a hand." He managed to be quiet another minute before blurting out, "I discovered the most interesting thing about a woman's anatomy. There's this secret spot, apparently…"

# # #

A/N: Another chapter will follow this one, Chapter 82, answering Odds' question on "how those four are doing back on Ando." The chapter is guest-written by Reulte, and is also a response to viewer requests to a follow-up on Sink and Auset. I will post in the next 24 hours.


	82. Chapter 82 The Four Left Behind

_A/N: Good news! Sink and Auset are back! This chapter was guest-written by Reulte with some edits by me. I'm very grateful that Reulte has chosen to spend some time in Ando. Thank you again for taking time away from your many writing projects to graciously guest-write this chapter._

_Savvy readers will note that I have changed the rating on the story. I have bumped it down from "M" to "T." I made it an 'M' story just to be on the safe side, but didn't realize it doing so that it would no longer appear in the listings on FFN. (As far as I can tell, it only comes up if you search on it directly.) Anyway, this stinks. So, I took my two steamiest chapters and re-wrote them to be more "T" in nature, and now the story is back to being "T" again. (The two chapters that just had a re-write this week were "Chapter 80: Sink or Swim" and "Chapter 75: A Peek Behind the Door." Neither one suffered from the rewrite in my opinion. Things always get better with a rewrite. Not worse.) I've been re-working a lot of my earlier chapters, just because I've been learning a lot as I've been going along. When I edit a chapter, I mark it as such on top: "Edited on [date]", so you know it's been re-written. (That way, if somebody said something in the comments, and that line no longer appears, well, you'll know why. It just means that I have probably incorporated their comments.)_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 82**

Sink was excited. In the evening, he was going to see Razor, Tag and Sabre again. Auset had gone to Rosetta's to borrow the mech chair, and invited everyone over the evening. But, since the botanist's home was small, Rosetta suggested they gather at her larger homestead.

All morning, Auset had worked her plant samples, talking through the dichotomous keys for the scout to learn. She insisted on a nap afterwards, but had relented sufficiently to slide him off his biobed and into her bed. Even though he was lying in Auset's arms, it was difficult for Sink to relax enough to sleep. He had so much to tell his brothers. Certainly he wanted to tell them about Auset, but they would see that for themselves soon enough. He was eager to discuss all she'd told him it might be possible for him to do, as Tag could likely do it as well. If he and Tag could do it, then how much more could Razor and Sabre manage with greater strength and dexterity in their hands? His mind raced with possibilities and kept sleep away. He thought of the primitive brace he was using on his wrists. The two thin strips of wood helped, but Razor come could up with something better. He _had _to tell them about the instructions to the biobeds, including the data about spinal cord injuries. He grimaced as he thought of how ignorant they'd been of such basic information.

# # #

In the speeder, Sink's scout-trained eyes took in everything they passed by.

"What are those?" he gaped at the shaggy, red-furred beasts.

Auset smiled, enjoying his interest in everything they passed. "Those are Rosetta's prize cattle. She says they're much tamer than nerf. They're also more efficient than bantha for blue milk production. Some of it is used for butter, and a few, simple cheeses. They're efficient grazers on the short, tough grass we get here. Practically prefect for Ando."

Rosetta opened the door for Auset and Sink, in the mech chair, welcoming him back with a gentle hug. The older woman's touch was light, as though she'd break him. Sink knew he was tougher than that. He brought his better arm up to softly hug her back and was pleased to see her eyes widen in surprised pleasure.

"Why, Sink. That's…" she nodded with the sparkle of tears in her eyes. "That's real good."

"I can even sort of feed myself, Rosetta." Sink had been surprised at the emotion her tears brought. She was happy for him and that was something the clone hadn't felt before. She genuinely liked him, and his brothers as well. He smiled at her. "A bit messily, but I'll get better."

"I know you will, Sink," she told him gruffly as she patted his shoulder and took him into the main room. Auset went to move to the speeder back, and bring in a dish of cubed, baked topatoes.

Sink smiled as he saw his three brothers in the main room. Sitting at the big table, Razor was in the second mech chair. Tag was in the biobed at the head of the table and Sabre was sitting in a cushioned chair. Sink noticed that Tag was still in the semi-prone setting of the biobed. He greeted his brothers as he made his way into the room.

Rosetta had already set out little fried cakes, bite-size and easily handled by Saber and Razor. No doubt they'd expect to be feeding him and Tag. Sink smiled to himself as he eyed the size and shape of the cakes.

"A little closer to the table would be better, Rosetta. Thanks." Sink gave a nod to Sabre, as they settled him in place next to his brother's chair.

He reached out with his braced wrist, setting the weight of his arm on the table and plucked one of the sweets. He carefully pinched it between his thumb and the side of his first finger, and brought it up to his mouth. It was sweet, almost as sweet as the shocked looks his brothers gave him, the envious-hopeful look of Tag.

"Sink," said Sabre, "You used your hand. That's great."

He laughed, happy to share his newfound information. "It's partially the muscles of the upper arm and partially the supporting brace. It's that and the thumb. You've got that don't you, Tag?"

"I don't know. That told me I had no useful function in my hands," Tag's voice trailed off forlornly, and he glanced toward the kitchen. He didn't want either of the women to overhear his sadness.

"Forget what they told you, Tag!" Sink pierced his brother with his gaze, "Our only use to them was fighting. From now on, we have to figure out what is useful for _us._ Let's start again, what can you move?" He turned immediately to Razor. "This," he gestured to the brace with his chin as he rolled his forearm showing Razor the crude brace and fastening. "You can design a better one; something with a palm and a place to press the thumb for a grip. Something more balanced, something to support the wrist better."

Razor began inspecting Auset's make-shift brace with a keen eye. Sink's eye was drawn to a stack of flimsis piled up on the table. He recognized Razor's work. They were all plans, detailing possible improvements to the town. Sink saw a river-based transport/message network, water/sewage waste disposal system away from the nice coast of town and a fish processing plant downwind and downstream of the ocean current for when they began exporting. Another flimsi held a list of items that could be locally produced while a third held a list of items that would need to be imported; again, once they established regular transport had travel again.

Sink pushed at the papers on the table; all of them detailed with Razor's notes – a government building attached to a medical clinic; a modified – gender-separated – barracks near the docks and more lists; lists of men and tasks, of equipment needed. "You've been busy, Razor."

Sabre moved a few papers for Sink to see as he spoke. "Razor used a modified grid pattern incorporating the curves of Kamino." He tapped one flimsi. "Services are centralized; a medical clinic tied into offices of governance."

Tag smirked. "Travis will find that useful."

Razor shrugged turning over Sink's arm, uncurling his fingers to inspect his palm. "I didn't plan it for Travis. It simply flows with the remainder of the town." The pilot looked thoughtful as he pondered the plans spread out before him on the table, "It seemed that we were only using resources. I wanted to contribute back to Karyn, and the citizens of Ando." He finished inspecting the crude brace, and already had a determined glint in his eye, "You're right, Sink. I can make something better."

The scout nodded his approval, and then turned his attention back to the plans scattered across the table. "What's this one?" He studied the drawing, a small speeder, with Razor's scrawled notes indicating modifications.

"Killtric has an old speeder bike he doesn't use. I've got hand mobility, Sink, and I was thinking that I could switch the go/brake foot controls to hand controls." Razor dropped his head, he had already discussed this with Sabre and was going to show him the drawing later. He hadn't meant to bring that particular flimsy to the table. He didn't mean to let his more-wounded brothers know he was working on his mobility when they didn't have the same capabilities, few as they were, that he and Sabre had.

Razor watched as Sink's thumb tapped rhythmically on the table as he thought. _Kriff_, but he was fidgety, especially for someone paralyzed from the shoulders down, and he had a ... seriousness... about him that he hadn't shown in the past month when they'd landed on Ando.

"Auset," Sink spoke as his eyes traced over the lines of the speeder. "Please come see this."

She came over, placing her hands on Sink's shoulders. He smiled absently and turned his face to quickly brush her hand with his lips as her hands dropped and crossed, her face coming down to rest next to his cheek. Sink leaned his head slightly to her, an intimacy that had Razor's eyes narrowing, Tag's eyes widening and Sabre's mouth gaping.

Sink, ignoring them, tapped the back of his braced, curled hand, knuckles to the flimsi. "What do you think, Auset? Could I use this? After adjusting the foot pedals to a thumb control."

Her fingers ran over the seat of the speeder then to the guiding arms. "You'd have to learn to transfer; pick up your legs with your arms. You'd need to build up the muscles you have in your chest and arms and keep them strong."

Sink shrugged a shoulder, but not the one she rested on. "I'll need to do those anyway." He glanced up at Razor. "We all will."

"Then, yes. I don't see why not." She turned her face to kiss him on the cheek then went back to the kitchen with Rosetta.

Razor watched as she moved away, her finger trailing over Sink's shoulder as she turned. They were acting like... lovers. But that wasn't possible. Was it? He glanced to Tag and Sabre; both with the same question on their faces.

Sink was concentrating on the diagram in front of him.

Tag was the first to speak. "Sink."

"Hmmm?" Sink's attention still on the flimsi.

"Sink!" hissed Tag. "She kissed you!"

Sink gave an absent smile. "Yes, she did. So, hey, Razor, have you thought about the stabilizers? I don't know about you guys, but I suspect my balance..."

"Sink!" growled Sabre.

Sink leaned back in his chair and gave is brothers a playful grin. It was the same one he used to use when the four had first met, and the scout used to make bad jokes all the time about being crippled. So, this was another joke then? Razor stared at his brother, trying to figure him out, in puzzlement.

"It still works," the scout confided, with a conspiratorial grin. He stared down meaningfully at his lap, so there could be no doubt as to what 'it' he was proudly referring to.

Razor glared at him. How far was he going to carry this thing? He turned his attention back to the drawings in his hands. There was no way Sink could ride a speeder, or a woman. Razor was sure of it. Five women to every trooper. Those were good odds and Razor thought, if _he_ functioned, maybe he would put himself out there like the rest of his brothers were doing. That had been his initial plan when he'd first spied Killtric's extra speeder.

Killtric and his wife were very kind in caring for him. But, he wasn't going to meet a woman just sitting around with them night after night. He had thought mobility was his greatest challenge. He just needed a way to be able to get into town, and the speeder seemed to be the answer. But, he was devastated to discover he had much deeper problems.

He lacked _elsewhere_. Razor had tried, several times, his hand brushing against himself, his dead self, trying to tug himself into life. There had been _nothing_, no matter how hard he tried. Razor decided, then, there was no use in asking any of Ando's women to consider him. He had absolutely nothing to offer. He was _dead_ as a man.

So, the plans for the speeder were now intended for he and Sabre to go explore the coastline. It was a far cry from what he initially had planned, but it was still freedom, of a sort.

"What?" blurted out Tag, drawing Razor's attention back to the conversation. "What still works?"

Sink glanced back at that kitchen where the women were cooking dinner, then over at Tag. He sighed, and explained, "It." He stared down, then back up again.

Tag's mouth formed into an "oh," as he got what Sink was talking about.

Razor shook his head. "You're full of it. Remember, I've got _hand_ mobility and it's awfully boring sitting around all day. I've tried. Like you, I can't feel _anything_."

Sink shook his head so violently that his shoulders moved with the effort, "Yeah, it was different. And, no, I didn't feel anything _there_. But, I did _see _myself." He smacked his wooden-braced wrist against the table for emphasis, "I'm telling you, Razor, totally hard."

The other three clones stared at him within something akin to awe as they realized he was speaking the truth. As one, they all leaned in closer to hear what else their brother had to say.

"It was _amazing_," Sink confirmed, "for both of us. Best night of my life…. I don't know exactly what happened down there. But it was good. For both of us." He smiled warmly as he remembered, "Auset enjoyed it. She _really_ enjoyed it. Kissed me, held me most of the night. I woke up with her head against my chest. I woke her up with kisses, Razor."

He decided not to go into any more detail, because Auset was just in the next room. If his brothers needed specific pointers, the conversation could wait for another time. He paused for a moment, and thought of grabbing another one of the small fried dough treats off the table. He knew he could manage it, but decided to maybe wait for dinner instead.

Sink turned his attention back toward his brothers. "I do know this, Razor. I can't always be thinking about what's happened to me; about what I used to be able to do and will never be able to do again. All I can do is find my new limits. And pleasing Auset, making love with her; that is well within my limits." He tapped his braced wrist, "Feeding myself is well within my limits. And, driving that speeder? I'll find out once you modify it…but, I'm going to keep pushing my limits."

The scout settled back in his chair, and pierced Razor with his gaze, letting his words sink in.

Auset and Rosetta came in at the moment, both arms laden with plates of food.

Razor looked over at the women, and gathered up his flimsis. He slid them into an access pouch he'd created for the side of the mech chair. He made a mental note to add one to the second chair, as well, so when his brothers used the other chair they could easily carry things around with them. He wanted to always find ways to improve the lives of his brothers, no matter how small.

But, his mind was buzzing with what Sink had set about 'pushing his limits.' He realized he'd completely given up on certain dreams, thinking he was incomplete as a man. But, there was no denying the changes in their brother. He eyed Sink with both envy and admiration, throughout the meal, carefully watching his interactions with Auset. She sat next to him for the meal, but didn't help him eat.

When his arm strayed close to her side, she reached over and lightly caressed his arm. Sink glanced over at Auset, smiled, and continued his conversation with his brothers. The interaction between them seemed…comfortable. Razor wondered if he could ever feel at ease like that around a woman. Rosetta made them all feel at ease, but he didn't see her in _that_ way. Certainly not in the way that Sink looked at Auset.

The dinner was finger food, easy for all of them for grab. Rosetta sat by Tag, prepared to assist him, as always. But, after a determined look at Sink at Auset, Tag insisted on trying to feed himself. They affixed a fork to his hand, and although his attempts were modest, Sink carefully coached him through. The scout recognized the determined glint in his brother's eye now, and once Tag started he was determined to see the process through. His brother began to question him about what else he might be able to do, so Sink took it as an opportunity to tell them about the biobed manual, "It's a most interesting and comprehensive read."

"There's a manual for this thing?" Tag asked, stunned, fork halfway to his mouth.

It was the second time he'd shocked his brothers that evening, but not quite as much as the time he'd told them about making love to Auset. He knew that after he left, though, they'd all be staying up late reading their manuals. Sink hoped after reading it they'd come to the same realizations that he did, that he could accomplish a great deal. There was so much they could do now.

After dinner, they talked about the war for a while, the talk sometimes turning serious. Other times, they laughed about some of the differences they'd observed so far between civilian and military life. Over small, sweet desserts, they played dejarik. At the end of the evening, all six of them played a word games with tiles. The tiles were light enough for Sink to pick up and he required only a little help occasionally for someone to turn over his tiles. Even Tag, biting his lip in concentration, had managed to use his arm and thumb together enough to pick up a tile or two. 

A knock at the door announced the presence of Killtric coming to pick up Razor. He helped the pilot into a speeder as a light rain fell.

Sink, in his mech chair, next to Auset, sat in the doorway to wave good bye.

From his place in the speeder, Razor called back to Sink before they left, "I'll make those thumb controls, Sink. For you and Tag."

# # #

Back at Auset's small house, it was quiet and peaceful. It was raining, like the previous night when he had loved her. He was exhausted when they'd arrived home from Rosetta's, but he couldn't sleep. Auset had helped him into the biobed. Tired as he was, it felt good to be in bed. But, he still talked with Auset for a while, telling her about all the ideas he'd discussed with his brothers. She headed off to her bed. Auset would wake later, and slide him in bed with her. Sink tried to relax enough to sleep, but couldn't. So, he continued to think about all of the things they could do. He was no longer kept awake plagued by thoughts of what he couldn't do, but now he was filled with a restless energy of all the things they _could_ do with their future. Sink enjoyed teaching his brothers everything he'd learned. There was a great joy in teaching, and he wanted to do more of it in the future.

He was still awake when there was a loud tapping at the door.

Sink waited for Auset to respond. He heard nothing from the biologist except for her soft breathing.

"Auset," he called out loudly and was gratified by her startled voice.

"What, Sink? What is it?"

"There's someone at the door."

Auset staggered past, and Sink smiled for a moment, enjoying the sight of her in her sleep-bedraggled state. But, then alarm set in. Who could be at the door at this hour? His hand sank to his waist, automatically reaching for a blaster that wasn't there.

Their late-night visitor turned out to be Rosetta. She was wet, bedraggled and looked intently worried.

"Rosetta! What's wrong?"

"It's Sabre. He's in terrible pain," she gripped Auset's arms for support, "I don't know what's going on. I'm headed into town to get Karyn. Would you keep him company until I get back? Tag is with him."

"I'll be right there. Go on. Get Karyn," Auset didn't waste time asking any more questions. She rushed into her room to dress, as Rosetta rushed back out the door toward her speeder. More than anything, that told Sink how concerned she was for Sabre; Rosetta never hurried.

"Sink, will you…?" began Auset with a worried glance into his face.

"I'll be fine here alone, Auset," Sink assured her with a calming smile, although inwardly he was annoyed with himself that he couldn't rush over there himself to be there for his brother. He didn't want to slow Auset down at all, so he just gave her a reassuring look as she rushed out the door. Sink stared out the window, watching the speeder lights quickly disappearing into the rain-soaked night.

_Kriff. Wish I was going along, too. What's going on with Sabre? _

He cursed the fact that their armor had been taken away, robbing them of basic tools like comlinks and helmets. He glanced around and saw that the mech chair had been pushed out of the way, and where it was stored, was currently far out of his reach.

_Krech. Need to plan things like that better. _

His mind began analyzing the layout of the room, trying to figure out placement of the bed and how he could eventually maneuver himself in and out of the chair without assistance.

He began adding to the list of the things the four of them needed: comlinks, and… blasters. Rosetta might be a member of the Ando Legion, but Sink had no idea of how Auset defended herself. The four of them all had some measure of hand control, and that meant they could all shoot. How many times had he been injured in the hand and still managed to shoot a blaster? Clones were bio-engineered to adapt.

He passed the time while Auset was gone by staring off into the rain-soaked night and planning…

# # #

When Auset reached Rosetta's, she left her speeder parked right out front and ran into the homestead as quickly as she could. She found Tag on Sabre's bed, holding him in his arms, hands uselessly curled around Sabre's neck. Sabre was groaning softly, his body tightly coiled up in pain against Tag's chest.

"What happened, Tag?" Auset asked as she moved toward them, grabbing a blanket from the other bed and tossing it over Sabre's bare, cold-prickled skin. Sabre shuddered as the edge of the fringe struck his body.

"He said he didn't feel well. Said he felt odd." Tag whispered as Auset sat with both men, one hand high up on Sabre's back, the other on Tag's shoulder. "Rosetta put him in the biobed. After a few minutes Sabre said 'it hurt' but he couldn't tell her what was wrong. It just kept getting worse. He begged her to take him off the bed first because it hurt. That's when Rosetta decided to get Karyn. She did and left. A few minutes later, his body started tensing up like this." The clone looked up into Auset's eyes worriedly, "What's wrong with him?"

Auset shook her head, "I'm not sure, but Karyn will be here soon." Her voice was soft and reassuring for the sake of both clones.

The botanist began gently rubbing Sabre's shoulder. "Sabre, does this hurt? Do you want me to stop?"

"No," Sabre managed, "That helps, actually. Distracts from the pain."

"What hurts, Sabre?"

"My legs," the clone said, rolling slightly to his side and looking up at her, "They're… they're….supposed to be dead… but… they feel like they're on fire…" His eyes squeezed shut as pain wracked his frame, and he shuddered.

Tag looked at her worried, and he pulled his brother closer to his chest, the best he could with his limited hand mobility. "It's OK, brother. The doctor will be here soon," Tag soothed, quietly.

They waited for Karyn, a small huddled group taking comfort from their closeness.

A spasm of pain hit the clone again and he arched his back in agony, hissing through tightly clenched teeth.

Karyn and Rosetta burst through the door, a mist off rain coming in with them, and headed straight for the bed.

"Auset," Karyn said, in her no-nonsense professional tone, a large medical bag clutched in one hand. She assessed Sabre for a long moment, taking in the two brothers with her keen gaze. "OK, you and Rosetta get Tag back in bed."

Tag brushed his brother lightly on the face in farewell, before the two strong women lifted him from the bed.

Karyn carefully uncurled Sabre's tightly coiled up body, running a hand over him, and then checking him a with a probe. Finally, she checked all of his vital signs through her sensor kits.

After her examination was complete, she sat down next to him on the bed. Karyn gave the clone an odd look, "Sabre, just how long ago were you wounded?"

"Just a few days before they packed me on that ship to Kamino." He said, and then hissed in pain and began coiling up his body again. Auset sat down on the other side of the bed, and took one of his hands in hers. He nodded his thanks, gripping her hand very tightly as he tried to focus on answering the question, "They… took one look at my graph… saw where the metal had cut…." Sabre grimaced again, and shifted uncomfortably on the bed, "They said I'd never be battle ready. Rather than waste the bacta, I was expedited onto the next ship to Kamino."

"They put him on the ship right out of triage," added Tag from his biobed, Rosetta fussing around him, making sure the blanket was secure around him. "He still had the medic marks on his arm."

Karyn frowned. "I wished I'd known, Sabre. Lance should have told me."

"Ma'am," Tag spoke softly from his biobed. "The GAR doesn't train the medics in SCIs. It's not battle-field medicine. Whatever this is, Lance wouldn't know anything about it."

Karyn reached up and softly ran her fingers through Sabre's hair as another spasm of pain hit. He grimaced, tightening his grip on Auset's wrists.

"Sabre, please relax your grip on Auset." Karyn asked softly with a small smile. "Sink won't like you bruising her. He would challenge you to a fight, and you'd have an unfair advantage."

Sabre immediately released his hands from the botantist's wrists, and clenched them into fists. "I'm sorry, Auset," he murmured. "I didn't mean to do that." Auset covered his fist with one hand, and her other hand went to his cheek. She re-positioned herself a little higher on the bed so that she could pull Sabre's sweaty head onto her lap.

"I know." But Karyn's words had caught her attention, and she looked over at the doctor, even as her hands stroked Sabre's pained brow.

It was Tag who asked. "What do you mean he'd have an unfair advantage?"

"I didn't realize that Sabre was wounded so recently. With so many wounded, I didn't even stop to think that you men in the biobeds would respond like the others…" she sighed, and her voice trailed off. "Hok regained partial hearing, so we're trying to see Xyra's experimental ointment will help with any of the others who have deafness. Captain Rex had success with nerve damage to his upper knee, granted, it had already started healing on its own… Each case is unique and different… We're trying to see if we can duplicate some of this success in others. I didn't think…" She shook her head, obviously annoyed with herself, "I _should_ have…"

"When the spinal column is damaged, like any other wound, there is swelling. In SCIs this swelling can cause further damage as it presses against the containment of being in the vertebra. The swelling goes down in two to three weeks. Usually. Rarely, the spinal core is not actually permanently damaged." The doctor continued her examination, softly running a finger down Sabre's bare foot. Reflexively, it curled just a small bit. "I think that the swelling of your spinal column has gone down and some feeling is returning."

"What?" Sabre shouted. He jerked almost sitting before he fell back into Auset's lap.

Karyn put a cautioning hand on his chest, "Listen carefully. I said: 'Some feeling.' Not 'all of it,' Sabre. I saw those med-graphs and you will never be 'battle-ready'. You were hit with a piece of shrapnel. It looks like it was moving very quickly when it hit you as you have a cut on your spinal column from the back to the core." She made a gesture with her hands to show what she meant. "However, I think you're getting more feeling in your legs. Enough that you'll be able to get around more independently."

Sabre's pained eyes grew huge.

"You mean… walking?" he said the words, reverently.

The doctor weighed her head from side-to-side, considering, "Maybe. Sabre. Just maybe. OK? You might be able to get around on crutches. Let's take it one day at a time. OK?"

"Tell me…" Sabre said, even as he struggled against a renewed bout of nerve pain, "… of these other successes you've been having?"

# # #

Sink heard Auset come in. She wasn't walking terribly sad, so whatever illness had struck Sabre couldn't have been too bad. She came over and ran her fingers over his face with a smile.

_No, not too bad_, Sink breathed a sigh of relief. He waited patiently, knowing she would tell him what was going on. She looked absolutely exhausted, ready to drop on the spot.

"Shall I take you to our bed?"

_Our bed?_

So tempting.

"You're tired, Auset. I'll be fine here." Sink wanted to do the noble thing.

"I want you in bed with me tonight."

He grinned.

Well, he'd tried to be noble. She _wanted_ him in bed with her. He must have been _very, very_ good the night before.

She smiled and unhooked the biobed, taking him into her bedroom and gently lowering him.

"You'll need to learn to transfer to and from the biobed, and chairs, and into my bed."

He raised his arm, hooking his hand the best he could around her shoulders and neck. He smiled, "Yes. I have some ideas about that." He was about to tell her everything he'd thought about while she was gone, but then remembered how exhausted she was. "We'll talk about them in the morning."

They were curled together, her head in the pocket of his shoulder, before he finally asked. "How is Sabre?"

"Karyn believe he may regain more feeling in his limbs."

He brushed her hair with the back of his curled fingers, twisting his forearm to catch individual hair in the comb of his fingers. He sighed, and released the strand of hair, twisting so he could see her face, "Auset, if you'd rather have another of my brothers, I won't be devastated. Well, I would be unhappy, but … I… want you to be with someone who makes you happy."

Auset propped herself up on her elbow, and slid a hand onto his bare, muscular chest. He shivered from her touch, "I am with that person, Sink." She shifted to look into his eyes. "I will tell you that every night for the rest of our lives if you need me to."

He gazed into her eyes, as he absorbed her words. Finally, the clone nodded solemnly. Sink was wounded, and he knew how far both his spirits and his belief in himself could drop. But, somehow, he knew he was going to make it through.

Sink smiled as she snuggled more deeply into his shoulder, her breath on his face and her hand on his heart. His final thoughts before he drifted off to sleep were for his brothers, who'd left the planet two days earlier. He wondered how his brothers were doing.

# # #


	83. Chapter 83 Lost Sons

A/N: Many thanks once again to Reulte who contributed all the Ciri and Olan portions of this chapter. I merely edited it. Each time she tells me 'I'm done with Ando!,' the muse follows her there again. The place is positively addicting.

Tag and Sabre make a guest appearance in my new story "Naked Clones in the Jungle." (Great title, I know.) So, if you want to see these two back when they were still heavy gunners in the 41 Elite with Commander Bly, check it out. It's a very serious, heavy-hitting literary work.

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 83**

Mako tossed fitfully in his bunk. He knew the others around him were already sleeping. Several of the brothers bunking nearby were deaf, and this was probably a good thing. He'd opted to leave his armor on in case of attack. Mako could hear his restless movements were causing his plastoid to creak noisily. After several more minutes, he gave up and left the sleeping area.

He headed back down to the medbay. The pirates already had a small medbay, but over the past week, he'd worked with Lance and several others to enhance the facility. They took out a non-load bearing wall and tripled the medbay in size, taking over part of a cargo bay. _The pirates probably took on plenty of illicit cargo. We probably won't be carrying much cargo, other than our armaments. Although, eventually, we might use this ship to bring supplies to Ando._

The thought of bringing trade back to Ando made him smile. He was already looking forward to returning to the planet, even though they'd been gone less than twelve hours.

"Couldn't sleep?" Lance was standing in one corner, double-checking inventory on a datapad.

It was a completely unnecessary gesture since they'd already everything earlier. It had helped pass the time for the first several hours of the journey.

"Yeah, just not tired, I guess," Mako said, picking up another datapad and joining his fellow medic in re-doing the inventory. They had a decent amount of supplies between what they'd pulled off of their old ship and what had already been in stock on the pirate ship. Plus, they had a substantial quantity of Xyra's remedies, and some materials donated by the dock workers who'd been helping repair the ship.

"Nervous at all about tomorrow?" Lance asked, peering at Mako as he set down a box of bandages.

"Kriff, yeah," Mako admitted, he turned to face his brother, "first time I'm going into battle as a medic. It just feels… like there is more at stake. Like there are more lives in my hands… er, hand."

"That's an interesting statement from someone who used to defuse bombs for his brothers."

The young medic sighed, "I guess." He put down his datapad and held up his stump of a hand, "Obviously, I wasn't a complete success at that."

The older clone frowned, "You are _not_ going to start blaming yourself because you were wounded." He gestured toward the ship at large, "Because then you'd have to hold the rest of us accountable, too. You going to start telling the rest of us that it was all our fault?"

"Of course not!" Mako said, defensively.

"Good," Lance placed a supporting arm around his shoulders, "now that we cleared that up. "I'm bored to death of inventory. Since it looks like neither of us are going to get any sleep anyway, how about we go make some caf? I brought along a few medical texts. Maybe we can get some studying in before we land."

Mako smiled, grateful for his brother's support and guidance. Studying sounded good. It would help pass the time and soothe his nerves before the upcoming battle.

# # #

Olan sighed as he put the old girl into her pen. The eopie wuffled and pushed her nose pressing against Olan's arm hoping for a lick of salt.

"Sorry, old girl." Olan mumbled absently as he fondled her ears. "Guess I forgot." She wuffled again then moved stiffly into the pen toward the pile of hay. Olan smiled. He and Ciri had bought the old girl at an auction some fifteen years past because Thayer had convinced them that every farm needed an eopie. Thayer and Rilm had ridden her almost every evening until the…

Olan brushed away the though along with a stray tear. He hadn't thought a heart could mend sufficiently to break again. He knew he wasn't ready to go back to the house, so he leaned against the fence listening to the old eopie chew the hay with worn teeth.

Mako hadn't shown up two days past for dinner. While Ciri was worried, Olan had told her that sometimes a man needed to be alone. They'd had a misunderstanding on the topic. Ciri had told him Mako 'wasn't a man.' He'd dug into her about Mako's being a clone was not a thing to be ashamed of.

"I meant he's a boy," Ciri had bellowed back. Ah, his Ciri could hold her own against anyone. "He's just a boy who _thinks_ he's a man, Olan." Her eyes were damp with tears, as she passionately made her point. "And he's as much _our_ boy as Thayer and Rilm and Kindrik."

They'd stood there in the silence of the kitchen; the table neatly set for three with the only china they owned, Ciri's hands fisted in her dishtowel and her face red. Olan stared down at the floor, his hands rubbing his faded mustache.

"So, that's how it is," Olan had nodded. "I'm not saying I disagree. I'm sorry… I thought you meant he was less than human for being a clone."

She had sniffed indignantly, and he touched her elbow gently in comfort.

"If he's not here by tomorrow, I'll go into town and check on him. Maybe one of them is hurt, and he's doing his job. Those boys drill pretty seriously. They don't seem go easy just because they have those injuries."

Olan looked thoughtful, Ciri had it right. For all their soldier training and brute strength, these troopers were boys with no more experience of the world than Thayer when he'd gone off down the lane. That night, Olan dreamt of his sons who'd been lost in Ando's war.

# # #

Ciri set the table carefully again, and once again Mako didn't show. The old couple ate vegetable stew silently, staring at his empty place at the table.

Early the next morning, Olan set off for town. He made his way carefully, since his old joints bothered him. It was a long walk. He stopped by Ashla's house along the way. The ship's Captain told him the devastating news.

They were all _gone_.

The two drank tea together on her front stoop, neither saying anything until the tea was gone.

Olan stood, insisting on collecting their cups and washing them before he left. "I appreciate the tea, Ashla. The news even more. I'm still going into town to talk to Karyn." He hoped he hadn't hurt her feelings. Almost seventy years and he still didn't always understand women. "Seeing as she's Mako's employer, maybe he said something…" His voice faded to nothing as the normally brusque woman simply nodded and spoke in a quiet voice.

"I understand."

# # #

The town seemed mournfully quiet, though Olan knew it was no quieter than usual. The arrival of the clones had breathed new life into Ando. Their abrupt departure had hit the tight-knit community particularly hard. Few people were out in the streets strolling about, and it reminded Olan uncomfortably of the interminable quiet in the early days when everyone was in shock after the war.

The doctor was home, quietly tending to a few townspeople in her clinic. Olan waited patiently until she was done, and then sat outside with her in the garden where she grew a few herbs and natural remedies.

Karyn had no further information on Mako. Olan's heart sank, and he worried what he would tell Ciri. However, the doctor did say that four of Mako's brothers had stayed behind. This pieces of information was new. He learned more about these men who were confined to the beds, and thought about them as he made his way home.

It was dusk by the time he'd walked back to his homestead. Olan had paused as he returned down the lane. Ciri had most of the lights in the house on and when Olan entered, the sweet scent of muja cake rolled out the door. For an instant, the tailor thought Mako had returned and Ciri baked the delicious cake to celebrate. However, one look at his wife's wan expression put all of those hopes to rest. Olan shrugged off his boots, and groaningly sat his old bones in the rocker.

"Rosetta was here," Ciri handed her husband a soothing cup of tea, sweetened just the way he liked it, "Four of Mako's brothers stayed behind. So, not all of them left Ando, after all."

The tailor blew the steam off of his tea, before savoring a sip of the sweet herbal brew, "I know. Karyn told me the details… She said they are in what they call biobeds." He took another bracing sip of his tea, and sighed as he leaned back in his chair, "Next time, I'll forgo the long walk to town. I suppose we can just wait for the news to come to us."

"Rosetta was housing the clones named Tag, Sink and Sabre. Killtric and Tiruna took in the fourth man, Razor."

Olan tilted his head as he caught the tone overlaying her words. "Was?"

A furrow appeared between Ciri's brows, "Apparently the… " she hesitated and then turned red, "….the… Coruscanti woman… took one of the men into her home now. The clone they call Sink."

Olan scratched the edge of his jaw. "The Coruscanti woman? Those are the gentlest words you've used to describe her since her arrival here."

Ciri's discomfort continued, but she pushed through and continued on with her thoughts, "She was kind enough to host a wounded man… and didn't send him back after seeing the extra work he would entail. Not sure how many other townspeople could say the same."

The retired tailor returned her attention to finalizing the meal preparations. But, she spoke as she worked, still intrigued by what she'd learned earlier that day. "Rosetta says these clones are not so…" she threw her hands up as she searched for words, "…helpless…as they seemed, at first."

Her husband listened quietly, intrigued, but also wanting to finish his tea.

"They can all feed themselves," Ciri said, "They can all use their arms, and their hands, even if they are shaky, I guess." She looked thoughtful again, as if she was trying to imagine it for herself. "Dinner will be ready soon. In the meantime, here is something to tide you over."

She brought a small plate and Olan expected his wife's usual spiced muja cake. Instead there were several cubes of what appeared to be miniature muja cakes; slightly larger than his first thumb joint.

"What's this?" He glanced into Ciri's face.

"I thought these might be easier for them than a slice of cake." She gave the plate a little motion, as if she'd take them away if he didn't try one immediately.

Olan reached and grabbed one of the little cakes, expecting the frosting to be messy on his fingers. Instead it was a solid coating and he inspected it closely.

"A good idea, Ciri." He smiled. "Not just for them but for an old man who likes to sneak into the kitchen late at night." He winked flirtatiously as he popped the coated cake into his mouth then closed his eyes to the mélange of flavors; the citric tartness of muja, the spices and the sweetness flowed over his tongue while the coating crackled and the resultant pieces melted smoothly. "Wonderful. I hope you made enough for the boys after I finish."

She harrumphed as she turned back towards the kitchen, but the old tailor could tell she was pleased.

# # #

By morning, Ciri had divided the miniature cakes into five batches and Olan gave a sigh to see his set-aside batch was the smallest. She had also packed roast nuna wraps, though she'd made them smaller than usual and slightly cone shaped rather than strictly rectangular.

"Shall I try to start the speeder?" Olan asked as he pulled on a set of good trousers. They didn't often use the speeder and half the time when they tried, it refused to start. More often than not, they ended up walking in good weather.

Ciri gave a chuckle. "No. I'd like to arrive there sometime today." She shook her head, "No sense messing around with that old speeder. Although, before the weather turns bad, we'll have to find someone to fix it for us." Dividing their food up into two packages, she handed half to her husband, and took the rest herself.

The weather was fine, and they both enjoyed the walk. Having made up her mind to speak to Mako's brothers, she realized she'd also have to speak with the Coruscanti woman.

They arrived at Rosetta's to find the speeder gone. Olan and Ciri looked at each other with worried faces.

"Ah! The seawall!" Olan said, after a moment, "Rosetta trains with Karyn and the warriors. They still train two days and volunteer the third. Karyn mentioned yesterday they were going to shore up the seawall."

Ciri nodded in approval, thinking if she were younger she'd be right there with them. The thought was still tempting, old age or not.

# # # 

"Come in," bellowed a deep male voice, after they'd gotten up the courage to knock on Rosetta's door on their own.

Olan tested the door and found it unlocked. Of course, this was Ando. He took a deep breath, pushed the door open and peered inside. He gasped.

They were unmistakably Mako's brothers.

Ciri peered her head in as well, and the two of them just stared.

"Well, are you going to come in?" one of the men demanded.

"We thought you might like visitors," Olan began.

One of the men, obviously naked under his blanket, slipped the book he was reading to his side and pulled the blanket further up his bare chest then, with concentration, he moved his arm and hand to cover a small box at his side. As his fingers manipulated the mechanism, the back of the bed moved him up into a sitting position with the orientation of the bed moved slightly toward the visitors.

"Well, yes… we'd love visitors." A slight frown creased his forehead. "Assuming you will talk about something other than the weather and cows?"

Olan smiled as he scratched the corner of his jaw. "Well, I can talk about… tailoring… eopies and…"

"Mako and your other brothers," cut in Ciri as she set her package on the table and took Olan's from him.

The two boys looked slightly worried and guilty.

"About that… they're planning on coming back," said the one sitting in a cushioned chair.

Saber and Tag assured them that all of the troopers, including Mako, intended to return to Ando. The two clones were friendly and happy to talk about anything. Simply living on Ando was a favorite topic and they had so many questions. They'd been highly pleased to talk about the future, about the possibilities for Sabre's future healing, about not being helpless, about Razor's plans for the speeder. When Ciri went into the kitchen to get a platter for the nuna wraps and muja cakes, Tag leaned forward to Olan.

"We can do a lot," he said, proudly, "Sink has…. even been with a woman." He looked up into Olan's weathered face. "He and I have similar injuries. Maybe… there's hope for me as well."

Olan wasn't sure what to say, at first. But, the young man looked so hopeful. "Well," the Andoan elder said thoughtfully, "the right woman can do wonders for a man."

Tag's face lit up into a grin, "Wonders, huh? I like the sound of that." He got a far-off look in his honey-brown eyes like he was daydreaming about something. When Ciri brought out the platter, Tag fed himself; carefully and slowly and triumphantly.

Olan and Ciri had left the two boys promising to return for another visit later in the week.

There was still plenty of daylight, so they made their way to the home of Auset, 'the Coruscanti woman.' Ciri was tight-lipped, but determined, as they strode up the drive. Her eyes took in every detail of the home. It was a small, but elegant house made by the master carpenter, Henik Milear, before the civil war. The older woman took a deep breath before knocking firmly on the door.

When Auset answered it, she blinked several times, as if disbelieving who stood at the door.

"We've come to visit," Ciri began.

Auset looked at the package in Ciri's hands, and then sighed. "Of course." She stepped aside and gestured for them to enter, "Sink, you have company."

"No, Auset," the older woman, placed a gentle hand on the botanist's arm. "We are here to see… both of you." She hung her head down, "But, first… I… I want to apologize for my… attitude in the past. It will not happen again."

Auset stared at her, shocked speechless. Then, she shook her head briefly, and gestured again, "Come in, please, both of you."

"We've just come from visiting the boys at Rosetta's. Your house was close, as well, so…" Olan's voice trailed off.

The younger woman nodded, needing no further explanation. She called cheerfully into the house, "Sink, we have visitors today."

"Sounds good to me," came the response; the same voice as Tag, as Sabre. The same voice as Mako.

Sink turned out to be as charming as his brothers. He provided what little information he could about the troopers' departure. "They're coming back." He said, reassuringly.

Olan and Ciri nodded. This was old news at this point, but still nice to hear, all the same.

The clone reached up with the back of one of his braced hands to scratch the stubble growing under his chin thoughtfully. "The best person for you to talk to would be our fourth brother, Razor. He and Mako belonged to the same company. Mako visited Razor quite a bit. So, if Mako had spoken to anyone, well, it would be Razor."

It was from Sink that the tailor learned how bereft the four troopers were of clothes, although the clone had just been making conversation, at the time. "The other clones," Sink said, reaching for a nuna wrap, "when they got here... they had all of their gear with them." He paused to concentrate on manipulate the wrap into a small bowl of dipping sauce. He took a bite, and gave a sigh of satisfaction. Then, he went back to the topic he was talking about. Sink gestured to his bed with a wave of his braced hand. "We men in the biobeds were treated differently. No armor. No bodygloves. Nothing." He shrugged, "Guess they weren't planning on us crashing. Probably thought we'd never need clothes again."

Olan couldn't help the shocked expression on his face. Sink shrugged again, "All worked out, I guess…. Anyway, Rosetta was able to get us some clothes from someplace." His brace-supported hand gestured at the shirt he was wearing. "Not really my style, but hey, beats running around naked, right?" The tailor frowned, and reflected back upon the clothes that Tag and Sabre had been wearing. Their clothing didn't seem to hang right on them either.

"No, no, no," muttered Olan. He reached deep into one of his pockets, and pulled out a compact measuring device. "May I?" He asked, holding the device up to one of Sink's arms.

The clone gave him a curious look, trying to figure out what he wanted. The tailor made motions like measuring, and then Sink's eyes widened in understanding. He nodded his assent. With Ciri and Auset's help, Olan took Sink's measurements.

They then talked about styles and colors.

Olan and Ciri's eyes lit up as they talked about the project. The old tailor rubbed his hands together, "We can get started right away."

Sink had laughed. "No hurry. It's not as if I'll need to be dressed to go anywhere or do anything. At least for a while." They all heard future plans in his words.

Olan patted his shoulder, "Well, when you do go out, you'll have clothes that fit you perfectly."

On their way, Auset thanked them, and provided them with some fresh herbs, along with seeds for their garden.

# # #

"One more to go," Ciri said, as they headed toward Killtric's farm.

Olan nodded. It had been a long day already. The retired tailor wasn't used to so much activity. But, he was looking forward to speaking to Razor, and seeing if there was any more news about Mako. Just that one thought alone kept his feet moving beside his wife of many years.

Even from the end of the Killtric's drive, they spotted Mako's brother. He was sitting in a motorized chair, wrapped up in a warm blanket against the chill in the air.

He regarded them curiously as they approached, his keen eyes tracking their movements. When they explained their purpose, he was delighted to have visitors. He eyed the small wrapped bundle Ciri was carrying, "Is that for something for Killtric?" But, there was a bit of hope in his voice.

Ciri opened the package just enough so that Razor could get a whiff, "No. I made specifically for you. Well, for you and your brothers, who we just came from visiting. It is fresh muja cake. And, some nuna wraps with dipping sauce."

The clone whooped in delight, and immediately invited them inside. His boyish enthusiasm made both Ciri and Olan smile.

Killtric was still out working in the barn, but his wife greeted them warmly and immediately set about making tea. Olan leaned forward, and addressed Razor. "So, how are you doing here with Killtric, the tongue-tied? He's never been a verbose man. I've never known him to speak more than ten words in a single day."

Razor laughed heartily, and the sound reminded the old tailor so much of Mako that he was gripped with sadness for a moment. But, then he focused himself back in the moment, and listened as his brother spoke.

The clone chuckled, saying: "Just once, I had a discussion with him where I was able to get his word count into the double digits." Razor became suddenly more serious. "It was about an old speeder bike he has in the barn." The clone's voice took on an excited tone, "I can modify it to hand controls. It would give us a bit of mobility; certainly me and Sabre. But, I'm hoping I can make it work for Sink and Tag, as well." He reached into a pouch at the side of the chair and pulled out a sheaf of papers, thumbing through them until he came to the diagram of the bike and placed it on the top of the table.

Olan knew from the start how intelligent Mako was. It was one of the things that appealed to him about the boy. As he caught glimpses of diagram after diagram, the retired Andoan realized that this particular clone had a rare and special gift. He had talents that were different from his brothers, and viewed the world in a special and unique way. It stirred Olan's imagination, and he began to ask many questions about the things in Razor's diagrams.

When Ciri and Killtric's wife, Tiruna, brought in food, both men were reluctant to set the flimsis aside. They exchanged a look, realizing they had something in common with a shared passion for ideas and visions. With a sigh, Razor tucked the papers back into the pouch on the side of his chair.

Killtric came into the door from the outer fields, and grunted a greeting to Olan and Ciri. He gave a questioning look to his wife, and then to Razor.

"We have visitors, Killtric," explained Tiruna, as her husband sat heavily down at the table. She began ladling out creamy soup to everyone, starting with the visitors first, then her husband, then Razor, and serving herself last.

"They had questions about my brothers," explained Razor to Killtric.

Conversation over the table was sparse as they ate, but the quiet wasn't unfriendly. Olan noticed it was the taciturn Killtric who made sure everything came within reach of Razor – the soup, the wraps, the spice dips, the tea. When the Killtric rose from the table, he put his fingers on Razor's shoulder, pausing just a moment before moving to the door. The clone looked up and nodded respectfully to the grizzled farmer. The tailor noted genuine fondness in the tiny gestures, and he was glad to see it. But, it also made him miss Mako all the more.

Killtric put on his hat, and went to retreat back out to the barn. He opened the door and then paused, addressing Olan and Ciri, "It was good to see you." The cold wind of early spring rustled around him, tugging at his hat, and teasing at his wisps of overly long white hair. "Visit anytime… It's… good for Razor."

Ciri helped Tiruna clean the table, and then the two women retreated to the kitchen. As soon as the two women were gone, Razor immediately pulled out his flimsis again. Olan smiled, and the two picked their conversation back up again.

The tailor also spoke of his plans to modify clothes for Tag, Sabre and Sink. "I took measurements today. I'd like to do some clothes for you, as well. Maybe try to take into account special modifications needed for when you are operating the mech chair." He noticed Razor's thoughtful look, and continued on. "We've done as much for Mako; snaps for buttons, pinch-cloth to seal his sleeve at the wrist. I'm thinking slanted pockets so nothing falls out. I'm thinking no back seams or loops to irritate the middle of the back."

Razor pursed his lips thoughtfully, and then glanced toward the kitchen to make sure the women weren't listening in. "Well, we could use… either an extra-long fly or front opening pants….right now, we can't stand and it's already clumsy enough."

Olan nodded, instantly understanding.

The clone continued on, "Right now the biobeds take care of this function for Sink and Tag. But, Sabre is becoming more mobile now. He'll likely need this kind of access eventually. It would..." he paused, then continued, "be helpful, for me as well." Razor looked thoughtful, "Maybe Tag and Sink might never be able to feel. But, they'll be able to take care of their personal needs."

The women returned to the room, and Razor steered the conversation back to the speeder. Before Olan and Ciri left, the tailor promised, "I'll come back in a few days with a clothing prototype. Maybe then you can show me some more of your diagrams."

The clone nodded, obviously pleased with the idea of another visit. They said their good byes and made their way home as the spring sun was fading in the sky.

"A very long day, Ciri," Olan said, groaning as he removed his boots from his sore feet. He was exhausted, but it had been a good day. He'd enjoyed the visits with Mako's brothers.

Ciri leaned against the doorframe, staring into the house thoughtfully. She had yet to remove her shoes or shawl. As she gazed into their empty house, she looked as if she was seeing ghosts of the past. The old tailor followed her gaze, trying to figure out his wife's thoughts. He waited patiently, knowing Ciri would speak her mind in time.

"I've been thinking, Olan, that it's… time. We have three extra bedrooms in this house. We should offer the upper bedroom…" Ciri spoke quietly, her hand gestured slightly toward the stairs.

Thayer's bedroom, she meant, the one that hadn't been touched since their eldest son had laughingly tried to sooth their fears and boldly walked off to war over some dead man's fishing rights. Olan had died a little when his two younger sons had brought Thayer's body home. It was even worse when they decided they had to follow in their brothers' footsteps and join the war. No amount of pleading from Olan and Ciri could sway from exacting revenge for Thayer's death. One after another, the bodies of his other two boys came home. Olan could no longer stand the sight or smell of fish. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to drown out the grief that threatened to overwhelm him.

Ciri continued, still staring off into their darkened house, "It's the biggest of the rooms. It would be a nice bedroom for Mako," she paused. "Yes, yes, I know Karyn already offered him room and board. And, maybe he still might need to stay there if he's keeping watching over someone who is ill. But, Mako needs a _family_; a place he can call home."

Olan was thoughtful for a long moment, and then let loose a deep sigh. "What if he doesn't come back, Ciri? Their brothers said they've gone off to fight some kind of battle."

She stiffened and a wan look came to her face. "Sometimes they don't come back, Olan," she whispered. "You and I both know that. But, you keep loving them anyway."

# # # 


	84. Chapter 84 A Call from the Jedi

_A/N: Many thanks to laloga for beta-reading Chapters 84 and 85 for me. They are two pivotal chapters for Cody and Barriss because they set things up for the sequel. Yes, alas, this story is almost over. Then, there will be a break, because I have committed to finishing "More Than Just a Clone." But, there will definitely be a sequel to this story. I have much of it outlined, and parts of it written already. Cody and Barriss have an interesting role in the sequel. I have also been thinking a lot about what both Ialoga and Sachariah suggested regarding Ando being spun off into its' own story. I think it's an excellent idea, and I'm looking into how that will work with the sequel._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 84**

"Come on, Cody, focus. These balance exercises are the only ones you're still having difficulties mastering."

Cody growled in frustration, "That's because they're kriffin' ridiculous. When am I going to have to fight tinnies with my eyes closed?"

Barriss leaned in closer to him, and touched his face lightly. He felt the familiar sensation of her push against in his mind, and allowed her in. He was suddenly flooded with images, and was brought back to the battle on Kaz'hariah. Cody recoiled slightly from the images, as they were right at the moment before the minefield detonated. Within seconds, everything exploded in front of him in furious cacophony of white, red-orange and dim blue. He felt himself being thrown into the air, and felt curiously weightlessly suspended for a moment. Then, he slammed back into the ground and blacked out for a moment. Next thing he remembered was waking up flat on his back, and unable to hear.

The Jedi withdrew her light touch from his mind, and Cody found himself staring into the Mirialan's blue eyes, "It could just have easily been your sense of sight you lost being so close to the explosion."

"Flash blindness," the clone conceded with a sigh. He shook his head, angry with himself for not seeing the obvious.

Barriss caressed his cheek, "Relax. You're almost back to 100 percent. You have no permanent damage. But, these exercises are important, Cody."

He gave her a sideways look, and then a mischievous grin, "It's just... there are so many other ways we could be spending this time. We only have another two days until we leave."

"Yes, yes, I know, but don't you think we do enough of that? After all the times over this past week, then that marathon session in the shower this morning..." Barriss' voice trailed off.

The clone's eyes brightened, "You know, I could use another shower right about now."

"We've only been working for ten minutes, Cody!"

"I sweat easily," the clone countered, moving her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck, to prove his point.

"You are not even hot!"

Cody looked offended, and drew himself up to his full-height. He crossed his muscular arms across his broad chest, "I resent that remark. I am definitely hot." His eyes met the Jedi's with the cocky reassurance of someone whose confidence level was high due to their current companion.

Barriss had to duck her head to keep from smiling. "Cody, you must master this exercise." She blew out a breath, struggling to remain her strict composure while Cody bent down and did a slow leisurely stretch in front of her. She knew he was doing it on purpose, since the particular way he was contorting his body showed off his physique masterfully.

_So, not fair. I'll get him back later with my Yoga routine_. Barriss vowed.

"No," the Healer said sternly, "master this exercise, and then we have to get through the entire circuit."

"Uh huh. I'm listening," the clone said, bending over into a stretch so his muscular backside was facing her. "The entire circuit, right." He shifted his hips sideways so he could stretch his outer thigh muscles. The thin medical center issued clothing he wore left little to the imagination, as the material pulled against his body.

Trying to ignore the clone's obvious ploy for her attention, Barriss said: "Complete all of your exercises, and, uh…" she suddenly lost her train of thought, as Cody turned and began doing a extensive pectoral stretch, flexing his chest muscles.

"And, what?" the leader of the 212th prompted, carefully stretching his neck. His hair, which had grown out during his time at Ord Cestus tousled forward onto his forehead. Unable to resist, Barriss reached up and pushed the silky strands back in place.

She sighed, realizing she was completely lost where Cody was concerned, "Then… we can… ah, perhaps… shower after lunch."

Cody gave her a grin of victory, obviously pleased with the arrangement. Barriss shook her head, annoyed with herself.

_No, this is terrible. I have no willpower where he is concerned. I've lost all professionalism here._

Unaware of her thoughts, Cody gave her a considering look, "Lunch?"

The Jedi sighed, "Don't tell me you're hungry already."

"Uh, actually I was thinking of an alternate use of the kitchen table."

"Cody!" she admonished.

Not to be deterred, Cody gripped her hand and pulled it back to his face again. He focused mentally, '_Barriss_.'

He could touch her mind, but it was easiest for him when she created the link between them. Realizing she was probably being set-up, Barriss nevertheless acquiesced to his request and firmly opened a mental bond.

The clone commander then proceeded to show her exactly what he had in mind for the kitchen table. Some of it did involve food, but little of it would be consumed in the traditional manner. Barriss gasped, and almost lost her resolve to make Cody finish all of his therapy. But, she called upon her discipline as a healer, broke the link, and said in a flustered tone: "Maybe later… _if_ you finish your therapy." She fanned her face with her hand for a moment, trying to cool her heated cheeks.

Cody noticed she had turned the peculiar shade of green that he loved so much, indicating she was truly blushing. His confidence hitched up another notch because he knew that _he_ was the one who had made her react this way. He took a picture of her in his mind, trying to always remember how she looked in this moment.

Barriss checked her chrono, and realized she'd spent as much time negotiating with Cody as they'd spent exercising. This was a most inefficient way to do therapy.

"Now, how about you focus, Cody, so we can get to lunch early?" the Healer suggested, her frustration evident.

Cody did much better on his exercises the second-time around. It seemed he could do practically anything once he set his mind to it. He finished almost a full hour early.

# # #

Barriss shuddered underneath Cody and looked up into his sweat-streaked face. He cried out her name, and then was still.

For a moment, the only sound in the kitchen was the gasping sound of their labored breathing.

"That... was..." Barriss was struggling to find words to describe the experience. "...over the top amazing." She gazed into Cody's eyes with a sense of wonder. "It just seems to get better each time… How is such a thing possible?"

Cody appeared to give the question a great deal of serious thought before finally responding, "Natural talent, I suppose…. Or, maybe a combination of your Jedi training and a clone's ability to adapt to any situation." He looked thoughtful again "You know, I have some more ideas, but it would require us procuring some specialty food items. I might have to involve Fives and Echo."

Barriss stared at him, trying to figure out whether he was kidding or not.

The clone commander noticed her look, "Well, I'm not going to tell them what it's for! The two of them are most inventive, and they particularly excel at creative means of procurement…. Yes, specialty food items… They'll just assume we want it for eating," he shrugged, and his movements caused him to move within her. They both groaned from the movement, "... and, of course, _it_ will be for eating." He grinned at her.

"You're incorrigible," Barriss shook her head.

The clone seemed to consider the word, "More like… insatiable." He gazed down at their naked joined bodies, "But… look at this! Can you blame me?" He thrust his hips playfully against Barriss, and both of them ending up gasping from the action. 

She squeaked in protest, "Cody!"

"OK, OK," he stilled, and wrapped his arms protectively around her. "I guess we need to take a break sometime." He began to remove himself from on top of Barriss. "I should move. I'm heavy." 

The Jedi wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly against her, "You're fine," she said with a sigh, "I'm very strong, you know. You can't hurt me."

He leaned his head down so he could grave his lips against her earlobe, "Never, Barriss," he vowed, huskily. "I'd never hurt you." He turned his head to gaze at her, as if trying to memorize everything about her. They stayed locked in that intimate embrace for an endless moment, and time seemed to cooperate and stay at a standstill for once. The war ceased to exist, and it was as if it was just the two of them and that was all that mattered.

Eventually, though, they both became aware of other things. A combination of food, sweat and the lingering smell of sex clung to their bodies.

"Alright," Cody finally murmured, "time for a shower?"

Barriss nodded.

Cody lifted off of Barriss, prompting a groan from both of them as their bodies separated. They both felt strangely cold and bereft when they were apart. He offered the Jedi a hand, as she unpeeled herself off the kitchen table.

She rubbed at her back, and then looked at the edge of the table. "Ah… that's going to leave a mark."

The clone peered down and gazed intently at the Jedi's shapely rear. "Oh…mmmm… yes. We'll need to either slap a little bit of bacta on that, or you'll need to do some of that magical Jedi healing of yours… Huh… guess the kitchen counter worked better than the table." He looked sheepish, "Sorry about that."

The Jedi laughed and kissed him full on the lips, "Don't apologize. I _liked _the table just fine."

Cody's grin returned full force. He knelt down slightly, to allow himself to lift better, and then scooped the naked Mirilian into his arms. "To the shower, then."

Barriss burrowed her face into his shoulder, and just enjoyed the pleasure of being with Cody. The moment was so perfect, but she was getting a strange tingling from the Force. It was not quite a premonition. More what her Master would call a "bad feeling." Trying to squelch the feeling, and not let it ruin the moment, the Jedi inhaled Cody's natural scent. After all, there was such a thing as overthinking things.

"Cody," Barriss murmured, her legs entwined intimately around the clone. Her bottom was propped up on the sink, and Cody was standing directly in front of her. She rested her head against his chest.

"Mmmmmmm?" the clone murmured, resting his head contentedly down on top of the Jedi. He nuzzled her dark hair, smelling shampoo and a scent that he would always associate with being uniquely Barriss. He readjusted his hands carefully, "Are you OK? I'm not pressing on that bruise on your as-"

"No! No!" Barriss laughed, "I was just going to say… You do realize this means we need to shower again?"

"I suppose," Cody conceded, not making any inclination to move. He seemed perfectly content to just continue his nuzzling.

"How long do you think we can keep this up?" Barriss wondered aloud, not really expecting an answer.

The clone laughed lightly, and responded right away, "Oh, I don't know. I can keep it up for a long time." To prove his point, he lifted Barriss up off the sink, and still intimately connected, he carried her back into the shower. He ground his hips roughly against her a few times as he walked, causing the Mirilian to gasp and grip his shoulders. The clone gave a smile of male satisfaction, and pushed her up against one wall of the shower. He pinned her there, and immediately began moving within her. His movements were deep and confident, quickly responding to her moans of pleasure, and soon he quickened his pace so he was fast and furiously grinding his hips against her pelvis. Barriss raked her nails down his back, as the pleasure began to build with her. Several more deep thrusts and she cried out his name, followed quickly by a gasp and an exclamation of pleasure from Cody. His body shook and trembled within her from the force of his release.

As her heart rate began to slow down, and she came back to her senses, Cody slowly lowered her off the wall. She staggered on shaky legs to reach the soap so she could begin washing, but Cody immediately took over the task. As he began lathering her up, she felt her body immediately begin to react to the intimacy of his soapy touch.

"This seems to almost be a vicious cycle," Barriss gasped out, although her voice hardly sounded like she was complaining, "at this rate. I'm not sure we'll ever actually leave the refresher."

Cody pursed his lips thoughtfully, at her words, before deciding to better put his lips to work kissing her gently behind her ear. "Well, we'll get hungry," he murmured, "Then, we'll need to return to the kitchen."

Barriss smiled in amusement, thinking of the episode in the kitchen that had started their romantic afternoon. "An endless cycle, to be sure." She was just debating the merits of countertops versus tables, when Cody's quick moving lips caused all rational thought to flee her body.

# # #

They were just toweling off from their 'shower' when Barriss heard her comlink whistle from the other room. She recognized the tone and made a sprint for it. "Master!"

The towel fell off, and to Cody's amusement, she ended up answering the comlink in the buff. Barriss set the comm unit to 'audio only' and started the transmission.

"Master Unduli!" the Mirilian shouted into her comm, then she winced as she realized how excessively loud that must have sounded.

She gestured frantically to Cody to get her clothes. The clone smiled, amused, then quickly retraced their steps to the start of their afternoon's activities and retrieved her clothing.

"Padawan Offee, is everything alright? This is Master Windu."

At the sound of the stern Jedi Master's voice, the padawan's eyes widened in panic. Even though it was just an audio link, one hand automatically went up to cover her breasts, while the other flew over her private parts. She was temporarily struck mute.

"Padawan Offee? Are you still there?" Mace said, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Barriss blinked, and forced herself to begin speaking, "Oh, Master Windu, yes. I just ran in from a… uh….therapy session…. My apologies, Master. Been exercising intensively one-on-one with Commander Cody non-stop all afternoon." She winced, and then turned red!

Cody handed her the clothing, and he broke out into a huge grin at her word choice. 'Exercising?' he mouthed.

Barriss made a shooing motion, telling him to go away.

Still grinning, and wearing just a towel, Cody headed off to retrieve his own clothing.

There was just the slightest pause, and then, "I see." He paused again, which struck Barriss as being most unlike the Jedi Master. He was never hesitant. "I'm afraid I have some…." another pause then, as if he was choosing his words carefully, "… bad news regarding your Master." 

# # #


	85. Chapter 85 Last Days

_A/N: Thanks so much to laloga for beta-reading this chapter for me. Your insightful comments helped make this tough chapter easier to get through. Thanks again._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 85  
**

Barriss stumbled backwards and her hands went to her throat. _No, no, no_. 

She sensed Cody returning quickly to the room, only half-dressed, still tugging on the rest of his clothing. She very quickly pulled on the rest of her clothing, and threw her hair into her hood.

"Can you switch this to visual, please? Why are we on audio?" Mace demanded.

"My mistake, Master," Barriss said, immediately flipping the switch. "As I said, you caught me right during… ah… anyway, please, Master, you were saying?"

When the shimmering blue form of the Jedi Master appeared, he was staring into the familiar hooded form of the padawan. Standing a respectful distant back, and off-to-the side was Commander Cody, in standard medical center pants and tunic. Mace nodded toward the clone, acknowledging his presence, and then turned his attention back to Barriss.

He stared directly at the padawan as he briefed her, "As you know, Master Unduli was investigating the disappearance of our missing Jedi, Generals Skywalker and Kenobi. She was also looking into the location of what we believe are substantial numbers of personnel from the 501st and 212th."

At the mention of the missing clones, she could feel Cody tense up behind her.

Mace continued, "We've had no communications with your Master, and her team of commandos, for three days now. We received a lead on our missing personnel, and they went to the location to check it out. We haven't heard from them since."

"Three days?" Barriss' hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud until Master Windu briefly paused. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities.

The Jedi Master cleared his throat, and continued on. "We continued trying to contact the team, with no success. Then, early this morning, we made contact with a ship that witnessed their ship being captured by the Kaz'harians."

"Captured?" Barriss repeated hollowly, feeling as if her whole world was dropping out from under her. Her mind rejected the idea. "How credible are these witnesses?"

"Very," said the Master sternly, "their ship has external video cameras. It captured footage of the event." The Jedi paused and hit a remote control, and Barriss and Cody witnessed a 3-D playback of the video sent to the Jedi Council. The Kaz'harian ship was huge, and literally swallowed up the smaller vessel being used by the Jedi and Commando team.

"A trap?" Barriss asked.

"Apparently so. We're trying to track down the exact source of our original lead. However, your Master and the rest of the team have now officially been declared Missing in Action."

"Missing? Like all the others… why?"

"We don't know," the Jedi admitted, "they are targeting GAR personnel. Not sure what they are doing with the prisoners. But, they are collecting large numbers of our personnel for reasons unknown." His grim tone told Barriss that the Council believed whatever it was the Kaz'harians intended to do was not going to be pleasant for those captured.

"No," Barriss whispered, shaking her head. "not my Master."

Cody took one step forward, maintaining a respectable distance between them, but still offering support just by his very presence.

Mace's voice continued on the comlink, "I'm sorry, padawan. I know this is difficult news. I just thought you would want to be informed," finished the composed older Jedi.

Barriss was completely silent.

"Padawan Offee?"

The Mirilian stared out, her eyes unfocused. The clone took one look at her, and took over the conversation.

"This is Commander Cody, General Windu. I think she's just ah... absorbing the news. Do you have further... instructions?"

"No, that was all," and there was a grave tone of finality to his words. However, right before he signed off, the Jedi Master gave Cody a considering look, and added, "Good to see you looking well, Commander."

"Thank you, sir," Cody acknowledged, and he bowed his head respectfully toward Barriss, "it's all thanks to the work of Commander Offee. I am looking forward to returning to duty soon."

"Very well," Mace said, and then looked off-screen, his attention seeming to already drifted elsewhere. His shimmering blue form winked out, leaving them in privacy once more.

Cody shook his head slightly, and then turned his attention back to Barriss.

She sank down to her knees, staring ahead. He waited for her to speak, but she didn't say anything. So, he continued to stand there and wondered what else he was supposed to do.

"Barriss," he finally said, and suddenly noticed her shoulders were shaking. She was crying, silently.

"Uh…well…uh…" he put a hand on her arm, still unsure what the protocol was when confronted with a crying woman.

"It's all my fault," Barriss started, not even looking up.

_Shab_, Cody thought, _I should have known she would find some way to blame this on herself.__  
_  
"How is this your fault?" Cody was genuinely confused. "Master Unduli was captured on the other side of the galaxy. You were here. She was…" Cody stopped, as he realized. "You think because you were here, and she was there…" he scowled, "alright then. If that's your logic. Then, her capture is actually my fault."

"Your fault?" Barriss looked up then, and tears were forming small rivulets down her pale cheeks.

"Hey, if you're going to point blame, you need to put it where it actually belongs. You're here because of me," he pointed a thumb toward his chest, and he noticed his coordination was still a bit off. The digit didn't end up quite where he thought he would, and slipped off to his side. _Kriff, she's right. I do still need more therapy._ He frowned, clenched his hand into a fist, and returned it to his side.

Barriss shook her head, "This can't be your fault, Cody."

"You are here because I got wounded. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have been assigned here. So, it comes down to me. Say it. This is Cody's fault."

Barriss shook her head.

"Come on. You'll feel better if you do. Cody's fault."

"No."

He gripped her chin in his hand, and tilted her face up and towards him, "So, are you angry at me?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'm angry at myself."

"Why?"

"Because while I was here doing sinful things with you, my Master got captured. And, now they're probably..." her voice trailed off, as she was unable to verbalize the horrible scenarios going through her head.

"Sinful things?" the clone stared at her, a hurt look crossing his face. "Is that what it was to you?"

Barriss shook her head, and one of the tears shook its way free and splashed onto her robe. "I don't know. I'm confused…I…"

Cody could see from her stuttering how much the call from the Jedi Master had thrown her for a loop. On instinct, he reached for her, "Barriss-"

"No," the Jedi put a hand up, and took a step back.

The clone froze where he was. _No?_

Barriss put an agonize hand over her face, "I feel so confused right now, Cody. So guilty. My Master just got captured, and I've been spending these past few days with you…" her voice trailed off miserably, and she couldn't continue.

Cody grew defensive, anger simmering, "She would have gotten captured anyway! You and I being together had nothing to do with what just happened!" He began pacing back and forth, unable to contain his frustration. Not able to touch Barriss, he had to express himself physically somehow so he took quick strides back and forth as he spoke, "Do you think being with me is so evil that now you and your Master are now being punished for it in some way? Is it really so evil for you to feel..." He blew out a breath of frustration as he struggled in his anger to find words, "... normal, for once?"

The clone grabbed Barriss' hand, and stuck it inside his shirt, over his heart. "Feel this. This is _not_ abnormal. What we feel for each other is not evil, and you shouldn't think of it as such. Don't punish yourself like this, Barriss." His eyes held a pleading look, "Don't punish us."

The Jedi padawan shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "I… I…. can't….I need… "she wrung her hands out helplessly. She couldn't find the words to express what she needed.

Cody took a step toward her, and reached for her again.

Barriss put her hands up as a barrier, indicating he should stay back. "No… I need… to be alone right now. I must go… meditate… on all that's happened."

She quickly turned and left the room.

"Kriff!" Cody coiled both of his hands into fists, staring after her retreating back long after she'd disappeared into her room. This felt... wrong. He wanted to go after her and take her into his arms anyway. An hour ago, she'd been lying in his arms, shuddering in passion…

But, she'd told him to stay back. He stared at her door, undecided, for a long time. Then, his jaw locked and his face set into a stony expression. With one last look at her closed door, he turned and walked away.

# # # 

For the first time in a week, Cody spent the night alone.

He spent the night staring at the ceiling, every muscle in his body battle-ready tense. The clone commander just wanted to stomp over to her room, yank her out of her bed without warning, and bring her back to his bed. She belonged _with_ him.

He didn't want to admit how much her rejection of him hurt. Because when he dared even think of it, it was so painful that he could scarcely breathe. He tried to tell himself it was just temporary. It _had_ to be. Her Master was closer to her than anyone else, and she'd just received very distressing news.

_But, what about her feelings for me?_

That was the issue that bothered Cody the most. They'd never formally discussed their feelings for each other, or the future of their relationship. The past week had been a pleasant haze of lovemaking, laughter and gentle teasing. Every time Cody had considered bringing up the more serious topic of _'them'_, the timing seemed wrong. He hadn't wanted to spoil things when everything was going so well. He was planning on bringing it up before they left Ord Cestus.

He hadn't counted on everything getting ruined by a call from General Windu.

Now, he had no idea where he stood with Barriss.

_I know how I feel about her.__  
_

Realizing sleep was a lost cause, he began restlessly pacing his room.

_Why wouldn't she let me touch her? Why did hearing from the Jedi again suddenly make her doubt everything they'd done together? Why did the Jedi view something so normal, like what they were experiencing together, as so forbidden?_

He eventually gave up on sleep, and went to go shower. The shower suddenly seemed lonely and dull taken solo, and he wondered if he'd ever regard the activity the way again. 

# # #

Neither one of them said anything as they ate breakfast the next morning. Cody sipped his caf, and picked listlessly at his nuna eggs. The silence was totally oppressive. Barriss hadn't touched her food at all. She had both hands tightly wrapped around her plastoid cup filled with tea, and stared off into nothingness.

After several minutes of this, Cody couldn't take anymore. "We're going to get her back!"

The Jedi finally looked at him, her eyes seeming to take a look time to finally focus.

"How?" Barriss said in a tortured whisper.

"Same way we are getting back Kenobi, the 212th, and Rex's guys. If it's the Kaz'harians that took her, then… well…" Barriss was staring at him with her blue eyes full of hope, "She's not dead, Barriss. They are holding these prisoners for a reason. We just need to find her. Probably in the same location as the others."

A small glimmer of hope reappeared in the Jedi's eyes, "You really think so?"

"Yes!" Cody said, confidently. He smacked a palm against the table, causing some of the tea from Barriss' still full cup to spill over. "Don't give up." He reached across the table to grab her hand.

She allowed the touch for only a brief moment, then retracted her hand, placing it on her lap. Cody frowned.

"OK, then," she nodded, a spark coming back to her, "so… we're still… on track then for tomorrow?"

"Yes, nothing about this changes the plan. Nothing has changed."

Barriss just nodded, still refusing to talk about them. She stood, and began gathering up their dishes, "You done?"

Cody nodded, and then grumbled, "Yeah, done." He stood, and muttered irritably under his breath, "Well, _some_ things have changed."

Without looking back, he headed out of the apartment to find his brothers. He felt like _he_ needed some space. While he hadn't told any of his brothers about him and Barriss, he had a feeling that many of them had probably figure it out. He didn't know if he was necessarily going to discuss these confusing developments with one of his brothers, maybe not even Trapper, but it just would feel good to be around a brother for a while. He just needed to get out of the apartment for a while. He didn't bother to tell Barriss where he was going.

_She'll figure it out_, he thought, irritably, as he headed down the corridor.

He headed toward the physical therapy room, and palmed the access for the door. But, to his disappointment, no one was there. The room was darkened and empty. He checked his chrono. It was still early. The others wouldn't have been dismissed from their medical wards yet, and released to go to therapy. Not wanting to be alone, he considered wandering down to the wards and tracking down one of his brothers. But, Barriss had warned him to avoid contact with the medcenter doctors.

"I'm supposed to have complete control of your care, but let's not take any chances. Don't give them any possible justification to try and get ahold of you again," Barriss had warned. "Some of them may hold a grudge because they got their hands slapped by the Council over your care before."

Wanting to avoid any more unpleasant medical imprisonment, Cody decided to retreat back to the safety of the apartment.

He walked in to discover an enraged Barriss.

"Where were you?"

Cody stared at her for a moment, then faced her squarely, "I went to see my brothers."

Barriss checked her chrono, and then looked back at him, "It's much too early. They're all still in wards."

"Yeah," Cody grunted, "I realized that. So, I came back."

"It's dangerous for you to be out there! Do you know what could happen to you, Cody, if the medcenter believes you are deviating from your care plan? If they take you back, Cody, that would put a damper on tomorrow's plans!" The Jedi looked tired, and her stress was evident in her words.

Cody didn't take well to being lectured, "I know all that! So, I came back! Besides, you didn't seem to mind all the 'deviating' we've been doing over the past week! Seems to me you were enjoying it quite a bit!" His golden brown eyes stared down into her blue ones in challenge.

Barriss looked pained, then hung her head in shame, "That was wrong."

"Wrong?" Cody shouted, "that was _many_ things, Barriss. But, it was not wrong!"

The Jedi shook her head, and whispered, "I meditated about it, Cody... My Master's disappearance... what we've been doing..." her voice took on a haunted quality, "I'm... not the Jedi I should be."

Cody stared at her, aghast, "Damn right you're not! It's because you're behaving like a normal human being! Frak! Barriss, don't you see? The Jedi... they're..." he struggled for words, "they're... so out of touch…" he gritted his teeth in frustration. "We are not the ones who did something wrong here, Barriss!"

Barriss stared at him, her blue eyes wide. "No, Cody." She shook her head. "We have a code."

"Ahh!" Cody let out an inarticulate shout of frustration, and stabbed a finger toward her, "it always comes back to that, doesn't it? Just quoting codes? Hiding behind those things rather than allowing yourself to have any true feelings?" he accused.

Barriss stared at him through tear-filled eyes, "No…. I meditated on it… and, what we did… it was wrong… we can't…"

"The Jedi are wrong!" Cody shouted.

"They're everything to me!" Barriss shouted back.

"Everything?" Cody stared back. "Everything? Well, I guess that answers that question." He stared at her another moment as if in disappointment and in disbelief, then said in a frosty tone, "I'll be in my room."

Barriss gave the barest of nods.

The clone commander spun smartly on his heel, and left the room. His steps were quick and forceful, his muscular legs practically stabbing the floor with an angry stride.

# # #

The following day, a routine All-Hands Drill was scheduled for the Ord Cestus medical station. However, at some point during the drill, there was a bizarre malfunction with several non-essential systems. Lights and security cameras went out into numerous areas of the medical station and it was several hours before the malfunctions could be fixed.

It wasn't until late in the evening that the absence of thirteen clone patients, and one Jedi Healer, was noticed.

While searching for the missing clone patients, the bound and gagged form of two pilots was discovered in a utility closet. The trussed-up up troopers were unharmed, but the ship they came in on, was missing.

The clones were officially declared AWOL. While the details were sketchy without any security cameras, it was decided that the Jedi was to be considered a hostage until otherwise notified. A description of the ship immediately went out, alerting all Republic ships to be on the lookout for the missing clones. It was not known whether they'd obtained any weapons, however, since they'd taken a hostage, they were definitely to be considered hostile.

"Well, we are certainly to be congratulated! That couldn't have gone much better!" Hardcase said proudly. He smacked Jesse so solidly on the back that the clone winced, and then glared at him with a look that said: 'Hey, easy!'

"It's all thanks to Commander Offee and her magic manual," Echo said, pulling a datapad off of his belt and holding it up.

Barriss looked up from where she was sitting, but looked distracted. It took her a moment to respond, before she finally looked up, and thinly smiled, "Oh… ah… right, Echo….Ah... yes. Right. Well, ah... I knew sitting through those long meetings would pay off eventually." She noticed Echo giving her a quizzical look, and she struggled to give him a reassuring smile. She shrugged and tried to make a small joke, "I'll have to admit I never actually read through all those handouts. They seemed a bit... ah... dry."

Echo appreciated her attempt at humor, and gave her a look of mock horror. "Dry! It's an excellent manual!" He tapped the datapad, scrolling through, and held up a screen, "So rich with detail! There are diagrams of every major system in the station. These planners didn't leave anything to the imagination." He grinned, and nudged Fives who was sitting next to him. "Perfect for two ARCs looking to cause a bit of chaos, eh?"

Fives shrugged, "Chaos and ARCs seem to go hand-in-hand, eh, Commander?"

Cody slowly looked up from where he'd just been staring directly at the floor. He still had his helmet on, so it was difficult to tell his expression.

All of the clones were armored up. It had been weird for Barriss to see Cody back in his armor. But, thankfully, all of his gear was in storage. Fives and Echo were able to locate the storage area for the large bags, which were too big to be stored in the medical wards. They'd liberated their gear during the first part of the drill.

"Yeah," the clone commander said, his voice sounding rough, "Good work, Fives," he nodded, "Echo." He returned his attention to staring at a spot on the floor.

Fives and Echo exchanged a look that said: 'What's with him?'

They both looked over at Barriss expectantly, as if she could explain what was wrong with Cody. The Jedi healer caught their look, and then guiltily looked away.

The two ARCs exchanged a look between them, and then returned to giving Cody a concerned look. Fives then just shook his head and turned away, as if he somehow had seen this coming.

Cody stood up abruptly, and the others turned toward him. "I'm going to get caf," he mumbled, gruffly, and headed off toward the galley in the rear of the ship. It suddenly felt too crowded in the main cabin. He nodded to Boil, who was stretching out carefully on the floor with the help of Kix. Of all the troopers, Boil's injuries had been the least healed by the time they'd left the station. But with the majority of the them soon to be released from Ord Cestus and sent back to active duty, they could wait no longer to depart.

He was grateful they'd made it off the station with all thirteen of them: Echo, Fives, Hardcase, Jesse, Denal, Kix, Trapper, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Woolley, Waxer, Boil, and… Barriss. He turned his thoughts away from the Jedi, and swung open the latch between the main crew cabin, and the galley, suddenly glad to be separated from the others. He sank down into the table in the galley, not even bothering to make caf. He hung his head down, not even noticing the other clone sitting there.

"Do you want it?" a cup of caf was suddenly slid over toward Cody. "I made it for myself, but then realized I didn't want it. I just didn't feel like sitting with the others anymore."

Cody looked up into the unhelmeted form of Waxer. The clone commander accepted the cup, and nodded. He took a sip. It was only lukewarm, but he didn't care. He hadn't really come to the galley for caf anyway.

Waxer blew out a breath, "She would have come along." He said the words as if it explained everything.

Cody raised up an eyebrow, and continued to sip the caf. He waited for his brother to continue.

Waxer scrubbed a hand across his eyes. "I _told_ her to stay behind. Said that no good could come of her coming along. I have nothing to offer her, you know?"

Cody cocked his head to the side, "And, she accepted that?" He thought of the physical therapist, Asori, surprised she had been dissuaded so easily.

The scout blew out a snort, "No. She still wanted to come. I then told her it was too dangerous."

"And, that convinced her not to come?"

Waxer shook his head sadly, "No. She was willing to put her life at risk."

Cody looked at his brother curiously, "So, how did you convince her not come?"

The scout blew out a miserable sigh, "I had to lie. And, tell her that it would be a distraction for me if she were here. And, that convinced her not to come. She thought she would be _endangering_ me."

Cody stared at Waxer for a long moment, letting the words sink in. "Why'd you do it?"

The clone shook his head miserably, "Because ultimately, Commander, it does come back to the fact that I _have_ nothing to offer her. As long as I know she's on Ord Cestus, I feel like she's safe."

"That's a big sacrifice to make."

Waxer gave a small smile, then shrugged, "I get something out of it, too. As long as I know she's always there, then I'll always have something worth fighting for, you know?"

Cody nodded slowly, taking another bracing sip of the caf.

"Things don't always work out like we wish, Commander, but in the end, we just have to keep on fighting, you know?" Waxer met Cody's eyes.

The two sat in companionable silence for a long time, each lost in their perspective thoughts. It would be the start of an even deeper friendship between the two brothers.

# # #


	86. Chapter 86 Can't Live Without Her

_Author's Notes: This chapter sets things up for a love triangle in the sequel. Without getting into spoilers, this chapter tells things through Appo's eyes as you see the last few seconds of Ahsoka and Appo in the lab at Kaz'hariah. Ah, Appo, he's quite the dashing superhero, isn't he?  
(OK, it's Appo's point-of-view right up until the point where he fades away into never ending blackness.)_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 86**

_We should've had a better plan than this_, Appo thought irritably as he leapt behind one of the empty lab tables. _Getting out of our cell was all well and good_._ But, did the Commander have any kriffin' idea about what we were going to do after that? I don't know how Rex put up with this for so long. Skywalker and Tano are absolutely maddening._

Ahsoka was still at one of the control panels, frantically studying the display, and looking up at her Master with a worried frown.

"Commander, get down!" Appo barked, as the door opened and a number of Kaz'harian guards came thundering in. The Jedi nimbly Force-leapt behind the table and drew her blaster, joining Appo. From their position, it was relatively easily to take down the first wave of combatants that came into the lab. Even though a blaster was not the Jedi's usual weapon, the padawan shot with the accuracy of a seasoned clone.

_Still, she does have her moments_, Appo reflected, as they both leaned back against the lab table, catching their breath. He glanced over at the Togrutan. Her chest was heaving with exertion, and sweat was glistening down one of her montrals. He had a strange urge to reach out and wipe the moisture away. _Fek! What is wrong with me? Must be the effects of dehydration and malnutrition. _He shook his head, and pressed the points of two fingers into his eyes. _Focus! You have to protect the Commander! _

Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

"I don't like this," Appo peered out, cautiously, blaster drawn. "That was too easy."

Ahsoka sprang back up, resuming her position at the control panel. "I'll figure this thing out."

Heaving an impatient sigh, Appo rose up and covered her, glancing uneasily at the doorway. A moment later, blaster fire resumed. Red bolts cut across the lab headed straight for the Jedi padawan. The clone commander threw himself on top of the Jedi driving her straight down to the floor of the lab. The bolts just nearly missed both of them, the heat searing by closing enough to be felt on the edges of their bare skin.

"Thanks," Ahsoka said, from her position, pinned underneath the clone's muscular form.

"Yeah, this is getting to be habit, Commander," Appo wryly commented, but as their gaze's met, he had a hint of amusement in his eyes. They were both sticky with sweat, and their skin clung together. Appo's sensitive nose detected a scent that he'd come to associate as being unique to the Commander.

_OK, I'm still lying on top of Commander Tano. I need to move. Now._

In one smooth graceful move, Appo rolled back to his feet and resumed cover behind the control panel station. Ahsoka was instantly by his side, looking over at him with a questioning, concerned look. Her Jedi senses were detecting something, no doubt. Blaster fire had completely stopped again, and once again things were quiet. Too quiet.

_It's when it gets real quiet like this that bad stuff always inevitably happens._

All of Appo's senses were on high alert, and his danger sense was screaming at him. He could feel the tiny hairs on the back of his neck standing up, and adrenaline was pumping so hard through his veins that he felt supercharged with it.

Seconds later, the clone's sensitive hearing detective the telltale hiss of escaping gas and his nose detected an odor much less pleasant than the Jedi than had just been lying underneath him.

"Nergon!" Appo immediately identified one of the many nerve toxins he'd learned in his flash trainings. Nergon was non-lethal, but it would quickly incapacitate them, which meant they were as good as dead.

A single prerogative echoed through the newly appointed 501st leader's brain once again: _Must protect the Commander_.

Appo tensed his muscles, then honed in on the Nergon canister with a laser-like focus. He charged for the canister. The clone commander launched himself into the air and everything seemed to slow down for the precious eternity as he left the safe haven of their cover and exposed himself to blaster fire.

_Almost there…_

He could see exactly what he needed to do. Grab a hold of the canister and send in flying back in the direction of their hated captors. It would incapacitate them, and buy them perhaps a few more precious minutes to figure out how to free Skywalker and Kenobi from their confines. From there, they just needed to get themselves a ship and –

The piercing pain of the blaster shot to his hip was so sudden and shocking that Appo didn't even utter a cry. Maybe it was because he'd been shot so many times in recent months that his body was getting used to the sensation. He definitely still registered the pain. _Kriff!_ At that moment, all he could feel was burning rage at his captors. He remembered the total satisfaction he'd gotten when he'd snapped the neck of one of them with his bare hands. Anger was causing his vision to turn red. It was the sound of the Jedi padawan's voice that snapped him back to focus again.

"Appo!" Her voice sounded a bit odd, likely the effects of the gas already. She also sounded almost panicked. Was she concerned? For him?

The redness immediately cleared from Appo's vision, and he pushed his thoughts of anger away. _The Commander. Protect Commander Tano._

Appo pulled himself back up, dragging his injured leg, and once again honed in on the Nergon canister. His fingers had almost closed around the gas canister, when a second blaster bolt caught him right in the chest. This shot was so intensely painful that he couldn't have cried out even if he wanted to— all of his breath was sucked away. He slammed into the tile floor, and shuddered from the agony of the searing chest wound.

_I failed…_ Appo was overwhelmed with disappointment in himself as he felt darkness closing in. He felt strangely numb, and he had the sensation like he was sinking downwards into a pool of never ending blackness.

_Am I dying?_

He wasn't bothered by the thought nearly as much as he thought he would be. He didn't mind the fading away part so much. But, he couldn't stand the fact that he had _failed_.

"No!"

He heard Commander Tano cry out again, and he wanted to turn his head to look at her but his body would no longer obey his commands.

_Was she still upset because of him? Did he truly warrant so much sorrow on her part?_

The thought was oddly comforting. He clung to it as he continued to feel himself falling and tumbling into the inky deep.

_I might have failed, but the Commander grieved for me. That's something… Isn't it?_

He wished he could savor the moment just a little longer, but between his injuries and the nerve toxin even his rugged clone constitution had to submit. He could feel endless darkness sucking him in.

Ahsoka could feel her body succumbing to the numbing effects of the nerve toxin. She looked over toward Appo again. He looked so unearthly still, and the blast wound to his chest looked terrible. Was he even still alive? Had the brave commander just sacrificed his life for hers? The Jedi felt a piercing sense of anguish that his sacrifice would be in vain, as she saw their captors closing in on them.

All of her limbs began to feel cold, and the blaster fell from her numb fingertips. She tried to use the Force to counteract the effects of the gas. But, the toxin was too powerful.

She heard the heavy footsteps of the Kaz'harian guards thudding over towards her. Ahsoka reached out in the Force and sent out a desperate message to her last hope.

"Rex, help!"

# # #

Travis re-read his notes his meeting with Rex, and made another entry into his datapad. He could feel his eyes were starting to blur with fatigue.

_Just a few more notes and then I'll take a rest…_

In the back of his mind, he could suddenly hear Karyn's voice chastising him about obsessively overworking on a task without taking proper restbreaks. And, then, he remembered how he would immediately tease her back about doing the same. For as much as they argued, they truly suited one another. The clone suddenly found himself missing the Andoan doctor fiercely and he set down the datapad and rubbed his tired eyes.

_On second thought, I think I will take a rest._

He tucked the datapad safely back into his beltpouch, and worked his way back to the crew cabins. Most of the troopers could were already sleeping, and a sense of quiet calm had descended over the ship.

Travis retired back to his 'old cabin,' the one he'd been using when he'd originally been working on the ship by himself. It was one of the nicer cabins on the ship, although not the Captain's cabin. It was an officer's cabin, so there were fewer bunks than in a standard crew cabin and the bunks were slightly larger. The accommodations reminded him of the many Republic cruisers he'd spent time on as a Marine. Catcher, and the two ARC Commandos, Viper and Blaze, were already asleep in the other three bunks. Rex had retired to the Captain's cabin, directly across from the their cabin.

He sank down onto his bunk, and decided to sleep in full armor. If Rex, or the two pilots needed to contact him quickly, it was easiest to communicate with him when he had his bucket on. The Marine exhaled heavily, and caught just the barest whisper of the sound. So far, all of Karyn's attempts to restore his hearing had been met with very limited success. The doctor remained hopeful, and continually reassured him that his disability didn't bother her. She would joke that she fell in love with him for his 'gorgeous body' and 'quick wit' and not his 'great hearing.'

After his latest hearing test showed no signs of improvement and Travis was feeling discouraged, the doctor wasted no time in cheering him up. Karyn locked the clinic door, and pushed Travis roughly back upon the exam room table. "I meant what I said about your gorgeous body," she whispered.

"What about my quick wit?" he countered, as he made short work of her clothing.

Their passions were not sated with just the exam room table and Travis took the doctor a second time right up against the doorway, her legs wrapped tightly against his waist.

"Don't know about your wit, right now, hon," Karyn moaned, "but, love your quick- ahhh!" She was never able to finish her sentence as Travis quickly adjusted his hips and she moaned with pleasure.

They'd fully intended to stop after the second time, but their eyes met, and one quick flirty touch led to another and so they made it no further than the small throw rug in the downstairs hallway. They barely managed to scramble back into their clothing when they heard the key turning in the lock.

Rex walked in, sniffed the air, looked at their flushed faces, and just shook his head. Without another word, he continued on to his room. Later on, though, Travis' brother had teased him about the incident, saying: "You have the entire house. You share a bedroom. You have to choose the kriffin' hallway, vod?" The Marine had laughingly responded: "It chose us. You'll understand when you get your girl back, Rex."

A whole slew of complex emotions crossed Rex's face as he considered Travis' words, but he nodded with understanding. The Marine realized, then, that his brother truly _did_ know what he was talking about. Rex's history with the Jedi was even more complex than he'd revealed. Travis wondered how much had passed between them before, and if Rex had more 'experience' than he'd originally thought. He was looking forward to meeting this girl that had so captured his brother's heart. He shook his head in wonder thinking how he'd been jealous of Rex during their first days on Ando, thinking he'd won Karyn's favor. And, the entire time, Rex had been completely focused on thoughts of his Jedi.

Travis knew there was a part of him that would always feel a bit insecure due to his disability. He was grateful to Karyn for being so accepting of him, damaged as he was. But, there was still a part of him that worried she was disappointed he hadn't progressed better with his hearing, like Hok had. Even though the scout's squad teased him about having been cured by "being chomped on by an oopee," Xyra's remedies were the true miracle. Hok wasn't the only clone to regain hearing.

Head trauma, partial blindness, (or what Karyn called "thoracoabdominal compression trauma) and tympanic membrane perforation were common in the legion due to primary blast wave injuries. They were the most common type of injuries, followed by other severe blast injuries; such as Viper and Blaze's burns, or Tank's missing leg.

The majority of these men had begun to regain hearing in at least one ear, and some had some hearing back in both ears, thanks to the Andoan scientist's work.

One of the troopers, a talented mechanic known as Gears, had arrived on Ando with full deafness like Travis and limited vision in both eyes. Gears had regained almost full hearing in both ears. While his sight was poor, and he was completely blind out of one eye, Gears liked to joke around that he always fixed everything "by feel anyway." He spent all of his spare time going around Ando town offering to fix busted mechanical things, much to the delight of the town's ladies, who seemed to have an endless supply of things for him to fix. As Travis heard it, the clone was absolutely clueless as to the woman's attempts to seduce him into bed as payment for his mechanical genius. He was happy simply with a thank you, and a meal, and was eager to find something else to fix. "I wish he'd 'fix me'" was becoming a common lament amongst some of the unattached females in the town.

Travis chuckled to himself, but could only detect the sound as a muffled hint of a dry rasping sound. No matter how many times he had applied the goopy remedy, or had Karyn apply it for him, his world still remained a place of vague whispers. The Andoan doctor called him and the others the "severe, hard core cases" and admitted that their "sensorineural hearing loss damage might be irreversible." But, Karyn would still give him a hopeful smile, continue to apply the gel night after night with a gentle touch and reassure him that "deaf or not" he was still the "sexiest clone on the planet." Then, she would wipe the goo from her hands, and prove to him that she meant what she said. Or, sometimes she wouldn't even get so far as cleaning her hands, and Travis would awake the next morning with distinctive black handprints in interesting places on his anatomy. The Marine wished he had some distinctive black handprints on his anatomy now.

He rolled over onto his side, trying to get comfortable, but despite his exhaustion, sleep continued to elude him. He missed Karyn, and he was worried about the upcoming battle.

He was worried they were going to be coming home with far fewer clones than they started the journey with, and he knew he was even closer than this group of vode than the Marines he'd known for far longer.

As Travis lay awake worrying over the upcoming battle, his thoughts began drifting back to the battle that had originally ripped his hearing away.

It was, in essence, the last sounds he had ever heard.

Travis clearly remembered the sound of the missile that ripped through the UT-AT Trident he was riding in, and every one of the screams and explosive sounds right up until his tympanic membranes ruptured from the overpressure. He was blasted out of his seat and slammed onto his back into the hard, rocky soil. He felt several of the bones in one of his legs shatter from the impact. Laying stunned, and unable to move, he had a perfect view as layers of deathly quiet wreckage crashed down on top of him.

Travis wanted to roll out of the way, but couldn't get his body to respond to his commands. A jagged metal shard pierced his hip and it was too much for his body, he blacked out instantly.

He was surprised to still be alive when he woke up, every centimeter of his body screaming in agony. It would be a full day of fighting back and forth until the Republic forces finally even pushed forward enough to look for any survivors. Travis had drifted in and out of consciousness, waiting for death to come. But, the piece of wreckage had pierced him in just the right way to prevent a major bleed out. So, he lay there, pinned, watching the silent battle rage around him. He was one of the few Marines still alive when they combed through the remains of the troop transport searching for survivors amidst the carnage.

He remembered being awoken by the sensation of someone jabbing him in the neck with a painkiller. The medication was such a relief to his battered body. He opened his mouth to try to thank the brothers who were dragging him out of there, but couldn't hear his own voice. The medics were saying things to him, but Travis just stared up at their moving lips in confusion. They quickly gave up trying to ask him questions, and sedated him.

Travis woke up again in the bacta tank, although he had scattered memories of being unloaded on the ship, and having gone into surgery to get the metal removed from his hip. He may have screamed at some point when his shattered leg was inadvertently jammed against the table, and protested again when they were prodding at the metal fragment. But, he wasn't sure. It was all a haze until he woke up in the bacta tank.

Waking up in bacta was not the most pleasant sensation, but it was a familiar one to a battle-hardened Marine, like Travis. He slept most of the time while he was in the tank, because he knew it helped his body heal. Travis would have a few new scars to add to his collection, but all of this was still routine to him.

Finally, when the signal on the tank chimed and it was time for him to emerge from the bacta, he saw some familiar faces of his Marine buddies waiting for him outside the tank. It was only a small number. Several of his closest friends were absent and with a sinking feeling Travis realized they were on the UT-AT with him. He'd have to find out the details from the others.

When he emerged from the tank, his buddies clapped him on the back and were happy to see him. They greeted him all smiles, chatting and laughing. He remembered how quickly everyone's smiles had faded when it quickly became apparent he couldn't understand anything that was being said to him. His buddies left with tight-lipped smiles, and nervous glances back his way as they left the medbay.

The medic signaled to him that he was to undress again, and at that moment, as he took his distinctive burgundy armor off again, Travis had a sense of foreboding. As he shed his armor, and recalled those nervous glances from his friends as they'd left, he wondered if he would ever be a Marine again.

To the Republic's credit, they did still try and salvage him. He was transferred to ArmyMed and saw a number of audiologists and otolaryngologists. After all, he was a highly trained Marine, and an officer, as well. He represented a significant investment on the part of the Republic and he would be expensive to replace. While at the massive Coruscanti medical facility, he was placed in a specialized ward for clones with the same complete hearing loss as himself.

Travis learned a valuable new skill from his brothers within the ward, and within a few days, he could read lips as well as any clone. Brothers knew how to adapt, and they each made it their mission to pass this on to the newest brother coming in. It was a huge relief to be able to communicate again, and Travis spent hours talking with his brothers in the ward. Although, the primary thing they talked about was getting their hearing back and returning to their units. None of them wanted to discuss the alternative, or the fate of the brothers who were "transferred" out of the ward, never to be seen again.

But, as the days passed, and he saw more shaking heads, it became apparent though, that he was not going to be so easily "fixed." Travis conversed easily with the doctors, reading their lips, trying to prove to them he could function just fine. The doctors would give him their thin-lipped smiles, run their hearing tests again, then shake their heads at him, and enter more notes into their datapads. Travis knew then that he was doomed. There was no place for a hearing-impaired clone in the Republic Army. The doctor wouldn't even meet his eyes as he handed him the flimsi with his transfer orders to Kamino. He was escorted to a ship, without being given a chance to say good-bye to the others in the ward. He was told his gear would be transferred to the ship, and he was turn all of his kit in at Kamino for recycling.

Travis glanced around the ship's cabin at the others around him, envying them for being able to sleep. He pondered the three ARCs thoughtfully. Catcher. Viper. Blaze.

_Is that all we are? Recycled clones?_

Catcher carried himself with a confidence and surety these days that wasn't there in their early days on Ando. He seemed to grow more sure of himself with each passing day, like he was rediscovering who he'd once been. Viper and Blaze had turned out to be an incredible asset in training. They were a seasoned, experienced team and always willing to share the benefit of their extra training with their brothers. The ARCs had all chosen to sleep in their armor, as well, but had removed their helmets. Blaze was sleeping on his side toward Travis revealing the crisscross of burn scarring on his neck and face. The Marine studied the scarring with unabashed curiosity, wondering about the explosion that had caused it. The ARC would freely share his training experiences, but was tight-lipped about the explosion that had sent both him and Viper to Kamino. The scarring wasn't that bad, really, although Travis knew there was much more of it hidden beneath his armor.

Maybe when they returned, he could talk to Karyn about Blaze. He never seemed to let on that his burn scars bothered him, but Travis had never seen him talk to anyone other than his brothers. As supremely confident as the ARC was around the legion, he'd never seen him attempt a conversation with any of the single women in the town.

_Yes, Karyn might have some good advice on the matter._

No matter what he thought about somehow his thoughts always drifted back to the sexy doctor. With a lazy flick of his eyes, he double-checked the local Andosian time on his HUD.

_She definitely would have found the package by now._

Travis tried to picture Karyn's reaction to the Mando'a vow. Tag, Sabre and Sink had promised to translate it. He'd been in a hurry he'd brought the parcel by, otherwise he was sure he would have been in for no end of teasing from his brothers.

As it was, he simply told them to "Shut up and listen." He gave them a succinct rundown on what he needed them to do. He also asked them one more time if they wanted to go along to Darknell, although logistically he knew at this point it would be easier not to bring them. Time was running out, and they were leaving the town in stealth mode. However, like Rex, he didn't believe in leaving any brothers behind. If for some reason they weren't able to make their way back to Ando, he didn't want to feel like they had abandoned their brothers.

_If we don't make it back..._

That one single statement echoed around his head, and it bothered him a lot more now than it used to before when he'd simply been a Marine with a lot less to live for. Having a woman to come back to and a town to defend made everything so different.

_Kriff. I miss Karyn._

He wished he could send her a message, but they were running silent to avoid Republic ships, Separatist ships, and other pirate raiders.

_She's furious with me, I know. The first thing she'll do when she sees me again is probably deck me one._

The thought brought a smile to his lips.

_I deserve it. I wonder… if she'll accept my vow._

He curled up into a ball, crunching his knees to his chest, and tucking his head down.

_I know I can't live without her._

# # #

When Ahsoka awoke, she felt the familiar weight of the Force collar around her neck. It was extremely uncomfortable now because she was lying on her back. However, she felt a great burst of joy as she realized the collar was still deactivated. Her captors had failed to realize the device was useless.

She could still feel the Force flowing through her.

She slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the bright lights of the lab. She was strapped down to a lab table, with metallic bands across her shoulders, torso and legs. She groggily wondered how long she had been out, but judging by how weighted her limbs felt, and how thirsty and weak she was, it must have been for some time.

She lifted her head and looked around for Appo. The last thing she remembered was Appo getting struck in the hip and then again in the chest. Was he even still alive?

She craned her neck around peered up to the place on the wall where she'd last seen her Master, but the spot was empty. She looked over to the spot where Master Kenobi had been hanging, but he was also missing.

# # #

Appo struggled against his bonds, and then hissed as his efforts brought sharp pains from his fresh blaster wounds. He'd awoken to find himself strapped to a lab table and his wounds treated with bacta and bandaged. He couldn't see Commander Tano from where he was lying strapped down, but he suspected she was also in the lab someplace. It was a large lab, and he remembered that the Jedi had originally been placed in the front of the lab and the clones had been placed toward the back.

He tugged and strained again against the steel bands holding him down, craning to see up. He knew it was a futile effort, because he'd tried it at least a dozen times already and each time just brought an explosion of pain that left him gasping for air. But, he had to keep trying…

"Will you just give it up already? Don't you think if there was a way out of here that I would found it already? Do you know how long I've been here?" snapped the clone strapped in to the table immediately to his left.

Appo shot him a look of annoyance, "That's give it up already, sir."

"Fine. You can court-martial me after we're dead, if it makes you feel better, _sir_," hissed out the clone.

Appo eyed him. "You're not five-of-first, are you?"

"Barlex. 212th. Senior NCO of Parjai Squad. 2nd Airborne. Nice to meet you."

"Appo."

"Yeah, I know who you are."

Appo glared at the clone again for his informality.

"Sir," Barlex amended, barely civil.

Appo glared at him, then decided to let it go, considering the circumstances, "How long have you been here?"

"Ten days," the trussed up clone gritted out.

"That long…just lying there?" Appo gasped.

Barlex nodded miserably, "Yeah. So, if I seem a bit out of sorts, _sir_, it's because my kriffin' shebs fell asleep nine days ago."

Appo actually chuckled at that, then stared at Barlex curiously as an important question occurred to him, "But, how do you…" he stared down at his fellow clone's crotch.

"They stuck some kind of piss tube down there. You've got one, too. Saw them put it on you while you were out. Seems they plan on keeping you here for the long-term, too."

"Ah." Appo digested that piece of information thoughtfully, trying to figure out how it possibly affected his plans of escape.

_Well, alive always beats dead. And, I'm not dead. I'm trussed up, shot, again, and hooked up to a kriffin' piss tube. But, I'm not dead. I need to stay alive to protect the Commander._

And, Appo had to admit, he wanted to stay alive along enough to snap the necks of some more Kaz'harians. He hated those oversized apes with a burning passion. He had plenty of things to live for. Barlex might have given up, but Appo still had plenty of fight left in him.

The clone commander looked over at Barlex. "Why are you so convinced you're going to die anyway? Considering how long you've been here, you still seem to be doing OK?"

The 212th Sergeant shook his head. "I am not doing OK. They've been experimenting on me everyday. Constantly drawing blood. Injecting me with weird things. They force me to… ah…" Barlex turned red, and huffed out a breath, "…donate my… ah… stuff."

Appo's brows drew together in confusion, "Donate your stuff?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? This is a lab!"

Appo suddenly remembered what he'd learned on his last trip here when another clone, no longer here, had frantically whispered to him, "They're cloning clones, Commander!" It hadn't occurred to him to wonder how it was being done. The blood tests he understood. And, now, he also understood what Barlex was implying. As he looked around the bright white sterile lab, Appo wondered if would be called upon to do the same. They hadn't thrown him back in his cell, and they'd taken the time to patch up his injuries. His recent escape with the Commander had captured the interest of the Kaz'harians. Did that make them think he'd be a good sperm donor? Worth keeping him alive, at least?

The clone commander decided not to dwell on 'donating his stuff.' As long as he was still alive, there was hope.

"Well, don't give up, OK, Barlex? I'm sure-" Appo started, trying to resume command mode and instill some confidence.

The clone interrupted him with a derisive snort. "Spare me, OK?"

Appo decided that if they survived this he was going to have a long talk with Cody about this particular clone. Difficult circumstances or not, this trooper needed to learn when to hold his tongue. "Excuse me, trooper?" the clone commander asked sharply.

"You heard me," Barlex said, "I don't need your five-oh-first rah-rah crap right now. I know what's about to happen to me, and no amount of blue and white poodah coming from you is going to change that. I was keeping track of how long prisoners were lasting when they kept coming down to the dungeons to grab fresh replacements. You know what the average was? Ten days. And, you know how long I've been here now?"

"Yeah, I get it," Appo conceded.

"Right. So, just spare me your little pep talk, OK? You are on day one commander. Hope you're enjoying yourself because you are living out the last few days of your life."

# # #

_Many thanks to Reulte who read an early draft of this chapter and resent me parts of this chapter that I'd already written weeks ago and forgotten about. Uggh. What would I do without you? (Forgot things, obviously.)_

_If you haven't already done so, check out Reulte's new story Haruu II. I spent all of last Sunday re-reading Haruu I in preparation to read Haruu II and it reminded me of how amazing Reulte is at writing clone stories. So, if you've enjoyed the clone chapters on Ando that Reulte has contributed to this story, you will love Haruu._

_Up next: More Ahsoka and Rex._


	87. Chapter 87 A Chilling Vision

_A/N: OK, Rex/Ahsoka fans, this chapter is all Rex/Ahsoka, and I think you're going to love it. It has romance, drama, angst, everything!_

_In this chapter, Rex has a Force vision. There's been a lot of foreshadowing lately about the upcoming battle at Kaz'haria. The Kaz'harians are a formidable enemy and our clones fear the odds aren't good. In this vision, the Force warns Rex of upcoming death. But, exactly who's going to die in the upcoming battle?_

(Cue the suspenseful music…)

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 87**

Alone in the Captain's cabin on the pirate raider, Rex sank down on the single bed and glanced about the room. Everything had been cleaned out of the cabin, leaving no trace of its former occupant. He removed his helmet and set it down next to him, but didn't undress further. He had no idea who they might run into in this region, and he wanted to be prepared. They were fugitives from basically everyone as renegade clones.

The rest of the men had taken a huge risk by coming along with him. It was too late to do anything about that now. They were bound and determined to join him on his damned fool crusade.

Rex sighed heavily, and rubbed at his eyes. It seemed like an easy enough thing to take such a huge risk when it was just himself, but now he was risking the entire Legion.

These men had lives back on Ando. 

He couldn't fault the men for their loyalty, but he felt the burden of command more heavily than ever now. Travis had Karyn waiting for him back home, and Rex knew firsthand how well that relationship was going. Quinn, the clone trooper who got seizures, was one of the first to catch the heart of an Andoan woman, Maya. Hok, now almost fully recovered from his adventures with the Oppee, couldn't stop talking about Xyra. Catcher was very proud of his new relationship with Ashla, and it had instilled the ARC with even more confidence. So many of the men had found somebody special in the two months they'd been living on Ando.

Somebody special…

Rex shook his head, and blew out a long breath. Then, closed his eyes and focused on getting in touch with Ahsoka.

His previous attempts had all failed, ever since she'd told him she was going to attempt to escape with Appo. He didn't know enough about how this tenuous thread of communication between them worked to understand why it was now blocked.

But, he had to keep trying. He was sick with worry about the Jedi padawan. And, the more information he had going in to the Kaz'harian stronghold, then the better the odds he was going to get these men home alive.

Rex thought back to the times he had successfully communicated with Ahsoka. He focused on those feelings, and how it had felt. He also tried to think back to what the Jedi looked like when she was practicing her meditation.

On a whim, he sank down to the floor and tried to get into a cross-legged position. His still healing knee instantly protested and refused to bend at such an angle.

Rex grimaced, removed the knee brace Travis and Tek had made for him, and just made himself as comfortable as possible sitting on the floor. He had to settle for sitting with one leg cross-legged, and leaving the leg with the prosthetic knee partially extended.

_Well, the Jedi wouldn't approve, but, it's somewhat comfortable._

He closed his eyes again, and focused on breathing deeply. He mirrored the movements he'd seen Ahsoka do on numerous occasions. Granted, he'd generally used those occasions to superciliously admire her 'finer' attributes.

Occasionally, he'd glance around and find another trooper from the 501st grinning and enjoying the view. It was always a new trooper, a shinie, who hadn't learned the ropes. With an icy glare, he'd send them an unspoken message it was prohibited to look at the commander _that_ way.

One such look from their Captain was all it took to send a shinie scurrying from the room. Rex was then left to watch over Ahsoka, in peace. It was well understood by the rest of the men that it was the Captain's job, and his job alone, to watch over the Commander.

When Ahsoka was done, her eyes would open and meet Rex's, fully aware that he'd been there the whole time. She'd smile at him, and that one simple gesture made it worth however long he'd been standing there, (if studying her finer attributes had not been award enough.)

He suspected the Jedi knew of his feelings for her long before the events on TriLuna. His constant overprotectiveness might have given him away.

Rex focused now on his feelings for Ahsoka, and let them wash through him.

After two months on Ando, he was a changed man, as well.

He could freely admit his feelings for the Jedi padawan. It went far beyond friendship. Well beyond loyalty of one officer to another. The feeling even surpassed the physical attraction he felt for the attractive Togrutan, strong as _those_ feelings were.

Having observed now all of the blossoming relationships now between his men and the women of Ando, he'd learned a great deal.

Rex knew now that he loved Ahsoka.

It was these feelings that had driven all of his actions since he'd landed on Ando. He wasn't afraid to admit it anymore.

As the clone captain relaxed more deeply, he could feel his mind expanding. Suddenly, another vivid burst of images exploded over his brain.

It was just like when he'd been in the tent with Travis, except this time he understood instinctively it was a 'vision' because he saw himself, and members of the 501st and 212th together in an unfamiliar setting.

There were prison cells. Rows and rows of them, as far as the eye could see. It was dark and dungeoness, and the place had a feel that could only be described as evil. At one end, a cluster of Kaz'harians seemed to be pinned down and were exchanging fire directly at…

… Rex.

He saw himself, firing a blaster, and the Kaz'harians using a large durasteel weapon which fit well into their oversized hands. They definitely weren't blasters. Rex struggled to discern more from the vision. The command trained part of him taking an immediate interest in the Kaz'harians unusual weapons. The enemy was trapped up against the far wall, and more of Rex's men were pouring in behind him. They took cover against the pillars, slowly picking off the pinned down Kaz'harians.

As shots from the enemy weapons pinged in around him and his men, chipping off pieces off the stone pillars, Rex realized with a flash what they were: 'Slughthrowers!' It explained the heavy durasteel casing. Over time, in a heavy jungle climate Kaz'haria, slugthrowers were much more reliable choice of weapon than a blasters. He'd run up against them before, and they packed a nasty punch. They did have their limitations, though, the primary one being that they run out of ammo sooner than blasters.

As the standoff continued, the Kaz'harians must have realized they were about to run out of ammo. Their actions suddenly grew desperate. After some quick shouting back and forth between them, the Kaz'harians suddenly to shoot directly into the cells, taking down the unarmed prisoners.

As Rex watched in horror, brothers from the 212th and 501st, already crouched down to avoid the firefight, were helpless targets of the enemy's merciless fire.

"No!" Rex shouted, as he watched brother after brother being slaughtered in their jail cell by the Kaz'harians murderous onslaught. All of the Kaz'harians turned their weapons on the cells at once and within seconds the combined death toll was staggering.

Furious, Rex couldn't take anymore and he ran out from his position of cover and began furiously exchanging fire with the Kaz'harians.

Moments later, the 501st Captain's body was lifted up and then slammed down to the ground as he was taken down by a hail of fire by the Kaz'harians.

# # #

Rex's eyes shot open and he looked around the Captain's cabin gasping.

He was sure what he had seen was a vision. A glimpse of future events.

# # # 

He felt shaky, and somewhat nauseous from his vision.

Rex pushed slowly up, and swayed for a moment on his feet. Still feeling unsteady, he made his way slowly to the bunk. He rubbed at his knee, trying to remove the ever-present ache.

Then, he sank his face into his hands, trying to block out the horrifying images of his men being slaughtered in their cells.

_No, no, no, no, no. They survived for two months, only to be cut down right at the moment when they were about to be rescued._

Rex opened his eyes again and forced himself to think about what he had seen.

If it was a vision, then it was also… a warning?

_Kriff!_

Rex wished he knew more about how these things worked. He need stared around the cabin, still feel shaky and ill. Feeling the burden of so many lives resting on his shoulders. The Andoan Legion. The 212th. The 501st.

Information! He needed more information. Rex decided to try one more time to contact Ahsoka.

The last part of his vision flashed through his mind, and he saw himself flying up through the air before slamming down on the ground again.

_Don't think about that. Focus on the mission. It's all about the mission._

But, there was still a part of his gut that tugged at him, feeling a wrenching sadness after all of this time apart, he would not get to spend anytime with Ahsoka. They'd only had a few stolen moments together in the cave, and then on _the Resolute_. It seemed that fate was forever conspiring against them. But, if it meant Ahsoka would be safe and live on, then it would be all worth it. This had all started when he had put himself in harm's way to protect Ahsoka from getting hit from that clone-shredder blast. Now, there were so many others to consider, as well.

It was easier this time to relax into the breathing, and to remember the feelings that had allowed him to contact Ahsoka before.

_Ahsoka._

Rex focused his energies on his feelings for Ahsoka.

_Ahsoka._

This time, the response back was almost instantaneous.

_Rex?_

Joy bubbled up inside the clone, as he felt the young Togrutan's mind touch his own.

_Ahsoka, are you… what happened…. Where are… _He had so many questions that all of a sudden Rex was uncharacteristically flustered.

_It's OK, Rex. I'm OK._ He could feel Ahsoka's mind sensing his agitation, and seeking to reassure him.

He relaxed a bit, _You're safe, then? Where are you?_

Her tiny bit of hesitation then told him volumes. _Well, not exactly safe._

_Ahsoka._ Rex's voice growled in her mind. _What happened?_

Another long, hesitant pause, and Rex couldn't help the reprimand that crept in. _Ahsoka. _He knew she could feel his disapproval.

_Well, things didn't go as well as we would have liked._

The reprimand immediately changed to concern, _Meaning?_

_We were recaptured. Appo was shot. Twice. I'm not sure if he's still alive._

Ahsoka sent a flurry of images his way, replaying what happened in the lab. Rex watched with approval as Appo repeatedly tried to protect Ahsoka. It was comforting to know there was another brother watching out for her so closely, but for some reason he couldn't identify, it bothered him, as well. He immediately pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and focused on capturing as much information as he could from the images.

_Ahsoka, I could use a map of the facility. What can you tell you me?_

The Jedi sent him more images, showing him what she'd learned of the layout from their escape.

_Does that help?_

_Yes, _Rex immediately responded, _a great deal._

_Where are you?_

_Just a couple of hours out. Hang in there._

Rex could feel her joy and her surprise that he was so close.

_Ahsoka, look, there's something I need to tell you. _Rex hesitated, wanting to make sure he got the words just right, since he felt like he was about to deliver the most important words he'd ever said. _Ahsoka… I just want you to know… that is… I'm trying to say…_

_Rex, they're coming! I can't-_

Rex felt her sudden distress, then a brief flair of pain, but not his own. All of a sudden, the voice in his head was gone.

_Ahsoka!_

Rex cried out her name again and again, but she was gone.

He knelt there in anguish, repeatedly trying to contact her but his instincts told him now the only way he could Ahsoka was to penetrate the fortress and free her.

Rex slowly opened his eyes, and found that his whole body was trembling.

_Kriff! So much for this shabla thing being relaxing._

He felt decidedly ill, and pushed himself to his feet. He unsteadily made his way to the compact refresher attached to the cabin. The clone repeatedly splashed cold water on his face, then stared at his reflection in the small chipped mirror above the worn metallic sink.

_You're a fool, Rex. If you hadn't stumbled over your words like a shabla cadet, then you could've told her how you feel. Now, you might never have the chance._

The image of himself falling in the battle at Kaz'haria washed over him again, and he could practically feel his body slamming into the ground, plastoid armor thudding into his flesh with the impact of his fall.

Frustration boiled up in Rex as all the images he had seen kept churning through his head. Worry for Ahsoka was eating a hole in his gut, and the caf he had earlier felt like acid in his stomach. Now, he was intensely worried about the Kaz'harians shooting the prisoners rather than allowing them to go free.

But, Rex was a man of action, and always would be.

He made his way back to the bed, and strapped his knee brace back on. He double-checked all the straps and connectors, ensuring it was as snug as possible, like the way he wore it when he exercised really hard with Travis. The past few days he'd even managed to start running again, and while his movements were not graceful, by any means, at least he had some speed again. It was enough. It had to be.

_I'm going to rescue Ahsoka and those men, and give up my own life, if need be. But, one way or another, I'm getting them out of there._

# # #

A/N: I have another chapter ready to post right after this one so watch for Chapter 88 where Rex, man-of-action, decides what to do about this information he's been given. Time is running out before they land planetside.


	88. Chapter 88 Rex and Travis

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 88**

He slid his distinctive Jaig eyes helmet on his head. "Travis," he rumbled into his comm, in his deep distinctive baritone.

There was a pause, and he could tell he'd woken his second up out of a deep sleep.

_Likely dreaming of Karyn_, and the thought brought a brief smile to Rex's face.

"Yeah, Rex?" Travis murmured, back. "You need me?"

"I do. I've got new information. My quarters in five."

"Your quarters?" Rex could tell that Travis was mulling over the detail that Rex wanted to meet with him in private. "You don't want Catcher in on the meeting, then?"

"Not quite yet. This information came by… unconventional means. We'll need to discuss how we're going to explain _that_."

"Ah."

"Your quarters in five."

"Well, now you have four. Clock is ticking, Travis. As you know, I'm not a patient man."

Travis chuckled, and Rex could already hear that he was moving. "No, you're not. On my way."

# # #

Rex had barely closed his comm, when Travis appeared at his door.

"You get points for timeliness," Rex commented. "Didn't even take the time to piss?"

Travis shook his head, "Would've liked to, but as you said, you're not a patient man."

The Captain sighed, and pointed to his refresher. "Go. I want you clear-headed when we talk strategy. No man can think clearly on a full bladder."

The Marine gave Rex a formal salute. "Sir, yes, sir! Operation Take a Leak commencing!" With stiff legged steps he marched over to the refresher, and leaving the door open, he made a show of taking a leak, washing his hands, and marching back over to the Captain.

Rex just shook his head. "If you're quite through, Travis? I would actually like to talk strategy."

There was no place to sit in the small cabin other than the floor, or the bed, so both men sat on the edge of the bunk.

"You know, Rex, we spend a lot of time in bed, together."

"Travis," the Captain growled.

The Marine threw up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, I'm always a bit punchy when I first wake up."

"Yeah, well, if you don't cut it out, you are about to get punched." He checked his chrono. "We have less than five hours until we land, and I need you focused right now."

Travis sobered up and focused his attention on Rex. "OK, OK, what's going on?"

"I had a Force vision."

That immediately caught Travis' attention, "Another one?"

Rex nodded, "Yeah."

"When?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

"How? What? What'd you see? I mean-" Travis was stumbling over his words in his eagerness to get information out of Rex. The Captain put up his hands to forestall any more questions from his second.

"Look, I'll share everything with you, OK? But, rather than tell you everything, I want to try something."

Travis' voice instantly took on an edge of suspicion, "I don't like the sound of that."

Rex sighed, "You're going to have to trust me, Travis."

"Oh, I especially don't like the sound of _that_."

The Captain blew out a breath, "Last time this happened to us, it was accidental. But, I think with us being vat mates and all, we can do this thing, if we want to…"

"Do what?" The Marine's voice was tinged with worry.

"Take off your helmet, Travis."

"I don't want to take off my helmet. I can't hear anything."

"You won't need to hear anything. Just take it off. And, that's an order, by the way. So, remove your shabla helmet, _now_." Rex put just enough emphasize on the last word that Travis stopped arguing and complied. As soon as the Marine lifted his bucket off his head, Rex's gripped his skull.

The Captain focused this time on Travis, and what it had felt like time he'd been in contact with his brother. It was worlds apart from being in contact with Ahsoka. His brother's mind was so vastly different from the Jedi padawan's mind, yet much more similar to his own mind. Plus, the fact that they in close physical proximity made it relatively easy to establish a connection.

_Travis?_

_Rex? What the-_

Before Travis could start a long-winded argument with him, because Rex knew his brother could talk forever about the most inane of topics, the Captain immediately shut him up by sharing his vision with him. It was an effective means of silencing his brother.

He flooded Travis with the images from Kaz'haria. The rows upon rows of prison cells. He paid special attention to the durasteel weapons and could feel Travis' keen interest in the weapons, just as his own interest had been piqued. He could feel the Marine analyzing ever aspect of the battle, trying to pick apart the Kaz'harians tactics for flaws.

When the vision reached its pivotal moment and the massive apes started firing into the prisoners' cells, Rex felt Travis' reactions as almost an exact mirror of what his own had been.

He could feel Travis' fiery objection and immediate concern when Rex left his position from behind the pillars and exposed himself to enemy fire. Then, he felt the weight of Travis' crushing grief as he watched Rex get cut down by the Kaz'harians.

After it was over, Rex withdrew his touch from his brother's mind.

Travis was just staring at him.

For one of the few times in his life, the Marine was speechless. When he finally found his voice, he cleared his throat, and then said: "_That_ was your vision?"

Rex nodded, still studying Travis carefully. "I thought it would be easier to show it to you, rather than trying to describe it."

"Fek, Rex!" He shook his head, and swore again. Then, stood, and began pacing the room. "How reliable are these shabla visions anyway?"

Rex shook his head, "I don't know for sure. The other ones I've had were pretty reliable. But, from what Ahsoka told me, I guess it's not an exact science."

Travis swore again, "Well, that's certainly not helpful!"

"No, it's not. Much of this Jedi stuff is… not helpful."

The Marine wasn't sure what to make of that. He just looked puzzled. Then, he pointed at Rex, accusingly, "You died!"

The Captain shrugged, not wanting to make too much out of _that_ part of the vision, "Yeah, apparently."

Travis still pacing the room, whirled on him, angrily, "Don't be so non-chalant about it. You died doing something stupid, as usual!" He grabbed Rex by the pauldron, and shook him hard. "If you get yourself killed on this mission, then, I will…" his voice was so loud he was shouting, but even deaf, he must have realized it, because he suddenly lowered his pitch, "then… I will-" the Marine suddenly ran out of threats and bluster, and he released Rex and his shoulders slumped, "I will never forgive you, Rex." 

The Captain placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Look, I'm not planning on dying on this mission, OK? It's just a vision."

Travis met his eyes, not fooled. "You must think there's something to it, or you wouldn't shown it to me."

The expression in Rex's eyes told Travis he had struck home. The Captain sighed, "True. But, I was actually more interested in your opinion on the rest of it."

Travis sighed, "Like what, specifically, are you looking for?"

"Weaponry, tactics, the usual."

The Marine gave his brother a thoughtful expression, "You think if we know what's going to happen, then maybe we can find a strategy around it?"

Rex shrugged, "Right now, I don't see how. They're pinned down. We're pinned down. They start shooting prisoners."

Travis nodded, "We should get Catcher in on this discussion. He's the only one who knows the facility."

The Captain nodded, "I agree. But first, I have more info I need to share with you." He had a triumphant gleam in his eye, "I was able to get us a map of the facility."

Travis stared at him like he had two heads. "A map? How is that possible?"

Rex reached for Travis again, "May I?"

The Marine sighed reluctantly, grimacing. "Fine. I'd like to add that I absolutely hate the sensation of you being inside my head."

"For the record," Rex commented, "it's a rather repulsive experience for me, as well. Now shut up and pay attention."

He closed his eyes and selectively shared the information from his communication with Ahsoka. He could still feel his brother's amusement at feeling 'privy' to Rex's deepest secret.

When he was done, Travis smirked at him. The Captain glowered. "You better be smiling because you're so kriffin' happy to get this strategic info, Travis."

"Absolutely, brother." Although he couldn't resist smacking Rex across the back, "I can't wait to meet this girlfriend of yours, though."

"Focus, Travis, focus." Rex growled. "Now, what are we going to tell Catcher?"

Travis grinned, "I think the brother is already convinced we're shabla crazy. So, let's go with that."

"I'm serious, Trav."

"So am I. You saw that look on his face that day in the physical therapy room. He's already convinced you and aren't 100 percent sane. But, he's still content to follow our lead. He's a good brother that way. We tell him we've gotten new information. We plan our strategy. We kick ape ass. We go home."

Rex considered the approach. Sometimes Travis' thinking was careful and detail-oriented, and other times it was irreverent and hopelessly simple. He truly did have the makings of a great leader. "That's good, Travis."

The Marine smiled. For all their bickering, genuine praise from Rex meant a great deal to him.

"Alright, go wake up, Catcher. We meet in the galley in five."

As Travis was turning to leave the room, he looked back over his shoulder at Rex, and his voice softened for a moment, "I meant what I said. You better not do anything stupidly brave on this mission, like your usual habit."

His brother stepped up to him, and they exchanged a Mando'a handshake with a clacking of armor.

"Frak, that, Rex," Travis said, loosening his grip and gripping the Captain in a rough, brotherly hug. True to form, he squeezed so hard that Rex could hardly breathe.

"Er, thanks, Travis," Rex said, when the Marine finally released him, a bit embarrassed. "That means… er, a lot."

"I mean it, though," Travis said, replacing his helmet, his voice now filtered as he sealed it to his bodysuit, "I will totally kick your ass if you get yourself killed."

# # # 


	89. Chapter 89 Respect

_A/N: This is a quick transitional chapter with the command team getting ready for touchdown. I have a 'feeling' that things are going to get exciting from here on in._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 89**

Travis slipped back into his cabin and stepped over to Catcher's bunk. The ARC Captain was sound asleep, his lips moving. Unable to contain his natural curiosity, Travis cocked his head to the side and studied the sleeping clone. With the skills he'd picked up in the ArmyMed ward, it was easy for the Marine to read the words coming off his brother's lips: "Oh, yes, baby, I _can_ feel that, and it feels so good. Touch it again. _Please_ touch it again."

Unable to contain himself, Travis burst out laughing. Catcher woke up immediately, followed by a curious Viper and Blaze.

"Travis, fek!" Catcher startled, staring up at the Lieutenant towering over him, still laughing.

"What the hell?"

"You talk in your sleep, Catcher."

"And, you're kriffin' deaf! You're the last person that should bother!" the ARC complained irritably. He threw his foam pillow at Travis, and rolled over onto his side, facing the wall. The Marine made no attempt to catch the pillow, and it thudded off his chestplate before sinking to the floor.

"Uh huh… yeah, well, Captain wants to see you in five. Strategy meeting. The galley. He's got new information on Kaz'haria." Travis stooped down, picked up the pillow, and smacked Catcher over the head with it, hard. "Up!"

Catcher instantly pushed up to a sitting position, glaring at Travis. "Some respect would be nice," he growled. "You might be Rex's second, but I do outrank you."

Travis laughed, and smacked the ARC on his pauldron, "I treat you, exactly the way I treat Rex."

"Yeah," the ARC huffed, "that's my point. You Marines are a bunch of-"

Viper and Blaze had both perked up at the mention of 'new information on Kaz'haria.' and interrupted before Catcher and Travis could carry their argument any further.

"Hey, any chance me and Blaze can join in on this meeting? Give our unique perspective?" Viper chimed in.

Travis studied the two Republic Commandos thoughtfully, wondering what Rex would say to the request. He thought of how valuable the two had been in training. After another moment's consideration, he nodded. "Yeah, come along. Your perspective would be appreciated."

Viper grinned, smoothly rolling out of bed and to his feet in one liquid move.

Blaze, generally the more conservative of the two, just nodded serenely and gathered up his helmet. "Thank you for including us, Lieutenant."

The two commandos began heading toward the door, walking as one synchronized unit, as always.

"Hey, aren't you gonna' piss?"

Travis' words stopped the two in their tracks.

"Sir?" Blaze turned toward the Lieutenant, a questioning look in his eyes.

Travis shrugged, "Rex always thinks it's a good idea to empty your bladder before an important meeting. Helps you think better." He pointed toward the refresher attached to the cabin. "I'll wait."

"Uh, yes sir."

Both Blaze and Viper turned and headed toward the refresher.

Catcher gave Travis an amused look. "I can't believe you just did that. Does Rex really-"

The Marine nodded. "Serious. Ask him."

Catcher's jaw dropped. "I most certainly will not."

"All done, sir." Blaze said. Viper was standing directly behind him.

"Both of you?"

The men nodded in unison. "We commandos pride ourselves on our efficiency, sir." said Viper, his deep clone voice sounding serious, but hints of humor crept into his eyes and belied his tone.

"Alright, then, Catcher-" Travis turned to the ARC, but he had already raced to the refresher, obviously trying to beat the other commandos' time. Even with his single crutch, he was incredibly fast.

"Ready, sir." Catcher said, already back.

Travis gave him a suspicious look.

"Yes, I _did_ my wash my hands." Catcher insisted. He gave the two Republican commandos a smug look, "Sorry, boys. Pure Fett genetics. Hard to compete with that."

"Right, then. I think we're ready for our meeting with the Captain." Travis said, leading the way to the galley. As they were walking, he matched his steps to Catcher. "So, things are going well with Ashla, then?"

The ARC flushed, then shot Travis a suspicious look, "Yes, they are. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Travis gave an innocent shrug. "Just a _feeling_ I had. So glad you're _feeling_ better, Catcher. That's the important thing. You're a critically important part of this team, and I just wanted you to _feel_ how much Rex and I appreciate you."

The ARC stared at Travis, a line furrowing between his brows. He was about to say something, but they'd arrived at their destination. The galley door opened, and Rex stood there waiting for them.

"Catcher," Rex greeted.

"Captain."

He looked over the two Republican commandos, and they waited patiently to see whether they were going to be allowed to join the command clones.

"Viper, Blaze," Rex said, in his deep baritone. He nodded his head to them, and they nodded in return. Then, he pivoted his body sideways and gestured for all of the men to enter the room. "Gentlemen."

Viper and Blaze exchanged a quick look and then filed in behind Catcher and Travis.

"You make caf, Rex?" Travis asked, sniffing the air. Rex nodded and pointed toward a fresh pot.

The Marine noticed, though, that for once Rex had chosen to drink water instead of caf. Travis wondered what was up with the change. His brother was a prodigious caf drinker. He studied Rex curiously, but the Captain kept his gaze straight ahead, waiting patiently while the others helped themselves to beverages.

Once everyone was seated, Rex stood up at the head of the table. "We've got new information."

Catcher looked up at him curiously. "So Travis said. How-"

Rex shook his head. "The how doesn't matter. We have a source."

"You've got someone on the inside." Viper said.

Blaze shot him an annoyed look, "He's got several _hundred_ someone's on the inside."

"Yeah, but we're running silent right now. How did they-" Viper objected.

Catcher shot the Republican commando an icy glare so cold that it brokered no argument. "The Captain said that 'the how doesn't matter.'"

Travis and Rex exchanged an impressed look, and the 501st Captain gave a small nod of approval.

"Of course," Viper muttered, "I'm sorry, Captain."

"What's this new information, sir?" Catcher prompted.

"We now have a map of the facility," Rex said.

Catcher sucked in his breath in surprise.

The 501st Captain pulled out his datapad. "Now, it was described to me in a hurry, so this is a simplistic rendering. However, now that we know the layout, we have a much better idea of how we can plan our assault."

He put the datapad in front of Catcher. "How does this match up with what you remember?"

The ARC studied it thoughtfully, his mind going back to his very last mission when he was still in the Republic Army. "I was never in the dungeons. Nor in this section here." He tapped the map, indicating some of the sections Appo and Ahsoka had traveled through during their escape. "However, the layout of the lab remains unchanged. That's exactly how it was when I was there. Are you planning on going to the lab areas, as well?"

"Yes," Rex nodded, "there are prisoners in the labs."

"OK, we're either going to have to divide up into teams-"

Rex shook his head, "It's going to further diminish our numbers."

Catcher nodded, "Or, plan the assault in stages." He tapped the datapad, "Makes sense to take the lab first, since it's near the top. Then, work our way down to the dungeons."

Travis grimaced, "Of course by the time we get down there, we'll have lost the element of surprise. We can expect a full out firefight."

Rex tapped the diagram, and grimaced, trying not to be overwhelmed with the images from his vision. He glanced over at Travis, and noticed his brother looking at him. He knew he was thinking the same thing. The others were watching them, curiously, wondering what was going on.

Rex shook his head, and cleared his throat. "Anyway," he tapped the diagram again, "we need to avoid a full out firefight in the dungeon, at all costs."

"Sir?" Catcher gave him a curious look, "I don't see how we can avoid it."

The Captain gritted his teeth in frustration, taking another deep breath, trying to remember that the ARC did not have the benefit of having seen what he had seen. "Catcher, there are several hundred prisoners trapped in cages down there. If we get into a full on firefight with the Kaz'harians done in the dungeons, what's going to happen to our brothers caught in the crossfire?"

The ARC paled, "I understand, sir, but, still-"

Rex shook his head, "No." He tapped the diagram again. "I need other options."

Catcher stared at the diagram, "As I see it, there's only way in or out of there."

Looking over Catcher's shoulder, both Viper and Blaze studied the diagram intently. They looked back and forth between each other, and the two Republican commandos communicated in that eerie way they did where they seemed to communicate without talking. Rex studied the two of them thoughtfully.

He was interrupted by the chirp of his comlink. "Go ahead. This is Rex."

"Captain, this is Odds, sir. You asked us to keep you appraised of our ETA as we got closer to the planet. We're currently four hours out, sir."

# # #

"Captain, this is Odds, sir. We're currently two hours out, sir."

"Acknowledged."

Rex's eyes were starting to blur from staring at diagrams and talking over scenarios. "Let's take a break. Send in Hok and his scouts. I need to brief them."

Catcher came in accompanied by Hok, Jagger, Saber and Flex. Rex nodded to the lead scout, noting he appeared fully recovered from his encounter with the oppee. He hoped the even-tempered clone would stay in one piece as he knew things were going well for him back on Ando.

"Rex?"

Travis' voice cut into his thoughts.

"Gavex wants to know if it's OK if he can come in here to the galley, and grab the ration packs. He wants to feed everyone before we land."

"Of course." Rex nodded his approval, remembering the clone who'd taken charge of feeding the men when they'd first landed on Ando. He focused his attention back on the scouts, as in the background, Gavex came in and began pulling packages out of cabinets.

He sent tactical information to the HUDs of the scouts, "You're going in as soon as we land. Scouting on ahead and confirming our intel on our target." He reviewed everything Catcher had provided on the layout of the land, and the exterior of the facility, and he added in the most recent information he'd 'acquired' regarded the interior layout. The scouts looked back and forth at each other, obviously eager to be back in action again.

"You can count on us, sir," Hok said, as he studied the imposing Kaz'harian facility.

Rex clasped the scout on the back, "I know I can, Hok."

# # #

_A/N: OK, the next chapter, Chapter 90, will probably be the last one on the ship before they hit dirtside because I'm as eager for them to hit Kaz'haria as you are._

_Travis can be a real jerk sometimes, can't he without Karyn to reign him in? Galactic Marines can be real jerks sometimes. Suddenly he's picking on poor Catcher. Wonder what will happen if he gets himself in a bind and needs an ARC to… nah… just a thought._


	90. Chapter 90 Cloak and Darkknell

_Updated May 24, 2012._

"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"

Chapter 90

"Lieutenant Travis? Captain Rex? You asked to be informed before we activated the new device. We'll be coming out of hyperspace, and within range of the planet's sensors ten minutes from now if you'd like to make your way up to the cockpit." The pilot's voice came over Rex's HUD, and typed itself as a message onto Travis' wristlink. He glanced down at it.

"Thank you, Odds," Travis took the initiative of answering. "We'll be right there."

The call from the cockpit put an end to the last minute review and planning session of the command team. Rex pushed up from the table at the galley with his hands, and winced as his knee stiffened up from sitting too long. He automatically reached down, trying to ease the pain from the new prosthetic. He could still feel the new joint. The ache of the surgery hadn't yet subsided, and while Karyn had told him he was an 'unusually fast healer,' she'd cautioned him he'd still had a ways to go before he was fully healed. She had sat down with him and outlined a conservative treatment timeline, which, of course, he had completely ignored when he ran off to Darkknell.

Travis, who rose up right next to him, glanced down at his knee. "Hurts?"

Rex shrugged, uncomfortable with any sort of fuss, "It's fine."

The Marine knelt down next to him, double-checking all of the adjustments on the custom brace he had helped design and then painted in 501st colors. "Sit." Travis ordered brusquely, pushing Rex back down into his seat with non-too gentle shove. "You have this on too tight, di'kut. It's going to cut off your circulation."

Rex started explaining that he'd tightened it up so that he could run, but Travis couldn't hear him because his helmet was off and he was bent down working on the brace.

The Marine pulled the knee brace off, and quickly adjusted it and put it back on with sure, practiced hands. "Take it easy when we hit planetside," he lectured Rex, "Hate to think all that hard work I did getting you walking again in record time would be for naught if you're gonna' blow out your knee doing something stupid."

"Thank you for _that_ vote of confidence, Travis." He stared pointedly at his brother's wrist, "What about you? Tree puncher? _How's_your arm?"

He smacked Rex's armor plated thigh. "OK, you're good." Rex stood back up, flexing his leg, and testing the new adjustment.

Travis looked at him, and Rex nodded that it was comfortable.

Within his armored glove, Travis flexed his wrist a few times, "Never better."

The Marine looked away quickly, hoping Rex wouldn't catch the guilty expression on his face. Truth was, there was probably a reason Karyn had intended him to wear the wrist cast for a while longer yet. His wrist was tingling, and twinged uncomfortably whenever he moved it too suddenly. The knuckles that he'd broken felt like they'd healed unusually tight. He'd had yet to shoot a blaster since he'd had the cast removed. He had no idea how his hand was going to react. But, he was trying to keep all of _that_ off of his face.

Rex snorted, "Liar."

Travis hoped his brother wouldn't make it any more of any issue, and was relieved when the topic immediately changed.

Rex turned toward Catcher who was just dumping his caf cup into the recycler. "Hey, you're probably interested in seeing this thing get turned on. Want to join us in the cockpit?"

Catcher looked at the other two command clones, "What _thing_?" he muttered to himself, but having gotten used to Rex and Travis' "just go with it" style of command structure, he kept his comments to himself and nodded and joined them.

As the three senior clones headed together toward the cockpit, Viper and Blaze watched them leave. The two Republic Commandos were still seated at the table where'd they been doing their strategy review.

"What _thing_ are they talking about?" Viper asked, rubbing at one of his half-healed burn scars on his neck.

Blaze looked thoughtful, "Ah…some of the others… there have been rumors circulating that this ship came equipped with some unusual technology."

Viper unwrapped another ration bar from the box in the middle of the table, and took a bite. "Such as?"

"Not sure. But, I heard that these pirates we stole this ship from stole a lot of stuff before we liberated the ship from them." The younger commando grinned, "They were good at stealing, but not good with technology. All the stuff was just sitting around in the cargo hold."

Viper snorted with amusement, as he polished off the rest of the ration bar in one bite, "Leave it to a bunch of clones to make the most of their new toy." He smacked his brother on the pauldron. "Let's clean this place up, and then get ourselves strapped in, in case this landing ends up looking anything like the last one."

They both chuckled, even if there was a bit of nervousness underlying their laughter. Together, the two close brothers worked to clean up the break area and then made their way back to the main crew area to join the rest of the Legion.

# # #

The three senior command clones made their way into the cockpit. Chance and Odds both gave a quick glance back over their shoulders briefly in greeting, before returning to work.

"You may want to strap in, sirs. We never had a chance to test this," Chance said, his eyes still fixed on his controls as he worked.

Rex pulled down a jumpseat for Catcher. The ARC was at a slight disadvantage with just one hand, due to his crutch and biolegs. Having just so recently spent all that time off his feet, Rex remembered what that had been like. The ARC gave him a nod of thanks, and then the other two command clones strapped in on either side of him.

"Three minutes," Chance said, his hand reaching over to briefly rest on an unfamiliar set of controls resting next to the standard navigation controls.

Catcher stared at the strange controls. "So, what exactly is it that we are looking at here?"

"Travis, since this has been your mad little science experiment from the get-go, why don't you fill him in?" Rex said.

The Marine nodded, and pointed to the unfamiliar set of controls that had caught the ARC's eye. "When I was first working on the ship, I found there was quite a bit of non-standard technology onboard. I enjoy tinkering with technology, just like Tek and Razor. So, I started experimenting with the stuff onboard. It was a good way to pass the cold nights here."

Rex rolled his eyes with exasperation, "Travis, will you get to the point before we hyperspace past our destination?"

Travis reached a hand out to smack Rex, but since Catcher was between them, he caught the hand. "_No_," he said firmly, "behave." He gave the Marine a very stern look, and released his hand. "Finish your story."

The Marine shrugged, "Ah… yes, well, I discovered something very unusual about one of the pieces of technology that was just sitting under a tarp in the cargo bay…" Travis stopped speaking, and a smile crossed his face. He looked over at the 501st Captain, "Rex, do you want to tell him?"

"What?" Catcher asked, confused, looking back and forth between the two confounding frustrating brothers.

Rex folded his arms across his chest smugly, "Well, Catcher, we do have one little trick in our favor on this mission…" he paused, looking uncharacteristically pleased with himself, then proudly pointed to the blinking device.

"What _is_ it?" Catcher asked, still not understanding what the big deal was.

"It's a cloaking device," Rex and Travis proudly said in unison. From the tone of their voices, one would think they'd invented the technology themselves.

The ARC sputtered, "A what?"

Travis smiled, "We discovered that the pirates had stolen a cloaking device."

Catcher's jaw dropped. "But...what… how…"

Rex smiled again, "I don't know the specifics of who they stole it from either. It's a _very_ expensive piece of technology. And…. we're not even positive it's going to work. But, we _think_ it _might_ be functional."

"The pirates had no idea what to do with it, because they didn't even have it hooked into their ship," Travis added in.

"Only because if you do it wrong, it will blow your whole ship up the moment you activate it," Odds chimed in, from his place in the co-pilot's chair. "They knew _that_ much."

Catcher's gaze whipped over to Travis', "Is that true?"

"Uh… yes. But, Tek is down in Engineering monitoring the power levels, along with Gears. We are _almost_ sure that is not going to happen. We feel it is an acceptable risk," Rex said, his smile fading, and a nervous set to his jaw betraying his true feelings that this cloaking device might not be fully functional.

"Almost sure?" Catcher stared around at the team in the cockpit, and then back at the strange blinking set of controls.

"90 seconds, Captain," Chance announced, resting his hand lightly on the controls for the cloaking device.

"You mean to tell me that in 90 seconds we're going to activate something that could potentially blow up this entire ship?" Catcher asked.

"75 seconds," Chance announced calmly.

"Yes, so if we're wrong, you'll be the first to know. And, if we're not, you'll be the first one to get a view of Darkknell," Travis said, pointing out the front viewscreen, as they prepared to come out of hyperspace.

The comm system in the cockpit activated.

"Chance, this is Tek, down in Engineering. Timing is going to be critical here. The moment you come out of hyperspace, you need to activate the cloak. If you activate it a second too late, the Kaz'harians will be able to detect us coming in."

"What happens if he activates it a second too early?" Odds asked cheerfully, speaking to his technically minded brother.

"The cloak will engage while we're coming out of hyperspace. That will cause a big power surge, and we don't think the ship could handle that in it's current state," Tek said.

"Ah," Odds said, still cheerful as ever, "so that would be bad."

"Yes, the good news is none of us would have too long to dwell upon it, though because we'd be pretty much vaporized instantly," said Tek.

"15 seconds to cloak," Chance said, his eyes riveted on his controls.

"Cut the chatter," Rex ordered, and the cockpit immediately silenced.

"10 seconds to cloak," the pilot counted down, and the tension in the enclosed space rose thickly between the five identical men.

"Preparing to come out of hyperspace," Odds announced. His normally jovial tone was gravely serious for once, and his eyes were riveted to his controls.

"Power levels steady," Tek said over the comm.

"Five seconds to cloak," Chance counted down.

"Coming out of hyperspace now," Odds announced, his single hand moving smoothly over his controls.

"Now, Chance," Tek said, his voice reassuringly calm.

"Engaging cloak," Chance announced. His gauntleted hand slid the cloaking device controls down, and suddenly a noticeable shimmy shook the pirate raider just as lights throughout the entire ship dimmed.

_Kriff!_thought Catcher, _I never had a chance to properly tell Ashla how much she really meant to me. Why didn't I tell her before I left?_

Her face flashed into his mind as all of the voices into the cockpit just faded into a dull cacophony of shouting, slightly panicked voices. He could feel the ship groaning and straining beneath and see the lights wildly blinking, but all of it seemed so distant. All of his thoughts were on one woman who was on a semi-frozen fishing world a half a galaxy away.

"Power levels fluctuating throughout the ship," Tek said. "Gears! See if you can boost power to the cloak. It's draining more power than we anticipated. Divert more power from non-essential systems!"

"It's not working. The cloak is starting to destabilize."

The shaking got worse and Catcher felt his teeth start to rattle from the strain on the ship. It started to feel like some of the worse landings he'd had in a gunship, where he'd been pounded with fire. It was much like the feeling he'd gotten— usually right before getting shot down.

"Do we shut down the cloak? Power levels are starting to go critical!"

"No! I just need a few more seconds! Let me try one more thing. Wait—I've almost got—"

The lights in the cockpit came back on at full strength and Rex heaved a sigh of relief. Next to him, he heard Catcher release a long gasp of breath and sag back in his restraints.

"Kriff. We didn't blow up the ship," Catcher muttered.

On the other side of Catcher, Travis smacked the ARC in the pauldron. "Have some faith, ARCie. I think that went rather well, all in all."

Catcher glared at Travis in annoyance. "Yeah, I'll remember that next time you spring an untested piece of technology on me at the last minute."

Travis poked Catcher again, much to his annoyance, but he was trying to get his attention. "Look. There it is. Darkknell."

Catcher stared at the greyish-green orb and memories came flooding back. He felt a dark chill freeze him in place, and suddenly it was difficult to breathe. The ARC suddenly wondered why he ever wanted to come back here.

_This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come back. I spent days lying here, my spine severed. Agonizing pain. The Kaz'harians… coming after me…_

He closed his eyes trying to shut down the flood of painful memories. Catcher felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and opened his eyes to find comfort from an unexpected source.

"You, OK, vod?" Travis asked, softly. The Marine was looking at him with concern and compassion.

Catcher had never seen anything but sarcasm or wisecracks from Rex's second. He didn't know the Galactic Marine was capable of deeper emotions, but figured the town doctor must have seen _something_ in him. As Catcher met Travis' eyes now, he could see there truly was another side to the Lieutenant, one that he usually kept carefully hidden around his brothers. The way he was looking at Catcher now showed him that he _understood_ what it was like to be having a battle flashback.

Catcher took a deep, ragged breath, struggling to get air in his lungs. He nodded toward the viewscreen, "Darkknell," he finally managed to gasp out, as the planet grew larger and larger.

Rex was leaning forward in his seat, deep in discussion with Chance and Odds. The co-pilot had pulled up a 3-D map of the planet, and they were reviewing the terrain of the planet, discussing landing sites.

"Hold us here, behind the moon, and do a complete planetary scan. Has anything changed from our previous data?" Rex asked, studying the scans, and reviewing the data as it came in.

Travis just glanced at the planet, then went right back into his discussion with Catcher. The two of them spoke quietly, so only they could hear. The Marine nodded toward his mechanical legs, "This was where everything changed for you."

Hard to believe this was the same sheb for brains he couldn't stand most of the time.

Scan after scan was coming up on the 3-D display, including a hauntingly large image of the Kaz'harian facility that shimmered over the co-pilot's panel. Travis nodded toward the medieval looking stone fortress, "Well, we're going in there and this time we're going to set everything right."

"I don't know if I can do this, Travis," Catcher glanced toward the 3-D image.

"Yes, you can," the Marine said in his deep baritone. "You're the only one who can. Not only do you know the terrain. But you have a steadiness about you that I lack sometimes." His voice dropped low, so that only Catcher could hear it, "Hard as it is for me to admit this, I think Rex put you in charge of this team over me for a reason. Not just because you outrank me. But, you really are the best man for the job."

Catcher looked at Travis in disbelief, "Seriously, vod?"

Travis held up and flexed the hand that he recently broke, "I can be a bit… ah… hot-headed sometimes."

Catcher raised up an eyebrow, not willing to argue that confession. "Let's just focus on getting our brothers out of there alive."

The two of them nodded, and then grasped arms, mando'a style as if making a pact to put brothers first.

"Catcher," Rex called, drawing the ARC into his discussion with the two pilots, he pointed directly into the 3-D map, the colors warping and wrapping around his hand, "here?"

The 327th Star Corps Captain studied the terrain intently, trying to reconcile with his experiences from several months before.

"We're coming in at night, under cloak, and this ship is probably a far different configuration than any craft you came in with the GAR," Rex reminded him, as he studied the possible landing sites.

"Yeah, well, when they pulled me out, we weren't going for stealth. Bly just did a straight extraction. He landed a cruiser and shot his way out."

Rex raised up his eyebrows, impressed, "How many men were getting extracted?"

"Just me," Catcher admitted. He could feel every eye in the cockpit was on him now, so he struggled to explain, "Bly… we were brothers…." He wondered why he felt the need to refer to his brother in the past tense, as if he were dead to Bly now. But, after he said the words, he saw Rex and Travis exchange a meaningful look, and suddenly realized that he didn't need to explain.

Catcher unbuckled and pushed up from his seat using his crutch to steady himself. He reached forward and pointed to another landing site, much closer to the Kaz'harians two-story stone facility, which shimmered eerily on the glowing map. "When I went in, I was dropped off high up in the atmosphere and parachuted down to my target site… which was here."

Odds pivoted in his seat, and stared at the ARC, "You HALO jumped all the way in there? Straight down?"

Catcher could feel that all of the eyes in the cockpit were once again on him, and he'd forgotten how different his experiences were from other clone troopers. He shrugged, "I was going in at night, so a jetpack would have been too obvious. Yeah, dropping straight down was the only sure way too avoid detection."

Travis gave him a new look of respect, "You sure are badass, vod."

The ARC could feel himself flushing with embarrassment. At one time he'd taken a certain arrogant pride in being _different_. When he'd been training at Kamino, Jango had stressed to the ARCs that they were the chosen few and were genetically different from their clone brothers. He'd been trained completely separately from his clone brothers, so he'd developed an attitude that he was not only different, but _better_ than his brothers. Catcher guiltily realized he'd let this attitude go to his head, and he'd had few friends outside of Bly, who as a command clone, couldn't fraternize much with his subordinates in the 327th. Bly had tolerated Catcher's superior attitude, although he had teased him about it on more than one occasion. Now, after everything he'd undergone in the medical centers, Catcher wanted nothing more than to just _fit in_ with his brothers. He didn't want to stand out. He was too _different_ now. Being treated as a 'medical experiment gone wrong,' had certainly changed his superior attitude for good. If only Bly could see him now. He was definitely a changed brother.

Catcher shook his head, vehemently, "I'm just a clone. Just like you, vod."

Rex sighed in exasperation, "As touching as all this is, I _need_ a landing site." He pointed into the map, "I'm proposing here, and then we hike in. It's not too far, even for guys like you and me, Catcher." He gestured to his own knee, and then to the ARC's mechanical legs.

Catcher was infinitely grateful that Rex had mentioned his own disability, and hadn't just singled him out when mentioning he was keeping the terrain easy to accommodate those who couldn't cover long distances.

The 327th Star Corps Captain studied the map and nodded his approval.

"Alright, then, we've got ourselves a landing site," Rex said. "OK, Chance, take us in."

The ship pulled out from behind the moon and suddenly Darkknell loomed in front of the viewscreen again, huge and greyish-green.

Catcher felt his stomach twist in knots and he was suddenly more nervous than the night he'd peeled off Ashla's clothes in front of the fire, and brought her to the apex of pleasure for the for the first time. All of the details of that evening came back to him at once. He could remember her heady scent, how heated her skin how gotten, and the soft look in her eyes after he had pleased her so much. He wanted to make her feel like that every night for the rest of her life. Suddenly, the words came to Catcher so clearly, everything he wanted to say to the woman who'd taken him into her home and made him feel like a man again.

_Ashla, I want to spend all my days and nights with you for the rest of my life._

_Why hadn't all of this been so clear before I left?_

His musings were suddenly interrupted by someone tugging on his pauldron. "We're done here." Travis was giving him an intent look again. "You OK? You still look like you're totally out of it." His voice was still just low enough that the conversation was between the two of them.

"Come on," Rex said, in his commanding tone, standing at the doorway of the cockpit and looking impatient to be going, "You two can finish your conversation on the way. We need to give the Legion their final briefing."

Catcher shook his head, and he wasn't sure himself if he meant, 'No, I'm not OK, or, no need to worry about me, I'm good.'

"Come on. Let's go," he said, firmly to Travis, his voice sounding a lot more confident than he felt. He left the cockpit with the Marine right behind him, covering his back.

# # #

Rex stood in the main cabin of the pirate cruiser and addressed the Andoan Legion. The room was crowded, and hot, filled with clones who were in the final stages of putting on their gear.

There was a sense of anticipation in the air that went above and beyond the usual atmosphere before a mission. This time they were clones who were all here by _choice_. Not one man had been ordered to put their life on the line this time. And, they were all here because they believed in the man who was speaking to them now.

Rex studied the nearly one hundred men both seated and standing in the main crew cabin, dressed in armor representing every battalion and legion from across the GAR. Some were missing limbs, and some, like Travis, could only hear with the aid of their helmets. Lance, Blaze and Viper and numerous others bore evidence of burn scarring from explosions. Men like Tek and Catcher needed assistance to stand, just like Rex, until so recently. But, all of them, wore their armor proudly, and the 501st Captain knew they were all battle-ready. All of them had the hearts of warriors, and Rex knew that Fett clones were by their very natures _adaptable_. It was a clone's greatest strength, in the end, above any other asset, and he was confident that this was what would get them through the battle.

He began to make eye contact with individual clones, as he delivered his last minute instructions. Rex saw Hodges rub one hand over the old scars on his knuckles, and then the newer scars on the side of his face. Drax, the clone from the 55th Mechanized Brigade who'd originally helped open up the cockpit doors, was scowling at something his partner said. Rex glared at both of them to pay attention, and they immediately straightened up in their seats. Torch kept his helmet on and his head down, not willing to make eye contact. Rex bypassed him, and moved on, but made a mental note to talk to him. Karyn had warned him about Torch.

Rex finished sweeping his gaze around the room, and then addressed the group in his deep command baritone, "While we wait for Hok and his team to report in, I want everyone to study the info I'm sending to your HUDs. I'm sending you information on our target and their facility, including the most recent and detailed information we have of the layout. With regards to the biological structure of the enemy, Captain Catcher has come up against them before. Catcher?"

Catcher stepped forward, and activated a 3-D pic of a fully armored Kaz'harian soldier within everyone's HUDs. "They're large, about 1.8 metres, and weight about 100 kilograms, so best to avoid hand-to-hand combat. They have the physical brute strength of a Gamorrean, but are much stronger, so don't let their physical appearance fool you. They are deceptively clever, and it is always best to kill them from a distance. I was here on a covert mission and spent most of my time hiding and running from them."

This drew a general chuckle from the men.

"So," Catcher admitted, "I can not say that I have engaged one in combat up close. I am not sure what their weaknesses are. They are fast, despite their size, I remember that part, quite clearly."

Kinks, one of the snipers, stepped forward, "So, you're saying, when we go to kill one, just don't miss. It would be a really bad idea to piss one of these things off."

This drew another general round of laughter from the men.

Rex stepped forward before the men could get off-track. He liked to run a tight briefing. "With regards to weapons, in the past, they have been known to use Separatist supplied blasters. However, we recently acquired information that here on Darkknell they may also be using slugthrowers due to the climate."

A low groan went around through the room and the word 'slugthrowers' was repeated amongst the men several times in quick side discussions. Rex held up his hands for silence, and the room immediately quieted.

"Whatever they have, they do not have the ten to twelve years of specialized training we received on Kamino. Not to mention the fact that we have a shipful of clones with some anger issues who are more than a little peeved off that their brothers have been stolen and kept captive for two months," Rex's voice began to take on the tone of a rallying cry.

A general cheer went up from the men. Rex held up his hands for quiet again.

"We're going to hit the lab first, and then move on to the dungeons. Route and timing is marked; with a primary route in green, secondary route, if needed in yellow. Captain Catcher and Lieutenant Travis will be leading a highly specialized team that has been assigned some mission-critical diversionary tasks. They are also reasonable for finding a ship, or ships, for getting the 501st and 212th, off of this rock. Chance, Odds, Tek and Gears have been tasked with staying with the ship. The rest of you check your HUDs for your specific team assignments."

Dart, the swarmy ARC with the attitude, raised up his gauntleted hand. "Captain Rex?"

"Go ahead, Dart."

"The second ship… where will it be headed?"

Rex could feel the tension levels rise in the room as the rest of the men awaited his answer. It was as if clone in the room was collectively holding his breath. There was no easy to say this, and hesitating would not make it easier. "The 212th and the 501st… they will be going directly back to Coruscant."

He could feel the palpable disappointment amongst the men in the room that the brothers they had come so far to rescue, the ones they were laying down their lives for, were being sent back to the war.

The 501st Captain turned and looked around the room, making sure to make eye contact with as many of the men as possible. "I discussed this at length with the command team. There is no other way to assure your safety, and the safety of everyone on Ando. It has to be this way."

"But-" Dart protested.

"When you were first told you were being sent to Kamino, what did you want more than anything?" Rex pushed.

"To return to the GAR," Dart answered truthfully, "but these men don't know about the life that we have back on-"

"And, it has to remain the way. We can't make that decision for two entire Legions of men."

Dart's brown eyes looked intensively thoughtful, and then he nodded. His eyes met Rex's and the Captain could see that he did understand. Mako had told him the story of how the ARC had won the heart of a little girl, and her mother, when he'd heroically saved the girl from being hit by a speeder. He had people to protect back in Ando. Rex saw other heads nodding around the room, as well. Most of them had people to protect- or people they hoped to protect.

"All of you, when you have contact with the 501st and the 212th, you are not to tell them the name of the planet or where you have been for the past two months. There are some Jedi Generals within the group. No matter what the rank of the person asking. The answer is the same for everyone: 'I'm sorry. I'm not at liberty to say.' Anyone presses you for details, send them to one of the command team, and we will handle them."

Travis, who was standing by Rex's side, added in, "We are no longer part of the GAR, so the rules are different for us now. We are officially AWOL, and the moment we started talking about shooting Kaminoans, I think we decided we weren't going back."

This comment elicited laughter about the clones, and during that moment Travis gave Rex a long sideways glance. The rest of them might not be going back, but what about Rex? His brother ignored his look and continued on with the briefing.

"So, while we are here for our brothers when they need us, we must still keep a degree of separation. Because… in the end, we are going back to our lives, and they are going back… to theirs. Is that clear?" Rex's brown eyes penetrated into those of the men under his command, making sure they understand what was at stake. They were here for their brothers, but they now had lives to get back to someplace else. Heads around the room nodded their ascent, and the tone around the room was somber. It was not the usual pep talk before a mission.

"Alright, Lance, Mako. Any words for the team?"

The two medics were standing side-by-side, leaning against a back wall. Mako seemed taken by surprise at the Captain's words, so the more seasoned medic stepped forward. The burn scars that ran along the side of his face and disappeared into his bodysuit still looked painful, but as usual, Lance betrayed no signs of his own discomfort. He stood straight and tall, the epitome of strength and toughness as he delivered his briefing.

Mako listened carefully, trying to learn how to be more like Lance. Oftentimes, he felt like he wasn't even half the man that Lance was, and it had nothing to do with his missing limb. His stomach twisted and roiled nervously, and he swallowed back the bile that rose to his throat. _Focus_, he yelled inwardly at himself, _focus!_

"Hydrate now," Lance said, tapping the canteen at his belt for emphasis, "_keep_ hydrated. You will feel the results of dehydration long before your thirst mechanism will kick in so don't let your muscles cramp up just because you're too sheb-headed to remember water. Darkknell has a variety of terrains, but where we are going in, it is _hot_. We're going in at night, which helps, and we have our suits. But, where we are going in the terrain is jungle, and the humidity is near 100%. With those kinds of conditions, you can expect the humidity to literally suck the water out of you. Mako and I are splitting into teams and heading out into the field with you." He glanced back quickly at the younger medic.

Mako glanced back and tried to smile, but it came out more as a grimace. The reminder that he was being separated from Lance on his very first mission was not an occasion to make him _smile_. Not only that, he had just checked the team assignments. For some insane reason, Lance had been assigned to the specialty team, which was just the ARCs and commandos. There were just seven troopers on Lance's team, _including_ the medic. Mako had been assigned to Rex's team, which meant he was with the main force of troopers. Including Mako, he had 85 members assigned to his team. He was a new medic. How was he going to handle such a large group? What if he couldn't handle it? What if he froze up? What if he wasn't fast enough? What if forgot something critical? What if he made a mistake? What if somebody died because he needed two hands and he had only one?

Mako tried to calm his wildly spinning thoughts. Lance was speaking again, and he tried to focus on the words his brother was saying.

"As things in the field _progress_," on a shipful of men with battlefield injuries, he didn't have to explain what the word 'progress' meant in this case, "one of us will fall back to the ship. If you need to call for a medic… well, I think we all know that drill."

On a shipful of one hundred injured men, they were all familiar with how to call for a medic.

"You've all been assigned a partner. Check your HUDs. Remember who you are paired with. I did the pairings myself so that you could cover for each other," he paused, to give the men time to check the listings. He noticed some nods of approval, and some grimaces. Lance didn't care if they liked the personality of their partners. This was all about physical match-ups and compensating for each other in battle. He'd paired up the deaf men, who were at a disadvantage when it came to reacting to sounds, with the men who were missing limbs, who might need the assistance of their fully-limbed brothers at critical moments of the battle. "You all have adrenal tabs in your belt pouch medkits. Use them if you need them. We expect the fighting to be fairly intense, so you very well may need them. Any new new wounds, no matter how small, as well as anything that happens to your current condition, must be reported to me or Mako or Karyn upon return to Ando."

There were a few snorts, some dry chuckles, and few rolled eyes. The usual reaction from troopers. He didn't have to tell them he was serious, they knew it.

Lance looked at Mako to see if he had anything to add, but the junior medic just shook his head. He clenched and unclenched his one hand nervously. Lance would need to talk to him before they headed out.

The senior medic ran his experienced eyes over the group of armored clones listening to the briefing. Kinks, one of the snipers, was shifting his weight uncomfortably off his leg and wincing as he stood up against the wall. Lance made a note to check his leg before they headed out. He saw Quinn rubbing one gauntleted back and forth along the head injury scar that triggered his seizures, but figured this was more of a nervous habit than a sign of discomfort. Tank was tugging at his leg armor, as if trying to make sure the stub of his leg was rubbing uncomfortably after all the sitting. He made a note to check him as well before they left the ship.

"One final thing, no one gets left behind. We bring everyone home." There was a pause as every trooper breathed in that word… home. Lance's voice dropped just a notch, "If you can't… retrieve your brother right away, leave him. We'll come back for all brothers later."

He looked toward Rex and Travis for confirmation of this and both clones immediately nodded, and he saw Catcher nodding his ascent, as well.

"Right, then. One way or another, we are all going home from this." He took a deep breath, feeling a chill run down his back for some reason. He shook off the feeling, and then nodded toward Captain Rex to indicate he was done speaking.

"Thank you, Lance." Rex said, and noticed Catcher had his hand held up to his helmet, listening intently. His head nodded ever so slightly, and Rex could tell he was giving orders back to the semi-deaf squad of scouts.

The 501st Captain paused and folded his arms over his chest and just waited. He was done with the briefing anyway. Now, they just needed the information from the scouts. It was completely silent as everyone waited for Catcher to finish his call from Hok.

Rex turned to the ARC Captain expectantly, "Report."

"Hok and his squad have reached the installation," Catcher said. "Everything's quiet." The ARC transmitted an image to Rex's HUD showing a view of the Kaz'harian installation, taken through Hok's helmet cam via nightvision. "They're going to work on finding a way in. As expected, the entrance that I snuck in last time has been completely sealed off. So, they're searching out alternative ways in. They're confident they'll have it by the time we get the team in place. They see a couple of promising possibilities."

The clone Captain studied the images, overlaying them against their previous data. He knew Travis and Catcher were doing the same. He looked over the various entry points the scout team was considering. Some of them would definitely be more _challenging_ than others. Not for the scouts, necessarily, who were able-bodied barring their hearing issues, but for the troopers still recovering from battle injuries. He sighed. They still had to move out now, because timing was critical, and cloak or not, they couldn't remain here on the ship indefinitely.

Tactically, everything else looked like what they expected. Barring any nasty surprises once they made they were inside, they were ready as they ever were going to be to rescue their brothers.

Rex turned back toward the waiting legion, "Alright men. Grab your gear. It's time to move out."

# # #


	91. Chapter 91 Torch

_A/N: This chapter brings back the character of Torch, and he promises to be a very hot character. Think of someone who looks like Commander Wolffe, with that sexy scar, except as a Galactic Marine, and you've got Torch. Torch doesn't have a cybernetic eye. He wasn't given one, because he was just being shipped to Kamino. He's got a wicked scar, and has a blind, useless eye. (Hey, he had to be sent to Kamino for__** something**__!) Suppose he could put a patch over it, but not sure the pirate look is in for clones these days… so, no patch. Just a great scar._

_To write this chapter, I spent hours and hours researching the topic of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI.) TBIs are one of the most common types of injuries now being reported by soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. In Chapter 30, Torch suffers a TBI right after the first battle with the pirates, just as the ship smashes down into Ando. Because he was unconscious for several hours after the crash, Torch's symptoms are consistent with a moderate TBI, (headaches and slight speech problems in the recovery, then sudden mood changes and personality alterations.) _

_I thought he'd be a fun little flame to add fire to my commando team._

_I tried to be very clear about the setting so when it jumps into a flashback, (Torch's backstory), it is obvious. I tried to do this without having to scream, "ANDO: SIX WEEKS AGO." But, if it's confusing the way I wrote it, and it would be easier if I put stuff like that into the narrative, please let me know. Hey, I aim to please. Sometimes, I miss. But, I do try._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 91**

As soon as the briefing ended, Rex headed toward the back of the room and cornered the clone in scuffed burgundy armor. The gear was almost identical to that of Travis', although Torch's gear was more burgundy overall, with no white at all. Both Travis and Torch bore the markings of a Marine Lieutenant. However, the similarities ended there, whereas his second exuded confidence and cockiness, his _former_ second was now aloof and abrupt. Torch's personality seemed completely changed from the helpful clone that had first approached Rex during the pivotal moments before the ship crashed into Ando.

Karyn had warned him, in exhaustive medical jargon, that personality changes were a possible side effect of head injuries like the one Torch had sustained when his unhelmeted head had slammed into the bulkhead. She said the injured Marine had a 'traumatic brain injury.' She said it was fortunate he had even awaken at all, as the blow to the head could very well have been a fatal one. He had not had any seizures, (unlike Quinn, with his seizures, after his battle-related head injury.) However, the Marine was definitely not left unscathed from the rough impact.

As soon as the doctor had learned about the injured Marine, she had ordered him brought to her clinic. She had later lectured Rex, at great length, for not letting her know about Torch immediately on the first day. Rex had grumbled he was a 'bit busy with pirates.' He also pointed out that they had a perfectly good medic of their own. This did not seem to placate the doctor, in the least.

Karyn had just shaken her head at him, as if he didn't understand _at all_. Then, she continued on with her lecture, in excruciating detail telling him about why early treatment was so critical. After an hour of this, Rex could take no more.

"I have to leave for training," he said, abruptly pushing up from the kitchen table, cutting the doctor off mid-sentence.

"It's still dark out," Karyn frowned, glancing out into the pre-dawn darkness.

"Uh… yes… I need to get an early start. Standard procedure." Rex insisted, slamming his helmet on. He hurried out of the house, forgetting his warm coat. He ended up shivering on a bench down by the docks, wishing he'd remembered the coat, could've somehow carried a cup of caf with him... and, well, a second breakfast would be nice... along with less kriffin' lectures. It's not that he didn't care about his brother. OK, admittedly, he did feel _some_ amount of guilt that he hadn't brought Torch to the doctor's attention right away. But, would it have made a difference anyway? Lance was a top-notch medic, ranking right up there with Coric. He'd been with Torch the moment the Marine had opened his eyes, and it was a good thing, too, because from what the medic had described to him, Torch's awakening had been violent. (In her hour long lecture, the doctor had mentioned this was 'normal' and an excellent sign there was strong brain activity.) Lance said he didn't appreciate the bruises Torch had given him when he jerked, thrashed and kicked awake, but he was relieved his brother's brain seemed to be intact.

Rex sighed, and took off his helmet so he could rub at his eyes. He winced at the stinging cold.

He _cared_. He cared about every trooper in the Ando Legion. He just didn't like being endlessly lectured to by the doctor about how _much_ he should be caring. When he was with the 501st, no one had ever questioned his commitment to his men. Ahsoka certainly never would have-

Rex squelched off _that_ thought before it could get any further, because it was too gut-wrenchingly painful to think back to his time with Ahsoka and the 501st.

He had to admit that he felt an extra attachment to Torch. There was something about the brother that reminded him of Travis. It wasn't the obvious that both were Marines, and both had made officer. Those were just the outwardly external things, and none of that really made the clone. No, Torch had forever made an impression when he had disregarded his own safety, in favor of helping Rex, in those last few crucial seconds before the crash. If he had just taken the time to strap himself in, he never would have sustained that brain injury…

_That's_ what was bothering Rex the whole time the doctor was lecturing him. Karyn didn't know the particulars of what had occurred on the ship. But, whether Torch expected it of him or not, Rex felt he owed his brother.

The injured Marine had been conscious for the dinner in Fisherman's Hall. Rex had sat with him for a while, updating him on the latest, while Mako patiently coaxed him into eating a few bites of broth. But, Torch had been too tired to respond back to Rex, and had drifted off early in the evening. He was transported back to Karyn's clinic, and spent the next week sleeping. During the few short times he did wake, Karyn would check his vitals and try to feed him a nutrient-laden seafood broth. When Rex was around, he always took over this task. Mako, Lance and Travis often sat with Torch waiting for him to wake, taking over the job of trying to coax food into him. Karyn didn't have the facilities to set up a feeding tube, so it was up to his brothers to ensure his weight didn't drop dangerously low and to keep him hydrated. Everytime Torch cracked opened his eyes, there was a brother there shoving broth down his throat.

Like all clones, Torch recuperated quickly from there. After a week, he was able to stay awake longer, although he complained of headaches. He spoke slowly, and his speech was somewhat slurred. He also began to grow agitated about being confined to bed. He began taking out his frustrations on everyone who came to visit him.

Rex understood. No clone trooper liked to be cooped up. He tried to ease Torch's restlessness by visiting him as often as he could. But, the Marine just seemed to grow more hostile and agitated. Rex pulled Lance aside and asked if he should do something differently. The medic, who looked exhausted, gave Rex a good-natured smile. He also assured him that Torch's behavior was 'normal.' As difficult as the injured clone was on everyone around him, he did seem to be making good progress. He could stay awake for longer periods of time now, and his speech, while still slow, was easier to understand.

Fourteen days after their crashdown on Ando, the brain-injured Marine insisted upon getting up and walking around, much to Karyn's displeasure. Rex was stuck in bed himself at the time from his knee surgery, but he heard Torch shouting angrily that he was 'fine!' and the doctor yelling back that he was 'not fine!' A few moments later, there was the sound of something crashing and falling, (which Rex assumed to be Torch), and then a colorful litany of cursing.

Rex's first instinct was to get up and intervene, but he was so drugged up that he couldn't even make it up past raising himself to his elbows. When Mako came by later with his dinner, he filled Rex in on all the latest gossip between the downstairs of the house and the upstairs.

"Ah… well, yes…it seems that Torch has finally rebelled against the good doctor once and for all." Mako shook his head, out of deference to his new boss, but there was a grin tugging at his lips that showed he had respect for the Marine's determination.

"Go on," Rex said, intrigued by the story, but his attention was fully focused on the task at hand. He was carefully trying to spoon up the ubiquitous fish soup the medic had brought by. His hands were shaking slightly, much to his consternation, likely a side effect of the overly generous cocktail of painkillers the doctor now had him on.

"He decided to get up anyway, just to prove the doctor was wrong. And, well, you can't just pop right up after lying down for two weeks."

Rex nodded, thoughtfully. He'd been injured enough times to know you had to take everything _slow._ He gave up on the soup and handed it back to Mako, and decided instead to focus on eating the side dish of dark bread. He didn't have to worry about burning sensitive parts of himself if he dropped the bread.

"Ah. That would explain the _crash_ I heard," Rex said, around a mouthful of bread.

"Yes, that would be Torch. What goes up, must come down."

"Did he do any further damage to himself?"

"Nah. Just a few bruises. But, he immediately tried to get up again, so the doctor sedated him. She's pretty annoyed with him."

Rex snorted, "She can't keep him sedated forever." He suddenly frowned, thinking of how drugged up _he_ felt at the moment. He tried to hold on that thought, but found he couldn't really focus on much of anything at the moment. Mako's voice interrupted him from his deep thinking.

Mako nodded, "Uh huh. I expect he'll be up again as soon as he can manage it… Alright, open up." The medic held up a spoonful of soup to Rex.

The Captain opened his mouth to object to being fed, but was immediately silenced when Mako shoved a mouthful of the Andoan specialty in his mouth. Rex should have known better than to argue with a medic.

# # #

Sure enough, true to Mako's prediction, early the next morning, Torch ended up in Rex's room. He had his arm thrown around the medic's shoulders, and from the strained look on Mako's face, it looked as if the young medic had mostly carried the determined Marine up the stairs. Rex settled back against his pillows and gave the one-armed clone an amused look.

The medic looked sheepish, and muttered: "Sorry, Cap'n. There was no holding him back."

Rex raised up an eyebrow. "So, it seems."

Torch gave the Captain a determined glare, breathing heavily as he hung off of Mako.

"Well, since you have come all this way, come in, then." He pointed to the chair next to his bed. Mako looked a bit worse for wear himself. Torch sank into the chair next to Rex's bed with a weary grunt, and then turned and gave Mako a _look_ that said he wanted to talk to the Captain alone. The medic rose up an inquisitive eyebrow toward the Captain, frowned, and looked back and forth between them.

"Go on, Mako. We'll be fine," Rex ordered in his commanding baritone.

"Uh huh. Yes, well, I think I'll go visit with Lieutenant Travis for a while." He headed out into the hallway, and then hesitated, noticing the bedroom door was closed. He poked his head back into the room. "The doctor isn't in there with him, is she?" Mako asked Rex, in a loud, worried whisper.

The Captain guffawed, and shook his head. "No. I think he's just napping. Go ahead and wake the slacker up. She headed out about an hour ago to do her rounds."

Mako nodded, and retreating, heading into the room that Travis shared with Karyn.

Rex turned his attention to Torch. "So, this is a surprise. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

Torch stretched out carefully in the chair, making himself comfortable. He looked pale, sweaty and tired from the trip up the stairs. But, all things considered, he was looking much stronger and healthier. "I- want to… resume training."

Torch's speech was a bit slower than normal, as if he was deliberating hesitating to make sure he got the words out correctly. But, it was once again improved from the last time Rex had spoken to him. There was no doubt he was on the mend, and there was definite determination behind his words. He stared straight into the Captain's eyes, as he addressed him. Rex knew _that_ look. This was a brother that was wanted to get back to doing what a clone did best.

Rex folded his arms across his chest, and gave the Marine a patient, assessing look.

"I can _do_ it," Torch said, "I just need to get my strength back." Then, a look of frustration and annoyance crossed the Marine's face and he swore angrily, "_Kriff_! Captain! I'm tired of being kept locked up all day! I'm the only trooper still down there in the clinic. No other trooper is being kept locked up!"

Rex pointedly ignored the tirade of cursing. "Yes, well, except for Lieutenant Travis and I." He nodded toward the room next door, then in a conspiratorial whisper said, "She keeps us separated, you know. Says Travis and I are trouble when we're together."

His comment didn't get so much as a smile out of Torch. He 'hmmphed' and grumbled, "That's why they keep women out of the GAR."

Rex guffawed, not sure if he was in a good mood because he was still on high doses of pain medicine or if he was just willing to be more tolerant of Torch because of his head injury. "Torch, you haven't spent much time around women, have you?"

"No," the Marine admitted, looking strangely petulant. Then, he looked at Rex suspiciously, "Why? Have _you_?"

Rex rose up an eyebrow, "Yes. My commander happened to be female." He looked Torch straight in the eye, "And, she was one of the finest officers I have ever served with."

Torch rolled his eyes, "Oh yes… the Jedi."

Some of Rex's good humor faded and he looked at Torch suspiciously, "You have something against Jedi?"

Torch shrugged, "No… but, the one that led our unit.. was a bantha for brains." He pointed to his blind eye, "Led us into…a kriffin' trap…. I got this…and sent to Kamino." The Marine snorted derisively, "We'd have been better off with a…Gungan than-"

"That's enough!" Rex's tolerance for the Marine's insolent ramblings had reached its' limit. Comparing a Jedi to a Gungan was too much. He turned the conversation back to the reason why Torch had first approached him. "You said you want to go back to training?"

Torch nodded, "That's… right." He leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest, his stubborn pose matching Rex's own.

The 501st Captain measured up the Marine's stubbornness, "Alright, then, what does the doctor say about all this?"

Torch snorted, and shook his head, "All she… talks about is _therapy_." He spat the last word out. "I don't need _therapy_." His hands began to wave around, expressing his agitation, "I _need…_ to be with my brothers."

"I see." Rex nodded, thoughtfully. He pointed across the room, to where his twin blasters were resting on top of his neatly piled armor. "Could you get my blasters for me? Need to give them a good cleaning."

Torch looked a bit reticent to get up from his chair, but complied with the request. He pushed up from the chair, his arms slightly shaky. It took him a moment to get his balance. The first step he took, he nearly fell. But, he gritted his teeth and with slow plodding steps made it across the room. He grabbed the weapons, and with a steady, stomping tread made his way back across the room, as the Captain watched. Torch sat back down with a grunt, sweating profusely. He handed the twin blasters to Rex, barrel first, glaring at him. "Here's your shabla blasters."

"That would be, here's your shabla blasters, _sir_."

Torch looked at Rex with annoyance, "This was all just a test, wasn't it? To see if I would fall on my face?"

The Captain shook his head, "No, Torch. I was testing your determination." He set the blasters by his side. "Well… I'm no expert. But yes, it looks to me, like you just need to get your strength back. I'll talk to the doctor about you resuming training, and bring it up with Catcher, as well."

Torch nodded, looking taciturn and serious. Rex had expected him to at least smile when he found out he was getting his wish and resuming training, but humor didn't seem to come easily to the Marine anymore.

"And," Rex continued, "I'll have _Travis_ talk to Karyn. He seems to have a bit more _sway_ with her than the rest of us." He gave the Marine an amused smile, to see if he would catch his humor, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

But, Torch stared at him for a moment, as if trying to work everything through. No smile. Then, a furrow crossed his brow, and he stared down at the floor. "I've missed out on so much," Torch said in a despondent tone.

"What do you mean?" Rex asked patiently.

"Mako and Travis say all the others are meeting women."

"Not all of them, Torch. The stories they are telling you are just the highlights. There are a number of troopers who are still single. And, not all of them have worked out like Travis and Karyn."

The Marine still shook his head bitterly and declared, "I've missed my chance."

Rex stared at him. This bitter, gloomy, look-on-the-dark-side-of-things person was a far cry from the trooper who had approached him on the ship, willing to risk everything to help. Karyn had warned him about personality changes, but this sudden flipping back and forth from determination to bitterness was rather startling. Knowing that was likely the brain injury, and not the 'true Torch,' Rex decided to just change the subject away from who-was-hooking-up-with-whom in Ando.

"Back to training, then… I've missed a few days myself," Rex inclined his head toward his knee, "but I can catch you up on what the teams were doing before I left." Rex re-settled himself once again on the bed, grimacing as he tried to find a way to sit that made his knee more bearable. He gave up on getting comfortable, and focused back on Torch. "Let's talk about you. I was reading through everyone's files, and I remember that you had a particularly interesting file. Did a bit of everything in the Marines. Specialized weapons. A lot of explosives stuffs, if I remember, correctly. You and Mako could chat on that topic sometime. He was in detonations, before he was a medic-

"That medic?... He did dets?"

As expected, the switch in topic from 'lack of love life' to 'blowing things up' worked to instantly take Torch's mind off things. The two ended up having a good chat until Mako returned, at which time he joined in and the three of them talked about blowing things up together and a good time was had by all. Travis heard all of the laughter and snuck out of his room to join in on the discussion of the best way to blow things up. It was a pleasant morning for the four of them. And, true to his word, Rex got Torch back with his brothers.

# # #

As Rex stood in the main room of the pirate raider, and studied the Marine before him, he wondered if he was once again seeing one of the back-and-forth personality changes.

It disturbed him greatly because Catcher reported that Torch had been doing well in training, despite his 'rapid-fire, personality swings.' Travis had suggested that Torch be assigned to the sharpshooting team. Then, he stood back and watched with satisfaction as his fellow Marine soon outshot every member of the regular team.

"Kriffin' remarkable," Catcher said, as he stood back with Travis and watched Torch shoot target after target.

Travis just gave Catcher a little smirk, and said: "We're Marines," as if that explained everything.

"He only has _one_ eye," Catcher shook his head in amazement, noting that Viper and Blaze had invited Torch to run some drills with them.

"We're clones," Travis said, with a shrug, looking out over the field at all of the troopers, and how well they were managing despite the injuries that had sent them to Kamino, "we adapt."

They both turned to watch Torch hit a series of targets in quick succession with Viper and Blaze, the three of them moving smoothly as one synchronized unit. "Although," Travis amended, "I suppose, it helps in his case that he still has the eye he uses to sight through the scope."

"He's good. I'll give him that." Catcher admitted, "too bad he has the personality of a mynock."

Travis was about to argue the point, but was prevented from doing so. Catcher had already walked away in order to break up a fight between two troopers. In the middle of the fight was… Torch.

# # #

In the last week leading up to the departure to Darkknell, Rex had been focused on rehabilitating his knee and distracted with worry over Ahsoka. Admittedly, he hadn't spent much time with Torch. But, Mako had told him the Marine seemed better—'somewhat' more stable.

So, when it came time to choose the teams, Rex took the ultimate gamble. He assigned Torch to the elite squad. Now, as he faced down the surly Marine, he hoped he wouldn't regret his choice.

# # #

The din in the pirate raider was getting louder as the troopers finished putting on their gear and prepared to depart.

"Torch," Rex addressed the Marine. "You, OK?"

The Marine Lieutenant had his helmet off, and he simply stared at the floor with his single eye, his gaze unfocused. He ignored Rex, as if he had not spoken.

"Torch?" Rex said louder.

No response.

Rex reached one hand out to shake Torch's shoulder. The Marine went wild as if he was being attacked. He was gripping his DC-15A long rifle, favorite weapon of choice of the Galactic Marines. The rifle instantly swung up and aimed directly into Rex's chest. Several nearby brothers turned around in alarm, all drawing their weapons in one simultaneous move. But, before they could fire, Rex wrenched the long rifle from Torch, pinning his arm painfully behind his back. He shook his head at the troopers moving in to intercept, warning them to stay back.

"Torch!" Rex hissed into his ear, still gripping his arm high and tight behind his back. "It's me."

Hours of patiently sitting by his bedside and talking to the Marine, caused Torch to easily distinguish Rex's voice. He gasped, and then he mumbled in confusion, "Captain?"

Rex sighed with relief, and released his grip. "Yes." He spun Torch around to face him, and in a show of faith, handed the Marine back his weapon.

Torch's one-eyed gaze darted around at the troopers around them, staring at him warily. A furrow formed between his brows, "Wha… did I…"

Rex could see the anxiety building in him, as he tried to piece together what just happened. He grabbed Torch none-too-gently by the shoulder, "Come on," he shot a look at the others, "Let's find someplace a bit more private to have this discussion."

He half-dragged Torch with him outside the hatch, gripping the Marine by his shoulder armor, and pulling him down the ramp. It wasn't completely 'private' outside the ramp, as troopers had already started spilling outside the ship. But, it was better than the closed confines inside. It was hot and humid in the Darkknell jungle, and even at night, one could easily the exotic calls of a myriad of species in an age-old dance of survival.

Torch stared at Rex, his scarred face reflecting in the moonlight, "Did I just try to… kill you, Captain?"

"Yes. But, I'm willing to let it go for now. Later, you can retrieve things for me again, to make up for it, OK?" he rose up an eyebrow, to show he was joking.

Torch just stared at him.

Rex sighed. _Be glad when Torch learns to smile again. A little humor is all that makes the kriffin' war tolerable. Well, that and Ahs-_

Torch was still just staring at him.

"Look," Rex said, "Torch, I need you to _focus_ today. And, stay completely focused. I know you can do it. I've seen you do it in training. The success of the entire operation today is hinging on what you and the six others on your team are being tasked to do. Catcher is going to brief your team on what you need to do. I picked you because I believe in you, and I think you can do this."

The Marine took a shaky breath, "I don't know. Maybe I…I'm not the right choice."

Rex grabbed Torch roughly by the shoulder, "You came to me because you wanted to be back with your brothers doing what you do best. Well, I am giving you _that_ chance, right now. You have a specialized skillset, Torch, and I need that skillset. Yes, I know you were injured. But, we're _all_ injured Torch, and we all adapted. And… frankly, in the past, I've done some of my best fighting sometimes when I'm injured because it really _pisses me off_."

Torch stared at Rex after his outburst, and then unexpectedly he guffawed, letting out a short burst of laughter.

_That's the first show of positive emotion I've seen out of him… since before he hit that bulkhead._

With still a trace of a smile on his face, the Marine nodded his acquiescence, and simply said: "OK. I'm in."

Rex nodded, "Good. Go find the rest of your team. You've got a lot of things to blow up for me today. Catcher will give you all the details. But, I promise you won't be bored today."

# # #

_A/N: Ack! It took me forever to get this chapter right. I wrote it and rewrote it and rewrote it again. Wanted to do justice to the topic of Traumatic Brain Injuries. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist, and over-researched the topic. I'm sure I probably did. I'm obsessive that way. Then, this week, I had a bit of a distraction because my very active ten-year old broke his wrist. (He discovered the laws of gravity can't be defied.) So, just this morning we had his lovely new cast put on. But, all excitement aside, I have now finished this chapter. Chapter 92 is finished as well. I just need to proofread and then I can post that one as well. As always, thank you so much for your patience and comments._


	92. Chapter 92 It Happened in the Galley

_Author's Note: Whew. OK, on Monday, somebody sent me a review saying: "There should be a Cody/Barriss scene on the ship before they land on Darkknell." So, I did a bit more than a scene. This is 19 pages of Cody and Barriss. __See what happens when you review? This chapter truly wrote itself. It's fun, irreverent and dripping with __innuendos,but it's all just a bit of levity before all that big battle stuff coming up. Oh, who am I kidding. I've written a bunch of those battle scenes and some of them have some downright good humor in them, too. I find me funny. I really do. Ah, but anyway, as requested, here's Barriss and Cody._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 92**

Cody returned from the tiny galley, and leaned back comfortably against the doorframe, arms folded, as he surveyed everyone and everything. The Republic Troop Transport (RTT) had bench-style seating lining both sides and was built for short haul trips, not long-range comfort. The ship was designed for twelve, and was currently holding a crew of fourteen. Fully armored, eleven clones were crunched in on the benches, with two up front piloting. There had been several RTTs docked side-by-side at the time they needed to steal a ship, and their current pilots, Echo and Fives, were familiar with the ship design.

'Just trained on these in Kamino,' Fives had said, with a confident grin, as they sprinted toward their targeted ship.

'He didn't mention how badly he crashed it his first time out in the simulator,' Echo grumbled to Cody, as they ran.

Cody cast the young ARC an alarmed glance. After they secured the ship, he gruffly ordered Echo to pilot.

"Fives, you're _co_-piloting," Cody stabbed a finger toward the navigator's chair. "Get us out of here," he barked toward both ARCs, and then turned his attention toward ensuring everyone else was safe and secure.

The 212th and 501st troopers were interspersed together on the two benches, which Cody was glad to see. They would all need to seamlessly together if they were to have any hope of rescuing General Kenobi, General Unduli and her team, and the rest of their brothers.

_Kriff. When you put it that way that is an awful lot of rescuing for a team of fourteen. _

There'd been precious little in the database on their target other than the brief mention Fives and Echo had been able to find of the mission by Bly's ARC, Catcher. But, he'd never filed a mission report before he'd been sent to Kamino.

Cody closed his eyes and said a word of remembrance to Catcher. He hadn't known him, since Catcher had gone through ARC training with the original set of ARCs, before Cody. But, still, he felt a kinship to this ARC trooper who'd been sent on to Kamino, and shared the same unfair fate as Rex.

Cody wondered what had happened, and why this 'Catcher' had never been given a final de-brief, injured or not. He was obviously still alive after his mission. Was he too injured to speak? Brain damaged? Captured, tortured and driven insane while on the mission? Cody had certainly seen all of those things during his time in the GAR. He blew out a breath, shaking his head at the sad and unfair ending of this 'Catcher.'

He glanced around the crew compartment, feeling a bit melancholy as he thought of brothers lost. He suddenly felt glad for the brothers he still had. As he looked around, the crew there glanced up and met his eyes. Sitting interspersed on the two benches, were the six troopers from the 501st; Echo, Fives, Jesse, Denal, and Kix, and his six from the 212th Attack Legion; Trapper, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Wooley, Waxer, and Boil.*

Their ship, like all RTTs, did not have the benefit of being well armored, however, it was fast, maneuverable, and armed with two laser cannons and two mass driver missile launchers. The thinking behind the small vessels was that they were more for combat situations dependent upon being able to outrun, outmaneuver or outgun the enemy, rather than being able to stand up under heavy fire.

_Let's just hope we don't get into a situation where we're in a sustained firefight,_ Cody thought, glancing around at the number of troopers crammed into the compact vessel. He was responsible for everyone onboard, and after surviving Kaz'hariah, he'd hate to think of giving those apes a second chance to gun down one of his brothers at Darkknell.

Activity at the front of the craft caught his attention. He could just make out the voices of Echo and Fives, the inseparable ARC pair. The two were arguing again, and it was a heated debate, judging by their body movements and waving of hands. He shook his head, wondering briefly how Rex had ever had the patience to put up with the two of them.

Thoughts of Rex caused the familiar stab that it always did. For the brief time when he'd been together with Barriss, the loss of Rex had been somewhat easier to bear. But now, that she had left him as well, the loss felt raw and even more acidic. He glanced back up front again, and noticed Echo and Fives had already resolved their fight and were laughing over something.

_I swear those two are as bi-polar as the wild moons of Antar IV._

Thoughts of moons, and the pair up front, made him think back to the mission to Rishi Moon with Rex. He missed Rex's steady companionship, bad jokes, and keen insights. Even under impossible odds, Rex could be counted on to find a bit a humor and somehow get everybody looking at things so they weren't _so_ bad.

He wondered what his friend would think of this insane mission to Darkknell. He smiled inwardly, and didn't need to think twice about that one. He knew _exactly_ what Rex would think. It's just exactly the kind of crazy thing Rex would do if he were still alive. Feeling somewhat bolstered by memories of Rex, and also reassured all was well on the ship, Cody looked around for a place to sit.

Trapper and Kix each shoved themselves to the side, creating a tiny gap between them so that Cody could sit. This succeeded in pushing Hardcase into the wall, who just grunted and snuffled in his sleep.

A moment or two later, Waxer appeared in the galley door, having just finished cleaning up the caf pot and cups. Trapper and Kix glanced up, heaved a sigh, and together, they all squeezed their bodies together even tighter with a protesting creak of plastoid. Hardcase squawked slightly in his sleep, but still didn't wake up. Waxer jammed himself into the slight space between Trapper and Hardcase, and Cody grimaced as the unyielding bench caused his armor to bite into his flesh. In no time at all, his left buttock began falling asleep.

_Kriffin' armor._

He wanted to reach back and massage it, but didn't even have that much maneuverability on the cramped bench. He knew if he tried to move his arms he would end up smacking Trapper on side, and Kix on the other. He respected his brothers too much to do that to them, even for the sake of an aching buttock cheek.

Cody sighed, and tried to shift into a slightly more comfortably position. Sure, it would have been more comfortable to just stay in the tiny galley where there was at least a bit more breathing room. But, somehow it just felt more _natural _to be sitting with his brothers, even jammed on top of each other as they were. This was the way that they always sat on their way to battle.

Cody had to admit it felt comforting to do something familiar after many long weeks stuck at the Ord Cestus medical station. He needed some normalcy back in his life. Especially after what had happened the huge emotional blow with Barriss…

He _needed_ his brothers right now, and there was a certain comfort in their presence on either side of him, as uncomfortable as they were currently jammed into the overcrowded RTT. Cody felt like he needed to just focus on Darkknell, the 212th, his brothers…. Basically, _anything_ to keep himself from going insane thinking about...

_No. Don't think about... Shab. Too late._

Cody found his gaze snapping over to where Barriss sat serenely in the middle of the floor, practicing her meditation. Kix and Boil had finished their stretching, and given over the precious floor space.

(Later on, they could take shifts and stretch out and get some sleep.)

But, for now, there was not much to do than to just sit. And, stare at Barriss.

Cody wanted to hunker down next to her, see her blue eyes pop open in sudden awareness of his presence, and hear her ask in a gently teasing tone: "What do you want, Cody?" (He didn't realize that when she did speak to him next, her tone would be anything but gentle, and definitely not teasing.)

This would be so much easier if he could just hate her. If he could switch off all the feelings that he had for the Jedi padawan and tell himself that he didn't care for her anymore. So, when she'd told him that she had chosen the Jedi order over him, it hadn't shattered him to the point now that if felt like it was difficult to breathe.

He couldn't imagine going through each and everyday for the rest of his life feeling like this. The pain was just too much.

It suddenly hit Cody with stunning clarity what he needed to do to solve the problem.

He simply needed to die at Darkknell.

# # #

Barriss closed her eyes and sank deeper into her meditation, tuning out all of the sights, sounds and smells around her. The smells of a thirteen clones jammed together in one space was strong, but not necessarily unpleasant. But, none of the other twelve smelled anything like Cody.

Cody.

He was not in the room. He had left the room sometime ago, joining Waxer in the tiny galley that made up the only other crew space aboard the RTT, other than the refresher. Barriss was aware of Cody's presence without even consciously trying.

She forced herself to focus back on her meditation. Her Master was counting on her, and she needed to be at her best when they arrived at Darkknell. After all, this enemy had managed to take her Master by surprise. If she were to succeed in her mission, she must not make the mistake of underestimating her opponent. She sank herself into the Force, hoping for some clues and guidance that might help in the task that lay ahead.

Time always passed quickly when she was in meditation. But, suddenly she was aware of the 'swish' of the galley door opening, and the scent that was uniquely Cody returning to closer proximity. Barriss tried not to linger on the distracting thought of how much she loved Cody's musky and manly aroma. It was too unsettling, and too… arousing. Even now she could feel her body automatically start to respond to Cody's presence, wanting more of him.

_No, no, no._

The Jedi padawan took a deep breath and forced herself back into her meditation. But, she was still aware of Cody's presence, and aware that he was lingering at the entrance of the galley. A few minutes later, Barriss heard the

slight rustle and creak of armor as the clones shifted around and rearranged their seating. It was a tight fit in here, to be sure. She felt another presence enter the room. Waxer. More shifting, rearranging and creaking, before everyone settled in again.

Then, she became aware of Cody's thoughts directed toward her. He was projecting very strongly. Was he doing it intentionally? She didn't think so. He'd become more aware of what he shared with Barriss, and better able to direct the communications. These thoughts were chaotic, and tumultuous. They were so intense that Barriss' first instinct was to draw up a wall and block them out.

But, just as she was preparing to block out the emotional deluge, she clearly caught Cody's last fleeting thought': '_die at Darkknell.'_

Barriss' eyes snapped open and she gasped, causing several of the clones around her to startle.

Kix, the ever-alert medic, was the first to react: "Are you alright, Commander?"

Barriss put up a hand, forestalling his question. She jumped lithely to her feet, and jabbed a finger in Cody's direction, "Commander, the galley, with me, _now_." Her voice had assumed an icy, no-nonsense tone that she only ever took when preparing for, or directing troops, in battle. All around the crew cabin, eyebrows went up and looked between her and Cody, and even Fives and Echo pivoted around in their seats to see what was going on.

When the 212th commander hesitated a moment, stunned by her tone of voice, Barriss grabbed Cody by the shoulder armor. Using her ample upper body strength, she pulled him out from the tight gridlock of his brothers.

"_Now_," she ground out, in barely contained anger, her eyes seething into Cody's. Suddenly sensing the confusion from the other dozen clones around her, the Jedi hurriedly bowed her head and said politely, "if you'll excuse us," hoping it was clear her anger was directed at Cody, and not them. But, not wishing to take any more time to explain, she hauled the still confused clone with her to the privacy of the galley. The door hissed shut and they were alone.

# # #

Fives looked back over his shoulder, and snorted. "Well, what do you suppose _that_ was all about?"

Echo looked thoughtful, but didn't comment.

Wooley shrugged, "Awww… it's Jedi. Who can tell with them?"

Hardcase yawned, and cracked his eyes open, "What did I miss?"

"More drama between the Commander and the Commander," Gearshift supplied.

"Now," Waxer intoned, sounding authoritative, "we shouldn't gossip."

"Well," Gearshift put up his hands in supplication looking around their crowded conditions, "what else are we supposed to do?"

He found an ally in Wooley, sitting two seats down from him, who leaned over Hawkeye to chime in, "Heh. Agreed. So… what do you think the Commander did now?"

Hawkeye, realizing he was now drawn into the conversation by way of proximity, being stuck between Wooley and Gearshift, drawled, "I'm more interested in what they're doing now."

A dozen pairs of interested eyes turned and gazed toward the galley door, then Denal and Waxer each looked at each other and shook their heads. Denal was the most experienced clone from the 501st, and least likely to put up with any misbehavior. Waxer was simply sympathetic to Cody because of what he was going through from having broken off his relationship with the physical therapist, Asori, when they left the medical station.

"Fives, Echo," Denal said, making a motion with his finger indicating they should turn their heads back around and face toward the front view screen, "shouldn't you two be _piloting_?"

"We're in hyperspace," Fives protested, "there's not much to hit!"

Kix decided to side with Denal on this one, plus, he wasn't all that sure of Echo and Fives' piloting skills, "We'll let you know the moment something interesting happens," he also made a turning around motion, "just pilot, OK?"

Fives huffed out a long breath, and turned around back to his nav screen. "Piloting is _not_ very interesting," Fives grumbled to Echo, "just because we're the only ARCs aboard, suddenly now we're pilots."

"Hey, you wanted to be an ARC," Echo pointed out.

Fives stared gloomily back at his nav console, feeling totally put out that he was missing the better action in the back of the ship. Then, he slid a hand down along the kama gliding down along his hip, and dangling off the edge of the seat, "Yeah. We do look good, though, don't we?"

Echo just rolled his eyes at his brother, and went back to his piloting. He decided to change the subject to something he found more interesting, "Ah... yes, well, speaking of which, I was actually re-reading our ARC training manual, and found an interesting section in there that I hadn't noticed before regarding the care and cleaning of..."

But, he never had a chance to finish his sentence, as they were interrupted by the vibrations of the galley door rattling and banging.

# # #

As soon as they entered the galley, Cody turned toward Barriss.

He gave her a confused look. "Barriss, what-"

She pinned him up against the galley door. "Dying on Darkknell? Are you insane?"

Cody stared at Barriss wide-eyed. Then, he looked away.

The Jedi grabbed his chin, forcing his face back. "Look at me, Cody."

The clone stubbornly kept his gaze focused away.

"I said, look at me, Cody."

He kept his eyes averted away.

"Cody," Barriss pleaded.

Something in her voice caused the clone commander's steely resolve to break. As if on their own accord, his eyes swept back across Barriss face and then up and met the blue eyes that he now knew as well as his own. He gasped when he saw the hurt there... and, the longing.

"Cody," Barriss repeated, his name, this time it came out as a plea, "Whatever has happened between us, you can't possibly be thinking of throwing your life away like this." Her voice broke and cracked, and Cody saw that her blue eyes were starting to fill with tears.

_Kriff. He had made her cry._

"Barriss," he said, huskily, trying to explain, "without you, I... I just can't imagine... there's nothing..." he sighed, having difficulties putting it into words, "it's just too hard..." he closed his eyes, not able to verbalize everything that he was feeling.

Barriss spared him from having to speak further. Suddenly, he felt her lips pressing down on his.

_What the-_

His eyes widened in shock. He stared at her.

And, for a moment, he just froze up, thinking: _I thought we'd decided not to do this. _But, then passion took over and he was completely lost. He moaned, and brought his arms up around Barriss. He couldn't have resisted her, anymore than he could have prevented himself from taking his next breath. He slanted his head so that he could better take advantage of her mouth, and plundered his mouth mercilessly into hers.

"Barriss," he breathed, feeling like he was living again for the first time since she'd announced they could no longer be together.

"Cody," she moaned, pressing her body closer up against his and into the galley door.

He reached a hand down to grasp her hip, and pull her closer up against him, needing her closeness. She responded by rocking herself against him. Cody felt himself exploding with need. He had to take Barriss _now_. Yes, he knew his brothers were just on the other side of the wall, but somehow that knowledge just fueled his lust even more.

In one athletic move, he wrapped his arms around Barriss and swapped positions with her, so that she was pinned up against the door. Not wasting time with undressing, he simply pulled up Barriss' Jedi robes to her waist and then tugged irritably at the garments she wore underneath.

"Remove this, before I rip it," he growled. He was tempted to just destroy the offending garments, but out of courtesy to Barriss he figured she would be more comfortable running and moving in the upcoming battle with said garments in place than without. He set her down, and waited impatiently while she hurriedly slid off the items preventing him from getting at his prize. Cody took a few precious seconds to free himself of the necessary pieces of his lower armor, and found that his hands were actually shaking.

It seemed to take an eternity, but finally Barriss' lower legs were free and bare. Cody let out a small roar, and grabbed the Mirilian. He pressed her to the cool, metallic surface of the door, and in one swift, harsh move, joined their bodies together. He had no time for slow, or gentle. He needed to feel _alive. _He needed to remind Barriss that she was _his_, and would always be _his_.

# # #

"Well, I suppose there is no doubt as to what they are doing in there now, is there?" Hardcase smirked.

Denal extended an arm so that he could smack Hardcase across the top of the head, "Try to show a little respect, will you?"

Hardcase scowled, "What? I'm supposed to ignore _that_?" He stared pointedly at the galley door, where the distinctive rhythmic slap-slap-slap of an armored body up against the door could be heard, and two sets of labored breathing.

"What the Commander does is his own business," Kix chimed in, flushing a bit, trying to avoid looking at the door, as the pounding began to grow louder.

"Even when he's doing the other Commander?" Hardcase asked, pointedly, earning another smack from Denal. "Ow! Hey, I'm just saying. Isn't there some kind of regulation, or something?"

"For clones, no," Fives said from the cockpit, in his deep baritone, he glanced toward the door, the tempo was getting even faster, "for Jedi, yes."

The distinctive cry of 'Cody! Cody! Cody!' could now be heard causing all conversation to cease and all pairs of clone eyes to glance toward the galley.

Hardcase whistled, and gave his booted foot a stomp. He snorted, "Well, I just wish somebody would 'Cody, Cody, Cody me.' Lucky bastard. Ow! _Denal_!" He scowled, "Just saying! Now, come on. Aren't the rest of you guys just a little bit jealous of him? Well, OK, except for you," he pointed to Waxer," you were getting your decee _waxed _on Ord Cestus while the rest of us were just still having to make do with the old-fashioned way. And, there was even less privacy aboard that medical station than there is aboard a cruiser!" He made a fist and jerked it a few times. Waxer shot him a dark look, as did his best friend, Boil, backing him up as always.

"Didn't you discover the utility closet on level LL B17?" Wooley asked, with a curious eyebrow, and a slight upraise of his hips. "It was never locked. Just enough room in there if you turned sideways."

"Seriously, bro? And, you didn't share this find?" Hardcase gaped at him.

"He told me," Gearshift said, leaning back a bit in his seat, and looking smug.

"And, Gearshift told me," Hawkeye chimed in.

"What was this? A 212th thing? You couldn't share with those of us in blue?" Hardcase was starting to get upset, "because speaking of blue, I was definitely starting to-"

"Actually, Hardcase," Jesse corrected him, "I knew about it."

"We knew about it," Echo and Fives chimed in simultaneously from up front, then they gave each other a sheepish smile. Echo turned red, flustered, and immediately turned his attention back to piloting. Fives shook his head, and cleared his throat, and immediately began fussing with some switches on the nav console.

Hardcase gave them a long, puzzled glance, before turning back to Jesse with a hurt look. "And, you didn't think to tell me?"

Jesse gave his brother an apologetic look, "It was already getting hard-" he flushed furiously, "I mean, difficult, to find time to get in there. We had to work out a schedule and everything. Fives and Echo were always-"

"Hey!" the two ARCs objected from up front, shooting glances back over their broad, pauldroned shoulders.

"Let it _go_, Hardcase," Echo intoned from up front, obviously wanting to change the subject.

"Yes… well… we'll just let them be, and pretend that we didn't hear _anything_," Fives said authoritatively in his deep baritone, also steering the topic back into safer waters.

Any further conversation was cut off by a loud male groan of release from the other side of the door. It was quickly followed by a sharp female cry pinnacling into one final "Ohhhh... Cody."

There was an awkward silence in the crew cabin, until Fives pivoted around from his co-pilot's chair, and said: "Denal is right. We didn't hear _anything_, got it? Someday _that_ could very well be one of us." Echo gazed sharply at him, but Fives ignored the look and continued speaking, "And, the commander would do the same for us. I just know he would."

Eleven pairs of identical heads nodded in ascent, agreeing with Fives on this solemn vow to protect the commander.

# # #

Barriss collapsed against Cody's chest, completely limp and spent. Their lovemaking had been passionate before, but never like... this. The passion and intensity in Cody this time had been so intense that Barriss had felt it through the Force. She had felt it with every part of her being. She had felt alive in a way that she had never felt before.

She looked up and into Cody's eyes and saw the raw, naked truth there.

He loved her.

The truth was so shocking and startling and so evident at the same time. She gasped. She should have known. It had been there all along.

"Barriss," Cody groaned, burying his face in her neck, and just lightly inhaling her scent.

"Cody," Barriss whispered, and she felt the tears immediately began to flow from her eyes again.

Cody tried to pull Barriss even closer, even though they were already as entwined as closely as two people could possibly be. He never wanted to let her go.

"Cody," Barris repeated. There was a warning note in her tone this time.

The clone pulled back, and looked at the Jedi with a furrow between his brows, questioning. He'd just experienced one of the most amazing moments of his life. What could possibly be _wrong_?

She shook her head again, more tears running down her cheeks.

Cody stared at her, confused as to why she was crying. Those were happy tears, right?

_Kriff! Why did this all have to be so confusing? _

He carefully withdrew his body from Barriss,' noticing that his legs were actually trembling, just as his hands had been before they had started their lovemaking. Everytime he was with her, it was always like an inferno that had to be released else it would consume him with its' heat.

He carefully pulled Barriss' robes down around her, and watched in silence as the Jedi padawan redressed herself. Just watching her put her clothes back on was enough to turn him back on, and he was already ready for a round two.

_I can never get enough of her. A lifetime would never be enough time._

He replaced his armor, and tugged Barriss over to one of the small padded benches in front of the cramped table in the galley. He sat down sideways on the bench, leaning his back up against the wall, and pulled the Mirilian onto his lap.

"Talk to me," Cody said, gruffly, wiping her tears away with his gauntleted hand.

Barriss hesitated, not willing to speak at first. She sighed, as if she didn't want the moment to end.

"We can't do this again," Barriss said, between her tears.

Cody stared at her, _Again? She is saying this again? After what just happened between us?_

"Barriss-" Cody began, convinced if he could just tell her what he was feeling, she would choose him over the Jedi order.

"We— can't —be," Barriss said, between her sobs. She buried her face in her hands. "I'm a Jedi, and Jedi aren't allowed to love."

Cody's jaw dropped in shock. _Did she just admit she loved me?_

"Surely, there must be a way-" Cody said, refusing to believe that the Jedi Order could keep apart two people who loved each other. Could the Jedi be so cruel?

Barriss shook her head. "There _is_ no way, Cody. Jedi are not allowed to love."

"So, you love me, yet you would leave me, anyway?" Cody said, his voice gaining strength, as the harsh reality began to sink in.

Barriss nodded her head, as she lifted her head and met Cody's eyes.

"You choose the Jedi over me?" his voice began to take on a harsh edge.

"I have _no_ choice."

"There is _always_ a choice."

"Please try to understand, Cody."

Cody shook his head, "I think you better go." His voice held a dangerous edge.

"Cody," Barriss voice was pleading for understanding.

"Go!" Cody yelled, his voice hoarse.

Barriss fled off his lap, and disappeared from the galley.

# # #

The sounds of passion had faded away. But, unexpectedly now the sounds of a heated argument could now be heard through the not-nearly-thick-enough galley door.

"You choose the Jedi over me?"

"I have _no_ choice."

"There is _always_ a choice."

"Please try to understand, Cody."

"I think you better go."

"Cody….."

"Go!"

The galley door suddenly opened and Barriss appeared, tear-stained and bedraggled looking. She stared into ten pairs of clone eyes. No. Make that an even dozen, because Fives and Echo pivoted around from their positions at the front of the ship and were now regarding her curiously, as well. She flushed, embarrassed.

"I… I…." she stammered. Her eyes looked around wildly, looking for someplace to retreat to on the crowded ship. She charged toward the refresher and slammed the door shut.

There was absolute silence after she disappeared, and her sobs from behind the door seemed painfully loud.

Hardcase sighed, "Well, hope nobody needs to use the refresher between now and Darkknell 'cause I don't think she is gonna' come out. Ow! Denal! If you don't stop hitting me, I'm gonna' be concussed by the time we reach Darkknell. Kix, you're a medic, tell him to stop hitting me."

Kix just shook his head, and commented, "Put your bucket on."

Jesse sat up a little straighter in his seat, and looked toward the galley, "Should somebody go check on Commander Cody?"

Kix and Trapper looked back and forth between them, as if deciding, 'You or me, bro?'

Waxer shook them both off, "You guys know nothing about what it's like... dealing with women. _I've_ got this one."

# # #

Cody had his head down on the galley table, and for a brief moment, Waxer wondered if he'd fallen asleep.

But as soon as he stepped through the door, the commander grunted, "What'd you want, Waxer?"

Waxer startled, wondering how Cody had known it was him without even looking up.

"Uh…"

"Did the others stick you with coming in here to check on me?" Cody finally lifted his head, and his eyes looked red-rimmed.

"I volunteered, actually."

"Brave of you," Cody murmured, putting his head back down.

Waxer grabbed two bottles out of water out of the conservator, and slid into the bench across from Cody. He uncapped both bottles, pressing one into Cody's hand.

"Drink, something, Commander."

Cody ignored him, gripping the bottle, but making no effort to lift his head.

He took a long swig from his own bottle and then then started out: "These doors are none too thick."

That statement caught Cody's interest. He lifted his head back up.

"How _much_ did you hear?" his voice sounded dangerous.

Waxer shrugged, trying to avoid the nervousness in his stomach, remembering his commander did have an unpleasant temper when angry.

"Uh… we all heard everything… I believe."

Cody's eyes narrowed, and he looked distinctly… annoyed. But, he said nothing, waiting for Waxer to go on.

"On the bright side, sir, there's nothing for you to explain to anyone. Rather avoids any… er… awkwardness."

Cody barked out a harsh laugh, "Awkwardness?" He waved one hand in the general direction of the entire ship, and almost knocked over the water bottle, forgetting it was in his other hand, "This is not kriffin' awkward?"

Waxer met his commander's eyes, "For what it's worth, sir, I'm sorry about you and the commander."

Cody put his head back down. He whispered hoarsely, "I feel like I've been ripped in two."

Waxer got up from where he was sitting, and slid into the bench next to Cody. He twiddled his thumbs around his water bottle, and nodded glumly, "Yeah. I totally get that."

Cody glanced up at him, with a little bit of interest, "You still feeling totally torn up about Asori?"

Waxer nodded, "It's actually feeling worse instead of better, as time passes."

Cody snorted, "Was that supposed to make me feel better, Waxer? Because if so, you suck at these pep talks. Remind me to never put you in charge."

Waxer laughed, "No. I was just telling the truth."

Cody regarded Waxer with new interest, finally raising up his head, "That's what I like about you, Waxer. You tell it like it is." He lifted up his arm and took a sip of water. Suddenly realizing how thirsty he was, he polished off the rest of the bottle in one long dreg.

And, it took some time, but Waxer finally got Cody laughing again, and eventually pried him out of galley and they both rejoined the others in the crowded main cabin. When Cody entered, he expected some awkward looks from the others after what had just transpired. But, instead they just made room for him on the bench, and he received a few comforting pats on the back from his brothers.

It was good to be a brother.

# # #

Author's Note: *Observant readers will catch the irony here. Cody is talking about brothers lost, and being grateful for the brothers he has left. But, his team consists of many troopers that are lost in later seasons. I thought it would be fun to write something where these clone troopers all get a chance to shine and have this glorious mission, (before heading off to their Zombies, and Zillow beasts, and what have you...)

**Gearshift**- killed by Geonosian zombies in the catacombs under the Progate Temple after being ordered back to the surface to call for reinforcements.

**Waxer**- killed by friendly fire on Umbara. Everyone remembers _that_ scene.

**Hardcase**- all clones should die this well. Utters a heroic statement, gloriously saves his brothers, and rams a missile tube into the side of a reactor, thereby destroying the supply ship.

**Denal**- considered one of the most seasoned members of the 501st. Killed by Cad Bane who proceeds to impersonate him, (which somehow the Jedi fail to notice until they see oddly colored blood dripping off of him. Go figure.)

**Echo**- Yet another victim of the senseless clone carnage that made up the Citadel arc. All I can say is at least he isn't the clone that was sliced in half.

**Trapper/Hawkeye**- Sent down into the sink hole by Windu at Malastare. (Thanks, Mr. Jedi.) Makes giant Zillo beastie verrrrry unhappy and gets crushed. But… it is unclear from the episode which clone meets this unhappy ending. Only one trooper is seen running safely back to the gunship. Is it Hawkeye? Is it Trapper? You decide.

# # #

Anyone going to CVI? A few other authors from around here, and myself, are heading to Star Wars Celebration VI in August, (August 23rd-26th, Orlando County Convention Center.) We're thinking of having a small FFN gathering. If you are going, and interested in such a gathering, send me a PM.


	93. Chapter 93 Move Out!

_Author's Note: The Squad Names in this chapter, Aurek and Besh, come from the first two letters in the Aurebesh alphabet. Many thanks to Reulte for beta-reading this scene._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 93**

As soon as the briefing ended and clones started gathering their gear, Lance whirled on the younger medic.

"Mako, with me. Medbay. _Now_."

Mako nodded, still not saying anything. He pushed his way through the sea of armored clones trying to get to the back of the ship. Everyone seemed to part to get out of Lance's way. When he tried to push his way through, Mako felt like he just got shouldered aside. He saw Lance stop and exchange a few quick words with Tank, the heavy gunner who'd lost his leg at the hip.

_Probably reminding him not to do overdo it_. He knew Tank's surgery incision still bothered him during training, particularly when it buffeted against his armor. Lance dug a small tube of ointment out of one of his belt pouches and handed it over to the gunner. Tank nodded his thanks, and the medic continued on out of the door. Mako admired the natural ease the senior medic had in dealing with all the brothers. When he tried to pass by Tank, he stumbled over the large chaingun leaning up right next to the clone.

"Sorry, vode," Tank reached down and swooped up the heavy gun.

Mako stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to thinking of some medical words of wisdom for Tank, like Lance had just said. Instead, he just stood there staring at the gunner who gazed back at him with a slightly upraised eyebrow.

"_Mako_," Lance's voice snapped him back to reality, and he glanced up to see the senior medic waiting for him down the corridor, "come on." Mako stepped around Tank, keeping his head down, into the thankfully less crowded hallway.

The two brothers strode side-by-side down to the ship's compact medbay. When they entered, Lance grabbed his medi-pack out of a cabinet, inspecting all the contents: flexclamps, synthflesh, bacta patches, bone stabilizers, antiseptics, coagulants, bandages, and a bevy of painkillers and other essential drugs. Giving a nod of satisfaction, he slipped it over his shoulders. He gave a grunt of satisfaction as the heavy pack settled and rolled his shoulders. It was immediately obvious from his stance and body language that he felt more complete wearing his gear, than without it. Lance reached up into the cabinet and pulled out a second pack.

"Check your gear," Lance said, handing the kit over to Mako. There hadn't been another official medic backpack, so they'd had to improvise. Hodges had gone through the survival gear and found Mako a bag of the appropriate size with plenty of pockets for essential supplies. It was khaki colored, and emblazoned with "FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY," (which seemed appropriate and rather funny to Mako.) Imitating Lance's motions, Mako flipped open the backpack and perused the contents.

"Looks good. Right then, I'll be going," Mako said hurriedly, and clutched his gear to his chest. He pivoted to turn and leave the medbay. He hadn't even finished planting his foot down before he was grabbed by the back of his bodysuit and hauled backwards by the senior medic.

"Nice try," Lance said. "Sit." He pushed Mako on top of one of the exam beds then he positioned his body in front of Mako with concern evident on his face. "Talk to me."

"We have to go. Our teams are- "

"It'll take a while for the ship to empty. We have a few minutes. Trust me." He fixed the younger medic with a stern look. "What's going on with you, vod? What happened to all that confidence I saw back on Ando?"

Mako blew out a long breath, realizing there was no way he could fool Lance. His brother was just too perceptive. His brown eyes looked up, staring into the scarred face of the older clone. Mako struggled for words. "I…it's just…" he rubbed his one hand nervously along the stump on the end of his other hand. "…I've never done a battle like this before."

Lance looked confused. "What do you mean? You're far from a shiny, Mako."

"I did _demolitions_. I made things go away. Tinnies. Buildings. Bridges." He dropped his handless wrist into his lap. "And, in the end, I failed at that."

Lance opened his mouth to object, but Mako held up his hand, signaling he wanted to continue, "I ended up on that ship to Kamino, because I _failed_. Now, I'm going into battle doing something totally different. Something I've never done before. The others…" he gestured down the hallway toward the crowded room of troopers where'd he'd just been shouldered aside, "… they're going to do the same thing they've been doing all along… But, I'm going to into this battle as a _medic_."

Mako gnawed his lowered lip, and stared down at the pack grasped in his hand labeled: 'FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY.' He thumped the pack down on the bed next to him with a dull thud. He looked up at Lance with insecure eyes. "I don't think I can do this, Lance. I don't I _should_ do this. I'm going to do something wrong, like when I dismantled that bomb. But, instead of just blowing myself up, I'm going to hurt one of our brothers. I'm going to give them the wrong medicine, or not react fast enough when they're bleeding. Then, one of our brothers is going to _die_-"

"_Stop_," Lance's voice was harsh, more severe than Mako had ever heard it before. His hand came and encircled Mako's in a hard grip. "Yes, brothers are going to _die_ today. I can guarantee it. That's what happens in battles, Mako. Brothers die."

Mako's eyes got wide at Lance's words, but the older medic did not let up.

"But, troopers do not die because of medics. Troopers _live_ because of medics. If you do not go out there today, I can guarantee you that a lot more brothers _will_ die. Captain Rex gave you this opportunity because he saw something in you. So, did Karyn." Lance cocked his head to the side, "And, so did I." Lance grabbed the medical backpack off the bed and shoved it hard into Mako's chest. The younger clone was forced to grab it to keep the pack from sliding to the floor. "You are the _right_ brother for the job. You are a medic, Mako. And, a damned good one."

Mako looked into Lance's eyes, and could see only sincerity and confidence in his brother's gaze.

"Karyn and I have taught you what you needed to know." The seasoned medic smiled, "the rest you are going to have to figure out on your own."

"Lance! Move it!" Rex's voice boomed down the hallway, interrupting the moment. The Captain did not sound pleased.

"Time's up," Lance said, giving Mako a final confident wink.

Rex's face appeared in the opening of the medbay, and he glared impatiently at the two medics.

"Lance, Squad Aurek is moving out first. Get a move on!" His loud barking tone made it clear he wanted no delays.

But then the 501st Captain's assessing eyes took in Mako, and his gruff tone softened slightly, "Everything alright, Mako?

Mako hopped off the exam bed, and he gave Rex a confident answer, "Yes, sir. Never better. "

Rex gave the younger medic one final assessing look, "Alright, then. Glad to hear it. You're with me, today. Team Besh." His gaze took in both medics, and he gave a nod of satisfaction," We're fortunate to have two medics."

He turned to face Lance again, "Catcher is waiting for you with the rest of the team. _Go_."

"Yes, Captain." With a final glance at Mako, Lance strode off out of the medbay. Rex followed him.

As his brother began disappearing down the corridor, Mako called out, "Hey, Lance! Be careful!"

Lance stopped at the end of the corridor, and twisted around. He quirked up an eyebrow and gave Mako one last confident smile, before slipping on his helmet. Mako caught one last glimpse of his brother's med-pack before he disappeared from view, lost in the crowd of his brothers. He felt a strange sense of loss as Lance left. He was truly on his own now.

Mako grabbed the pack, blew out a long breath, and left the medbay.

# # #

Mako paused before leaving the ship, stepping aside so that he could slide his medpack on. He grimaced as he slid it on.

_Kriff. Who would've thought that medical stuff weighs so much more than dets?_

The straps were already biting into his shoulders. He slid the pack off again, and began tugging at a tight strap, trying to quickly re-adjust for a better fit.

_Fek. Some things are blasted awkward with a single hand._

Mako let out a long string of curses, considering for a brief moment going at the thing with his teeth. Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from behind him and grabbed the pack.

"Hey medic, you like it tight or loose?"

Mako blinked in surprise, staring at the clone in front of him. He struggled to remember the name of this particular trooper.

"Uh… you're Shadow, right?" he stammered out awkwardly, remembering first meeting this particular trooper when he'd volunteered to help free Chance and Odds. Shadow had been relentless in slamming his big hammer at the cockpit. Once he'd set himself to the task, he'd work tirelessly to help free the two trapped pilots.

Mako eyed the other trooper curiously, noting now that Shadow seemed larger in proportions than the average clone.

"Yes, that's me," he seemed pleased that Mako remembered his name, and his lips curled up slightly in a smile, as he noticed the medic's gaze roving up and down his body. Shadow's gaze slowly swept up and down his own body as well, as if saying: 'See something you like?'

Shadow adjusted his stance a bit, and his burly musculature became even more evident. He was an ARF Trooper from the 91st Reconnaissance Corps, and his armor bore his unit's trademark, emblazoned with a red circle and a white sword. Shadow was carrying around a missile launcher, which explained his large build. Hauling around the weight of that heavy weapon would bulk up any clone. He'd set the weapon down so that he could pick up Mako's pack. The ARF Trooper noticed the medic eyeing his missile and he smirked. He met Mako's eyes and gave him a look that caused a shiver to run down the medic's spine. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Just an odd tingling that the young clone had never experienced before. He didn't know what it meant.

"You haven't answered my question." To Mako, Shadow's voice seemed unusually deep-pitched. Sort of like Captain Rex's, except this ARF Trooper's voice had more of a rumbly quality to it.

"Huh?" Mako blinked, just staring.

"How do you like it?"

"Uh…" the medic just stared.

"Tight or loose?" the muscle-bound clone snapped the med-pack strap in his hands with a loud, startling 'THWAP', bringing Mako's attention back to the subject at hand. "You'll have to tell me now, because I need to move out." He nodded his closely cropped dark head toward the exit, where the others were still leaving, "We big gunners move fast."

Mako's eyes darted down to his pack, snapping out of his daze. He tried to remember what the question was. "Bigger. I'd like it bigger. Thanks."

The trooper chuckled slightly, "Bigger. Bigger is good," his laughter rumbled as he adjusted the pack with quick, confident moves before handing it back. "If you need anything else adjusted, I'd be happy to oblige."

Mako just stared at the recon trooper, flustered. "Uh…"

Shadow manhandled his huge missile launcher, and hefted it up onto his shoulder in one smooth move. Mako's eyes flew up to the huge weapon. The recon trooper smiled, and gazed at his weapon fondly. "You like my big gun?"

"Er…" Mako stammered, his mind drawing a blank. When he'd been in dets, he'd been in a small, specialized squad and hadn't worked with such big gunners.

Shadow glanced over at where other troopers were filing out the hatch, "Regretfully, I have to go." His voice dropped slightly lower in pitch, "but, another time, maybe."

"Uh…" Mako stammered, thinking his voice never sounded that deep, even when he just first woke up in the morning.

Shadow turned to go.

"I'm Mako," the young medic finally blurted out, finding his voice.

"Yeah, I know who you are. I've seen you around town, always with that poking buddy of yours, Lance. " The ARF trooper rolled his eyes. "Everyone is always going on and on about how great the two of you are."

Mako was stunned at the compliment. _Really? The other brothers said such a thing about me and Lance?_

The ARF Trooper glanced over his shoulder at where the others were filing out, obviously assessing how much time he had. He must have judged he had a few more seconds for conversation. He turned back to Mako, "You live with the doctor. First clone to land a job in Ando." His eyebrow quirked up with amusement, "And, maybe the first clone ever."

_He spent all that time tracking down information about me? Why?_

"Shadow!"

Another big gunner yelled to Shadow from the hatchway. The clone turned and raised up a hand in acknowledgement that he was coming.

"See you around, Mako."

It was only when the burly trooper stepped away that the perceptive medic saw the wince of pain the big gunner couldn't quite hide. Mako could see right away from his walking gait what had sent him to Kamino. He had the distinctive limp of someone who'd been shot directly in the hip. He frowned in sympathy, and shook his head. It was a particularly difficult area to heal, because it was such a pivotal joint. He'd have to talk to Karyn about Shadow when they returned to Ando. He wasn't one of the troopers he and Lance had been visiting. Some of the clones had been intentionally avoiding the two medics, still traumatized from their experiences at ArmyMed.

_Although_, Mako gazed down at the adjusted pack strap in his hands for a moment, before slipping the pack on, _Shadow certainly isn't avoiding me now._

Mako gave a sigh of satisfaction at how much better the pack felt now that it fit properly. His mind swirled with the revelation that the brothers in Ando had been speaking highly of him and Lance. He also felt a warm glow, realizing the other clone had spent time tracking down information about him. He also realized there was a part of him that was actually looking forward to the upcoming mission now. Feeling new confidence in himself, Mako followed the others out of the hatch.

# # #

Dart double-checked his HUD, re-reading the team assignments. There was no mistaking it… he'd been chosen for the 'Aurek Team.' He'd been chosen for the elite team.

He gazed with interest at his fellow teammates. As Captain Rex had noted in the briefing, Team Aurek would be led by Catcher. The other team members consisted of the two inseparable RCs, Viper and Blaze. Then, this was interesting… Rex was giving up his second, Lieutenant Travis, and putting him on the team. Plus, Lieutenant Torch. Dart snorted. Great. Two kriffin' Marines on the same team.

Dart thought back to those chaotic moments before their ship had originally gone after the pirate attack. He'd had a good view of all the action from where he'd been sitting, safe and strapped in. That overly enthusiastic idiot from the 21st Nova Corps had stubbornly insisted upon working until the last frakkin' minute to get all the shabla' biobeds secured when any sane brother would've spent the time getting himself strapped in. They were crash-landing, after all, didn't they teach those burgundy bucketheads anything? Yes, Dart mused, some might call his actions brave. But, look what it had gotten him. He'd smashed his shabla skull right in. Dart had seen it happen. Like all accidents, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. As the lights blinked on and off in an annoying pattern, he saw brief glimpses of the drama. But, the lights had flashed on at the moment his brother's head had impacted with the bulkhead. The sickening 'crack' Torch's head had made still bothered him when he thought about it too much, so he simply chose not to think about it. Granted, he was a bit impressed the Marine was even still alive. He'd been sure when he'd heard that 'crack' that he'd been hearing the death knell of yet another brother. And, when he'd seen the grim look on the medic's face as he tried to get a response out of the still Marine, he was sure there was no hope. But, just two weeks later, the stubborn di'kut showed up back at training… and promptly picked a fight on his first day back at practice. And, his third day. And, his fourth. And, his seventh… Catcher was shouting himself hoarse yelling at Torch everyday. However, on the upside, the stubborn Marine was building up a great deal of upper body strength from the calisthenics being doled out as punishment for the fights he kept getting starting.

Dart eyed the Marine warily now, sizing him up, realizing he'd actually have to work with him. Dart had never actually spoken to the guy. He'd even heard Rex lose his patience with Torch, and thoroughly chew him out one day after practice when Torch had tried to provoke yet another fight with a brother. That was _interesting_. He would've thought that he and Rex were tight after all those ridiculous heroics before the crash landing.

Torch had a jagged scarring across the left side of his face, and you could tell just by looking at him that he couldn't see out of that eye. Looked like he'd taken shrapnel right to the face. Women might find it disfiguring, but Dart thought it was a great scar. _Some brothers have all the luck_, the ARC scowled, thinking of the random, ordinary, run-of-the-mill scarring he had on his shoulder and hip.

Dart stole a glance over at the Marine again, giving the scar another envious glance. He briefly wondered why the Marine had been thrown in with their lot.

_He must have some special skills, because here he is with RCs and the ARC_s, Dart mused. _Some skill other than a talent for getting his head bashed into walls, and picking fights with his brothers._

The Marine swiveled his head over, and regarded Dart steadily through his one good eye. His expression was completely impassive. No hint of warmth. No sign of welcome. No overtures of friendship.

Dart swallowed, trying to think of something to say. His mind came up blank. "Uh… hey… I'm Dart." He extended a hand toward his brother.

Torch just stared down at his hand as if he'd never seen such a thing before in his life. Dart stood there awkwardly for a moment, before withdrawing his hand.

"Uh… right then… OK," he mumbled, withdrawing his hand, feeling a bit foolish and embarrassed for even trying an overture of friendship. He shook his head, and cursed, shifting from foot to foot, feeling awkward. He sighed, and turned his gaze to regard the rest of the team.

There were just two other members of the team… the highest ranking medic, Lance, everybody knew him because he'd spent the past two months running himself ragged checking on every brother in Ando, in-between training. Rumor had it, that somewhere in-between all that, he'd even managed to score himself a woman. Good for him. He deserved it. He had to be the hardest working brother on Ando, next to Captain Rex. And, well, that just left the final member of the Aurek team… well, him, Dart.

_Kriff._

As Dart looked around at his newly assembled teammates, he felt an edge of nervousness begin to run through him. The Captain hadn't been very specific in the briefing. Just what the shab were they expected to do anyway?

Travis came up to him and slapped him heartily on the pauldron. "So, Dart, ready to have some fun?"

"Fun?" He gritted his teeth, and tried not to reveal how much it had hurt when he'd been smacked in the shoulder.

_Di'kut. Doesn't he read the bios of his men? I was injured in that shoulder. Having been shipped off to Kamino himself, you think he'd have a little sensitivity to that. How stupid are these Marines? What a- _

Dart's seething internal tirade was interrupted by the timely arrival of one of the perceptive Republic Commandos.

"You alright?" Viper's eyes bored into his, instantly recognizing something wasn't right with him.

"Fine," Dart hissed, rubbing at his aching shoulder. He glared at the back of the Marine Lieutenant, and then turned his attention back to Viper, "Any idea on just what we're supposed to be doing?" He gestured around to their specialized team, "Why we were separated out from the others?"

Catcher took a step forward, his mechanical legs making a slight whirring sound as he did so, "Oh, we'll be doing a little bit of _everything._" He hit a button on his wristlink, "I'm sending the plans to your HUD now. We drew these up in our command meeting a little over an hour ago. Commit these to heart. The fate of this entire operation is resting on our team."

Dart began studying the complex set of operational plans. "How long do I have to look this over? When do we leave?"

"That was it. Time's up," Catcher said, "Figure it out along the way."

The ARC Captain slid his helmet off, and gave Torch a long assessing look. The Marine Lieutenant met his gaze with an impassive stare, two pairs of identical brown eyes boring into each other.

"Torch."

The Marine didn't react in the least when the Captain said his name. He just continued in the battle of their eyes, refusing to back down.

Catcher poked one hand in the middle of Torch's chest armor, "Captain Rex might be willing to cut you some slack, Torch. He sees you as some sort of special case. But, you won't get any sort of special treatment from _me_. I expect you to pull your weight on this team."

The Marine's eyes narrowed, and he scowled as if he'd just been given a challenge. But, he remained silent.

"Alright, let's move out," Catcher said, giving Torch one last glare, making it clear who was in charge.

Catcher took point, his metallic crutch made a slight tapping noise as he led the way down the ramp of the ship. He moved quickly and smoothly. Having seen him two months ago, Dart was actually amazed at the way the ARC Captain had adjusted to walking with his mechanical legs.

_Just proves we clones can adapt to just about anything,_ Dart thought with a hint of pride as they followed Catcher.

Lance and Travis walked behind Catcher, followed by the two commandos. Dart fell in behind them, trying to find a comfortable walking pace as they made their way through the darkened jungle. His hip had healed considerably in the two months that they'd been on Ando, and he no longer needed to walk with a cane. But, rough terrain was still challenging for him. He shook his head, and cursed his luck that he'd been injured in not just one place but two. Although then, he looked ahead at Catcher, leading the way on his mechanical legs, and realized he had nothing to complain about.

He'd totally forgotten about Torch, who seemed to have a way of just falling back and blending in. He was completely silent. But, Torch fell into step silently next to Dart, as if it made perfect sense for the two of them to walk together. He walked on Dart's right side, naturally allowing the ARC to cover his 'blind side.'

Dart glanced over at him, curiously. As if sensing his gaze, the Marine's head swiveled over and he said simply in a deep raspy baritone: "I'm… Torch."

Dart was so stunned that the Marine had actually spoken, he had no idea what to reply back. But, his brother didn't seem to expect a reply. Not only had the Marine actually spoken directly to him for the first time, he actually appeared to be making a small overture of friendship. Dart was stunned.

They made their way silently through the jungle and Torch did not speak again the entire time. Dart didn't mind. Somehow, he found the Marine to be good company anyway.

# # #

# # #

Author's Notes: Tons of stuff going on with our characters as usual. You may love it, you may hate it, but it's always good to hear from you.

Chapter 95 is coming right on the tale of this one and features the scouts climbing up the sides of the Kaz'harian fortress, and entangling with some of those big bad Kazzies. Followed by an intense with our daring commandos, Catcher's team, wreaking havoc inside the fortress. Sigh. Chapter 100 is going to be here before we know it.


	94. Chapter 94 Scouts  Part 1

_Revised: June 24, 2013.  
_

_A/N: This chapter brings back our fearless scouts! Reulte pointed out that we know a lot about Hok, and next to nothing about the other three. So, I corrected that and now we learn more about this team of four as they play their important role in the battle of Darkknell.  
_

**Chapter 94 **

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**

"Watch," Hok pointed out a hazard to the others, as they walked through the jungle night.

"I can't believe we actually have to call you 'sir' now," Flex carefully maneuvered around the obstacle Hok had just pointed out, a massive tree stump that had been blasted into vicious splinters.

"Just Hok will do."

"No," Jagger corrected, as he worked his way around the hazard, "you're an officer now."

"True," Sabre chimed in, from the rear position, last to gracefully bend his body around the jagged spikes of wood, "technically, you're a 'sir.'"

Hok sighed, pushing an oversized fern that was surprisingly heavy, "I'm no different than when you guys spoke to me an hour ago."

Flex grabbed hold of the fern and held it for Jagger.

"It _is_ a big deal," Jagger insisted, "none of the rest of us have ever been promoted."

"Mind your footing," Hok pointed out another portion of uneven terrain created by chunks of earth being blown away, "I'm only a Sergeant."

"Still an officer,_" _Flex insisted, moving with a scout's easy grace even on the uneven terrain.

"We've always just known you as just 'Hok,' for as long as the team has been together," Sabre sounded unsure about the change.

"Yes, well, not like I'm planning to make you scrub floors or anything."

Flex stopped suddenly in his tracks, aghast, nearly making the other two run into him, "Wait! You can do that now?"

"Technically, yes.," he glanced back over his shoulder, "Flex. Keep moving. We're on a very tight schedule."

"Yeah, but-"

"Move it, Flex!"

"Is that an _order?_" Flex prompted, quickly moving forward and catching up with Hok.

"I've always given the orders on this squad. It's never bothered you before," a note of exasperation was creeping into Hok's voice.

"What did the Captain say when he gave you the promotion?" Jagger prompted, trying to redirect Flex, and keep the peace within the squad as he always did.

"Actually, it wasn't Captain Rex," Hok clarified, "it was Captain Catcher. He said he was reviewing the structure of the Legion. Since I was a leading a team, he thought I should have a rank that reflects my role. That's it. There's no more to it."

"And, just like that he promoted you?" Flex still sounded fascinated by the whole concept.

"Yes, Flex. It was like a two-minute conversation. Stop making such a thing out of it," Hok shook his head.

Flex huffed out a sigh, "If I ever get promoted, I'm going to make a big deal out of it."

Hok chuckled a bit, "I'm sure you will." He paused, then added, "Well, alright, Captain Catcher did say that I probably should have been promoted a while ago. He's going to be making other rank adjustments within the Legion when we get back. He said that I was probably overlooked, along with several of the others, because as he put it: 'clones are not the ones in charge.'"

Sabre snorted, "There's a thought for you. If clones were in charge, it would be a different war."

"The war would've been over by now," Jagger murmured, shaking his head.

"Are you kidding? It would've been over in the first _month_," Flex chimed in.

"First month? We would've won at Geonosis and it would've gone no further!" Sabre said passionately.

At the mention of Geonosis, all the clones grew somber for several minutes thinking of large numbers of brothers lost in the first great battle of the war.

Flex was the first one to speak up, "We're lucky to have survived Geonosis."

"Wasn't all luck. You pulled quite the crazy stunt that day, Flex," Jagger reached forward and gave his brother an affectionate smack on the shoulder plate.

"Jag's right," Sabre gave Flex a long, thoughtful glance, "it was a brave thing you did that day, vod."

Flex grew uncharacteristically silent for a moment, then blew out a sigh, "I'm glad it helped get us out... I just wish... the whole battle could've turned out different, though."

"Don't know many other complete teams that made it out there," Hok's helmeted glance swept back and forth taking in the team with a fierce glance of pride, "but, the four of us are still together. And, we've been together this entire time."

Jagger's voice took on a tone of disbelief, "Never thought we'd all survive long enough to get out of the GAR."

Sabre snorted, "Never thought that _this_ was the way we'd get out. Kicked out. Sent to Kamino. Crashing."

"Hey, we lived through all that, remember?" Flex chimed in, "we're all still alive. Somehow the four of us seem to have the most amazing luck."

Sabre turned to Flex, "And, what have we done with that? Look where we've ended up again... back on another mission for the GAR. Are we bound and determined to get ourselves shot on behalf of the Republic even when we're no longer a part of it?"

Hok halted, and turned back to the rest of the team, "We're not here for the GAR or the Republic. We're here for Captain Rex. This mission is about brothers. Its _always_ been about the brotherhood. At the end of this, I expect all of you to still be alive. Understood?"

The three scouts nodded somberly, exchanging glances with their newly promoted sergeant.

"He's actually pretty _good_ at this leadership stuff," Flex's softly murmured tone was respectful.

"He always has been, you di'kut," Sabre reached forward from his position at the back of the line to smack Flex on the back of his bucket.

The four scouts fell silent again as they moved swiftly the jungle.

# # #

Flex had to admit it was a beautiful night. Nights never looked like this on Kamino. The moon was full, although admittedly a full moon was not necessarily in their favor when enemy combatants were about. But, the entire jungle was currently cast in an ethereal light. The trees that hadn't been splintered in the earlier battles that plagued the area looked amazing in the silver light.

Flex always enjoyed being outdoors. It was one of the reasons why he was so well suited to being a scout. As a cadet, he always felt restless within the sterile white confines of Kamino. Outside on the rain-soaked training grounds, he began to feel alive. In his opinion, they spent entirely too much time _indoors_.

Flex needed to find a release for the pent-up energy he felt when confined within the suffocating walls. He spent as much time as possible working out, and this helped release some of the energy. His muscle mass developed ahead of his brothers, ensuring his survival throughout the more difficult phases of training. Even now, Flex was the biggest of the four scouts due to his extra muscle mass. But, even his additional weight training was not enough to quell his restlessness. He needed something _more_.

It was at the beginning of his eighth year as a cadet when some of his brothers began figuring out 'new skills.' At night, in their sleep pods, they were supposed to review the day's video feeds from their helmets. In this way, they could study and learn from their mistakes. It was a sound enough strategy, but to clones that learned quickly, it could prove relentlessly boring, as well. So, some of his more technically minded brothers had figured out how to reconfigure these screens for something far more interesting… the holonet. Soon, Flex and a small circle of friends began educating themselves in entirely new sets of subject material beyond weapons and training scenarios.

The first time Flex saw a show featuring modern dancers his jaw dropped. The heart-stopping techno music... the synchronized swaying and moving of the bodies... It was euphoric. It looked like how he felt when he was outdoors in the rain.

Flex began scouring the holonet nightly hoping to study more dance moves. Soon, he was ready to try out some of these moves in front of his closest brothers. They laughed harder than he'd ever heard ever heard them laugh before. But, it was a good kind of laughter, and Flex had joined in with them. It was the night that he heard earned the name "Flex" because of the way he could bend and move. He felt like for a few short minutes he was sharing happiness.

# # #

It was peaceful trekking through the jungle, and Jagger knew they only had a few minutes until they reached the Kaz'harian fortress. They were moving very quickly, and making excellent time.

Thanks to their cloaking device, they were able to set down nearby undetected. They chose to use the same landing site where Commander Bly had blasted out an entire section of the jungle in order to land a heavy cruiser and rescue his second-in-command, Captain Catcher. The jungle had still not recovered from the damage, although many of the smaller vines and undergrowth had come back. It would take years for the shattered and splintered trees to recover.

Jagger scowled as he studied the damage. As the geography and terrains expert on the team, he had an even deeper respect for the land than the others.

He was told by his superiors that this war was necessary… this war was the right thing to do. When he saw ruined villages and destroyed terrain, it didn't look right to him.

# # #

Flex felt he couldn't really complain about his life on Ando, because it sure beat being dead. Plus, thanks to that scientist woman, Xyra, he had some of his hearing back, which was something he had not expected to happen. But, still... he was missing the one thing he most wanted to do.

In the initial lottery, he'd been assigned housing with 'Henna.' She was, by far, the oldest woman that Flex had ever seen. She seemed to have wrinkles on top of her wrinkles. And, her hair was a shade of white as pure as the snow that seemed to fall like the rain used to do on Kamino. She always seemed to have stories to tell, too. She told him how she'd once owned a shop in town with her family before 'the great war.' The war didn't seem to have a name in her mind. It was always just 'the great war' in her mind, as if it was the one event that changed everything. This seemed strange to Flex, as war was all he had ever known, and all he was raised to do. But, he listened patiently to all her stories, because she was kind to him and always had fresh sweet bread waiting for him when he awoke every morning. She would sit with him as he ate and drank his caf, and tell him her stories of how Ando used to be. Her turquoise blue eyes would look suddenly far away as she spoke of the husband and the three sons she had lost in the war. She was all alone now, and seemed sad, but not necessarily bitter. Somehow, she was resigned to her fate with a quiet dignity.

As Flex spent more time in Henna's home, his keen eye began to note repairs that needed to be done. Over his morning caf and sweet bread, he asked the gentle woman if he could attempt the repairs. He admitted he had no experience in such matters, but said he was a fast learner. Henna's face lit up in a brilliant smile, the likes of which Flex had not seen since he had arrived. She had disappeared down into a basement workroom that the scout had not even known the house contained and re-emerged with a set of tools that looked like they had not been used in several long years. She set the tools down before Flex with almost loving reverence. She explained that these had belonged to her husband, and his father before him, and they were to have been passed on to their sons. Flex stared down at the tools with awe, admiring the worn wooden handles. Henna had some skills with tools herself, if not the upper body strength to get the tasks done, such as repairing the roof of her home. So, she provided guidance to Flex, and in-between his training and scouting duties, he was able to get the house back in pristine working order. He enjoyed working on the roof so much that he was constantly looking for projects around the house and things to fix for Henna. He started expanding her garden, and creating a greenhouse so she could grow vegetables year-round. He began seeing her bright smile more often and she began telling stories of happier times. On the warmer days, he would work beside her in the garden, planting vegetables and digging his hands deep in the soil. It felt nice to be putting down roots.

When they'd first landed on Ando, Captain Rex and Lieutenant Travis had granted all of the troopers some 'leave time,' outside of their two hours training each morning. However, once this time was over, both the Captain and Lieutenant began aggressively contacting all troopers asking about job interests. Flex knew what it was the Captain and the Lieutenant feared. Already by the end of the first week Flex saw a fight break out between two brothers over an Andoan woman they both liked. Idle time was not a good thing for soldiers used to training and soldiering themselves to exhaustion day-after-day.

Flex had no idea what to put down with regards to "job interests." The only thing that he knew he was good at outside of scouting was dancing. But, he was much too embarrassed to write down such a thing when Lieutenant Travis had sent around a form asking about 'preferences/interests' as they tried to match up clones with jobs. He never even told Henna about his love of music and dance. Henna helped him fill out the form and suggested he put down that he had skills with tools.

"These tools," she said, pressing the box reverently into his hands, her eyes shining, "they are yours, now, Flex. You have earned them."

Flex was speechless, and felt his stomach dropping out at the same time. No one had ever giving him a gift before. And, these tools had been in her family for generations. He wanted to refuse. It was too much. Too precious of a gift for a clone like him. But, when he saw the joy in Henna's eyes as she pressed the tools into his arms, he couldn't say no.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice strangely hoarse, and he wrapped the arm not holding the tools around the older woman pulling her close into a hug. He could never remember hugging a woman before and it was rather awkward with a wooden box of tools between them digging into his chest. But, it was a nice feeling, all the same.

The command team had accepted his suggestions from the form, and found him a job down at the docks as a general handyman. Several other clones worked there, so Flex didn't lack for company. It wasn't a bad job, necessarily. Many of the clones worked on the ships, and even Lieutenant Travis worked down there with Tek and Gears, also doing repairs of a sort, although they tended toward the more technical jobs and Flex handled the more simple and labor-intensive repairs.

Hok was still out, due to his torn muscles from the encounter with the sea creature. So, all scout training was currently being done by Jagger. But, he was doing an excellent job leading the team. They did their training runs, just the three of them and explored off into the Andoan countryside, taking extra care to avoid the Oppee nesting grounds. Flex enjoyed their training runs as it was a chance to just clear his head and feel the snow crunch under his boots as he ran beside his brothers. It kept him in top physical condition and allowed him to keep his scouting condition sharp.

It was an easy enough existence and the days passed quickly. He was exhausted by the time he arrived home each night. He had no idea what to do with the pay they gave him for his work. He wanted to give all of it to Henna for his room and board, but she kept insisting she didn't need it. It took great persistence on his part, but they finally came to a compromise and she agreed to take half. Soon after, Flex noticed suddenly they were eating a greater variety of food and there was more of it. Henna started purchasing civilian clothes for him. Flex had been working just in his bodysuit down at the docks, since he had nothing else to wear. Henna had tried to give him clothes from her sons, but said with a small chuckle that Flex was 'much studlier than any of the menfolk in her family, and they likely wouldn't fit.' Flex wasn't sure what a 'stud' was, but he took it from Henna tone of voice that it wasn't such a bad thing.

He hadn't realized before that Henna had lacked for funds, but now Flex began to make small observations. When she bought him the shirts, he noted how bright and new the material seemed. Then, he studied the clothing his kindly hostess was wearing. With his scout's trained eye, he noticed how faded and worn her clothing had become. It was then that Flex insisted Henna show him the places in Ando where civilians went shopping. Against her protests, he used the other half of his first paycheck to replace Henna's worn dresses, and a shawl to keep her warm. As Flex saw the tears in Henna's eyes when she accepted his gifts, he realized that while part of him would always miss the soldier he used to be, he liked his life on Ando, well enough.

# # #

Sabre was completely focused on the mission. Their team had survived so much together and Hok, Jagger and Flex meant everything to him.

Unlike Hok, Sabre had not wasted any energy on chasing down a woman in Ando.

Ridiculous.

Sure, Hok's scientist girlfriend, Xyra, was nice enough. Yes, she'd given all of them that rather impressive sea remedy that had done so much to restore their hearing. Sabre would always owe her for that.

Granted, she had also rescued Hok from the sea when they had _failed_ as a team to rescue their own brother. Thinking back to that night still grated on Sabre, and he wondered what he could have done differently to rescue Hok.

This woman had to pull Hok from the sea because his own team had failed him. And, then, she kept him away from them for the next six weeks. They were a team. They had always been _a team._

She was ruining everything.

# # #

Unlike some of his more forward brothers, Flex had been too shy to talk to the women of Ando. When he'd first arrived in town, he'd had no hearing at all.

OK, granted that's a flimsy excuse, since Lieutenant Travis certainly managed well enough. But, Flex was still very self-conscious about his disability and the only civilians he interacted with on a regular basis were Henna and the doctor.

He had been the fortunate beneficiary of some kind of sea goop from the scientist that Hok was dating. While the remedy looked awful and smelled odd, it had worked very well for the type of nerve damage causing his deafness.

Two months later, he had regained most of his hearing in one ear, and about 50% in the other ear. Hok's scientist said the rest might never come back, but Flex was pleased with the results. He'd never thought he would hear again.

Even though his hearing had improved, his self-confidence did not. Henna urged him to go out, and meet someone.

"Plenty of fish out there in the sea, young man," she said, with a sparkle in her eyes, "go catch yourself one. Don't let the best ones get away!"

Flex knew she was right, but he had no idea how to even get started.

She even tried to build up his confidence telling him, "You're the best looking of the bunch here in all of Ando! A finer looking man I've never seen."

When he opened his mouth to object, she shushed him in that all-knowing way that she had.

"Oh, I've seen the others about town. I know you look alike. That's how I know you are the most handsome. If I was still a young woman, I'd make a bid for you myself," she patted him gently on the back of the hand, and encouraged him again to get out there.

Problem was he already had his eye on a 'fish' but she had no idea he was even alive. Her name was El'la and she sold sandwiches and caf down at the docks. He only knew her name because it was printed in Aurebesh above her little shop. She was the most beautiful woman in all of Ando. However, he knew she had never given him a second-glance as he labored there on the docks, muscles straining in the sun in his black bodysuit. He was sure he didn't stand out at all from his brothers, except maybe as the di'kut of the bunch.

Or, maybe she couldn't even tell him apart from them. The first time he'd gone up to her stand to purchase a cup of caf, he was so nervous that he couldn't speak. So, he simply pointed, dropped a credit down on her wooden counter, and fled. She had to chase after him to give him the caf.

Now that he had his hearing back, he was trying to do better about talking to civilians. But, he still didn't feel comfortable with anyone but his brothers, and the kindly Henna.

Since Flex seemed to have a talent with tools and repairs, and his skills only increased as the weeks went on, he had gained an excellent reputation as the dock handyman. When he had something to repair that he could pick up and move, he sat within sight and hearing range of El'la's shop. She played music all day long as she sold food to the tired and cold workers on the docks. El'la was… amazing.

More importantly, her hips never stopped moving. She danced while she worked. She seemed to have a music inside that could not be quenched.

But, as Flex watched her, it seemed to him that she was content dancing by herself. He resigned himself to watching her out of the corner of his eye as he quietly did to his work. He was sure that she would never take notice of him. So, he just kept his head down and his thoughts to himself as he worked quietly, day-after-day. No, he was destined to be alone.

# # #

From his position out front, Hok glanced back and checked on the team, just as he always did. His HUD was tuned into the life signs of his squad and would also alert him if something was wrong, but for his own peace of mind, he did a visual sweep. Satisfied that Flex, Sabre and Jagger were having no problems navigating through the nighttime jungle, Hok turned his mind to the mission...

Their mission was to find a way into the fortress.

Sounded easy enough when the command team spelled out his role in the attack, and began showing him diagrams of the known fortifications they were up against.

In.

Fortress.

Catcher's team would be following right behind them to do a preliminary sweep of the hangar that scans indicated were just outside and to the left of the main structure. If the scouts needed backup, Catcher's team would be close by.

Their current mission was a slightly more expanded role than the usual missions they handled in the 38th Armored Division, but nothing they couldn't handle. After two months of being laid up, it sounded like an interesting challenge. In a way, he was looking forward to it.

# # #

Sabre was walking just behind Flex, in his usual place. He could just make out the back of Hok's helmet, leading the team as usual. Hok's armor was more battered and scratched since his encounter with the sea creature, but his helmet had taken the least damage. Staring at it from behind, it was unchanged, with the scuffs and scratches in the same places as they'd always been.

But, things had definitely changed in the past two months. Well, Hok had changed.

Sabre was sure that _he_ was still the same clone he had been two months ago. He didn't understand why some of the others insisted on changing the way things were.

He scowled at the back of Hok's head. Even now that he was completely healed, Hok wanted to spend all of his free time with Xyra, rather than with the team. He was never like that before Ando. Hok was a changed man, and Sabre wasn't sure he liked these changes. Not one bit.

# # #

"Are we there yet?" Flex asked.

Hok swung around and leveled a stare at his fellow clone, but the effect was probably lost as the moonlight reflected back off of his visor.

"Actually, according to my scans, yes," Jagger reported, "we should be right on top of the facility right about… now."

Hok led the team onward, and they pushed through a particularly ambitious patch of local fauna that seemed to be thriving despite the blast damage. As he parted the thick leaves, suddenly looming up in front of them in the jungle was the Kaz'harian fortress.

The four scouts all stood staring at it for a moment.

"Funny," Flex commented, "it doesn't actually look that big from here."

"Most of it is underground," Sabre pointed out, "you're only seeing the tower. Only three stories are above ground."

"Easier to defend something that's underground," Jagger added. He cocked his head to the side, "didn't you study the map sent by Captain Rex?"

Flex shrugged, "Whole thing looked like one giant maze. No offense to our Captain."

"It's typical of this type of structure," Jagger explained. He'd been studying the map intently as they walked through the jungle. It helped take his mind off the devastating wreck Commander Bly had made of the surrounding landscape.

# # #

Something Jag had never told his brothers was that he didn't particularly _like_ destroying things. He was as good and a deadly a shot as any clone. But, he preferred the observation part of scouting. There was so much to see when they were outdoors. When his duties involved inadvertently destroying the environment along with the Seppies, Jag found he felt all twisted up inside.

He'd received his name for the jagged scar that slashed diagonally down his left cheek, courtesy of a training accident at Kamino. He didn't mind the scar so much. It had provided a distinguishing mark from his brothers early on.

But, sometimes he felt his name suited him because of the way he felt inside. Jagged and raw.

He wondered if maybe he just wasn't a very good soldier.

# # #

"There's the problem we need to solve," Hok pointed to the massive gate on the bottom level of the fortress. "Typically, the gate is the most heavily fortified part because it is seen as the weak link in an installation. Captain Catcher doesn't think we have the right ordinance to blow through it. Not without risking the safety of the prisoners below. So, we need to find an _alternative_ means into the fortress. And, that means a bit of scouting around. So, that's where we come in. We're going to divide up into teams of two. Fan out and circumnavigate the base. We're looking for any other access points that will get us in. Any sort of hatches, pipes, windows... anything big enough for a trooper to fit through. "

Jagger, Flex and Sabre just nodded as they absorbed the information.

"Questions?"

Three camouflaged heads shook their head 'no.'

Hok wasn't sure if that was a good sign, or if the team was nervous.

"Alright, let's move. Sabre, you're with me." With a hand signal, he pointed to indicate the direction they would be going. Flex and Jagger took the opposite direction.

# # #

It wasn't looking good. So far, they walked a quarter way around and had only found a small drainage pipe that not even the tiniest cadet could fit through.

_Kriff! _ Hok nashed his teeth in frustration.

There was an entire legion depending upon them and timing was tight.

"Jagger, Flex, anything?"

"They're not big on windows, that's for sure," Flex commented.

"However, the view gets better when you look up," Jagger pointed out. "You seeing the same thing on your side of the building?"

Sabre and Hok both turned their heads up, and noticed a number of darkened alcoves at various intervals all the way up the tower.

"What do those look like to you, Jag?" Hok asked.

The terrains expert took a moment to consider, "I'm thinking look out posts and it's a fair bet that not many of them are occupied. Even taking into account that we are the galaxy's best scouts, if there were lookouts in all of them, I think we would've been spotted by now."

"Captain Catcher described the Kaz'harians as 'diurnal creatures,' so this means they're particularly sluggish at night," Hok said, relying information from his briefing from the command team. "The Lieutenant said it has something to do with their metabolism and large muscle mass. It's the whole reason we're doing the attack at night."

"Clock is ticking then," Jag said, "once the sun comes up, our advantage is gone."

"Exactly."

Sabre stared up, studying the alcoves strategically, "Nighttime or not, they must have some guards, though. We're probably just not seeing them, and they haven't spotted us."

"The alcoves appear to be closed and shuttered," Jagger said, thoughtfully, zooming in with his optics. "They must only open them periodically to check out… I suppose they don't see the jungle as much of a threat."

"They weren't expecting a cloaked ship to drop in on them," Flex said with a chuckle.

"I have an idea," Hok said, after a moment, "although... to be honest, I'm not sure if it's a good one."

Flex's chuckle turned into a short bark of a laugh, "And, for that they made you an officer?"

"Stow it, Flex," Jagger said, "Hok?"

Hok blew out a breath, and studied the alcoves, before turning back to the others, "We start climbing under the belief that one of those alcoves is eventually going to open and a guard will look out. The trick will all be in the timing. With so many alcoves, we have no idea when it will happen… and which one... And, then when it _does_ happen, we'll have to eliminate the target so quickly that there is no chance of sounding an alarm. As I said, it is not the most brilliant plan I've ever laid before you guys."

There was silence from the other three clones. Finally, Sabre said: "It's more than we've come up with... Well, you're the officer now, Hok. You have to make the call on this one."

Hok stared at his brothers as he felt the weight of the decision resting squarely on his shoulders. The entire legion was counting on them. If he were wrong, he would have squandered precious time that could make the difference between winning the battle and losing the battle. He could be responsible for getting his entire team killed.

Fek. If they wasted too much time here, the sun could rise and the entire Legion could get wiped out. Hok closed his eyes, knowing he had only seconds to make up his mind. He felt a sense of peace and calm descend over him, just as it had when he'd been sinking in the ocean. He had stared death in the face before, and had come out all the better for it.

"We climb."

# # #

_A/N:Thanks so much to everyone who provided their opinions last chapter on Shadow and Mako. Enjoyed hearing all of the diverse opinions, and makes me appreciate what a varied group of readers we have in the Star Wars universe. Out of respect for everyone, things will remain on the friendship level. If you'd still like to weigh in on the topic, feel free. _

_Next up: Scouts- part 2!_


	95. Chapter 95 Scouts Part 2

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 95**

Despite the seriousness of their situation, Hok enjoyed climbing. It had been a while since he'd had a chance to do anything that truly tested his body to the physical limits. Not that he'd minded most of the recuperation time that he'd spent with Xyra. Despite the pain of his torn leg and side muscles, the weeks following the encounter with the Oppee had been the best in his life.

But, he missed the physical demands of his job. Granted he and Xyra spent a considerable amount of time engaged in activities one could consider as physical demanding. But, it wasn't quite the same thing as the sustained rigors of training. Now that he was fully recovered from the damage of the Oppee's massive jaws, he was pleased to be able to push himself to the limit again.

Better still, the team was together again. Hok looked to his right and saw Jagger and Flex ascending quickly up the walls of the Kaz'harian fortress. As usual, Flex was slightly ahead due to his extra muscle mass. Hok swung his visored gaze to the left, Sabre was keeping pace with the rest as they swept up the dark granite.

"Hok," Jagger said, breaking the silence of the climb, "a thought occurred to me..."

"I think I know what it is… but, go ahead."

"Well, _we're_ climbing up the wall. Yet, Captain Catcher, he has those mech legs. And, Tank, he's got just one leg. And, I know Dart still has some problems with one of his shoulders-"

"You've made your point, Jag."

"Well, it was different when all we were doing was looking for an access point where troopers could crawl through from the ground level. But, coming in from up high, Hok, you're eliminating about half the Legion."

"No, I'm not."

There was a pause, and for a moment all Hok could hear through the comm was the sound of slightly labored breathing as the men steadily climbed.

"I don't understand."

"We're gonna' open the gate from the inside."

There was a stunned silence for a long moment from the other members of the team.

"Hok-" Jag began, his uncertainty evident in his voice.

"Our mission was to find an entry point… this will get the Legion in."

Another long moment of stunned silence, then Jag was the first one to speak up again, "Hok, depending upon where we gain access, it could mean passing through two or three levels to get down to get the gate. We have no idea what we might be up against. We're not commandos, Hok."

"Doesn't matter. We can do this."

"We should call in our backup. We can't do this alone."

"_No_," Hok's conviction was clear, "They have their own mission, and we're very short on time. This is _our_ mission, and we're not going to let the others down."

Again, there was silence from the other three scouts.

"Look, somewhere along the way, the Republic may have lost faith in us," Hok said, "but, I never have."

Sabre was the first to speak up. He snorted, the sound coming out louder than usual due to the rigors of the climb. "Well, now _that'_s the Hok that I'm used to. Let's do this thing."

# # #

"Contact," Sabre reported, "there's a sentry at 2'o clock."

All four scouts turned as one and focused on the Kaz'harian guard.

"I don't think he's spotted us," Jagger said, studying the guard carefully.

"Jag, you're closest," Hok ordered, "take the shot. Make it fast. We can't afford to have him sounding the alarm."

"Taking him down…" Jagger pivoted on his cable, lining up his scope and sighting up a shot, "…now." He squeezed off a single head shot. The guard startled backwards, but did not fall. "Kriff! That was a direct hit! These shab'buirs have tough skulls!"

He immediately fired off a second shot, hitting the Kaz'harian in the same spot. This time, the guard toppled forward and into the jungle below.

"Have a nice trip," Flex muttered, peering down.

"Well done, Jag," Hok praised, "Alright, let's hope he left the door open for us."

The four scouts begin pulling themselves across the wall, hand-over-hand, to get to the guard's alcove. All four stayed poised just below the opening, studying it carefully.

"I think if they'd heard anything, somebody would have peered their head out by now," Flex reasoned.

"Or, they're waiting for us to go in so they can pick us off," Sabre said.

"Only one way to find out," Jagger said brightly, "I'll go."

"No," Hok said firmly, "this was my insane idea, I'll do it."

Before he could let fear of what might be waiting inside the darkened opening take root in his mind, Hok moved ahead of the others. He grabbed hold onto the edge of the stone ledge, but didn't release from his cable just yet. Hok wanted to reserve diving back out as an option. Although at this point being picked off on the wall was probably not much better than fighting it out within. In one smooth move, Hok hauled himself up and into the Kaz'harian fortress.

To his immense relief, there was nothing there but a small, sturdy table containing the uneaten remains of the Kaz'harian guard's last meal. Hok gave a quick glance down to the metallic plate of colorful fruits. After two months on Ando, he was tired of constantly eating fish.

_Mind on the mission, Hok_,_ no time to be thinking about food,_ he lectured himself, as he continued to sweep the immediate area.

"Clear," he commed back to the others, and guarded the entrance so the others could safely enter. Once he'd been joined by the others, he headed back to the window to release his cable. The cable had been almost stretched to the max by now.

"Alright, let's find that gate."

As Flex passed by the fruit plate, he commented, "Hey, that looks good."

"Mind on the mission," Hok said gruffly, "let's go."

"Just saying..." Flex muttered.

With hand signals, Hok indicated that Flex was to move up to the front position and take point. "I need to call the Lieutenant and let him know we made it in."

Flex nodded, and quickly moved ahead of his brothers. He rounded each corner carefully, then signaled for the others to follow. Hok had just completed his report when he heard a shout of surprise from Flex. The lead clone had just rounded a corner, and was out of sight of the others. Before they could get to Flex, they heard the horrific sound of plastoid splintering accompanied by a bellow of pain from their brother.

As one, the other three clones rounded the corner and had their weapons raised. A second Kaz'harian guard, this one wielding a massive club, was about to take another swipe at an already fallen Flex. His eyes widened in surprise as he was suddenly confronted with three more clones. And, before he could raise a cry of alarm, he was dropped by three neat blast holes to the head.

Sabre was already kneeling by Flex's side examining the fallen scout. Of the four of the men, Sabre had the most medical training. So, in addition to being their team sharpshooter, he acted as impromptu medic.

"Flex," Sabre was urging the fallen clone, "come on, talk to me, vode."

"My... kriffin'... arm..." the fallen trooper gasped out, holding very still.

Hok stared down at Flex's arm, and swallowed down the strong reaction he wanted to utter in reply. Jagger stayed similarly quiet, and Hok gave him a nod of gratitude. Overreacting wouldn't help Flex stay calm. All of his arm armor had been shattered from the gauntlet on upwards. Hok could only imagine what had happened to the bone underneath. He stared back at the fallen enemy and the massive club still gripped in his large hands.

"Sabre?" Hok asked, quietly.

"Not good," Sabre said, simply. "I'll need to get his armor off to examine it better, but looks like we're dealing with multiple fractures."

"Can he move? We can't stay here."

"Flex?" Sabre asked, obviously wanting to get his brother's opinion of his own condition.

"I can do it," the injured clone gritted out, "just help me up."  
Sabre put one arm around his brother's waist, and the other over his uninjured shoulder.

Hok nodded, "Let's find better cover. We're too exposed here." He moved up to the lead position, taking Flex's place. He glanced back at the injured clone, and his grip on his rifle tightened. If he hadn't been reporting in, he would have been in lead position. Hok's lips hardened and he put one hand up and moved his squad forward again.

# # #

"Think we'll run into any more of them?" Sabre asked, from his position directly behind Hok. He and Flex were in the middle, in the 'safest position,' with Jagger guarding them from the back.

"I can almost guarantee it," Hok said, "but, hopefully not a lot. From what we know, they have difficulties moving at night."

"That last one moved just fine," Flex griped, in a pained gasp.

"Yes, well, then, let's not wake them up," Jag chimed in.

"Alright, this looks good." Hok said, spying a well-sheltered alcove, he glanced over at Sabre for his opinion.

The sharpshooter nodded, and Jagger came in on Flex's other side to help ease their brother down to a seated position.

"Ow! Shab! That's painful!" Flex gritted out as his arm was jarred slightly as he was repositioned.

Hok moved to stand guard, scanning the hallway for any more signs of guards.

Jagger knelt down by Flex's side, ready to assist, "What do you need me to, Sabre?"

"Get his arm plates off." He looked over at Hok, "I need everyone's medkits."

Hok grabbed his kit off his beltpouch and tossed it to Sabre, not taking his eyes off the area he was guarding. Sabre pulled Flex's kit off of his belt, and then pooled the supplies on the ground. He began picking through the supplies, pulling out what he needed.

"Bucket off, Flex," Sabre ordered.

The injured clone reached one arm up half-heartedly to tug at his bucket, but there wasn't much energy behind the effort.

"Aw, give him a break, Sabre," Jagger said, reaching up and removing his brother's helmet for him.

"Breaks... he's got those..." Sabre muttered, studying the results of the scanner as he ran it up and down Flex's arm.

"Spare me your dark humor... Just fix it... already," Flex's voice was labored.

"I'm going to give you a painkiller, and a stimshot. I don't want you going into shock."

Flex's eyes were already drifting shut.

"Hey!" Sabre admonished while his hands began working quickly to administer the shots, "this is the part where you don't pass out!"

"How's it coming back there?" Hok asked

"Er... just fine," Sabre said, although his voice seemed to indicate otherwise, "everything is under control."

As he administered the stimshot to Flex's neck, the clone's eyes popped back open. "Wha..." he said, looking around before focusing on his brother. "Kriff! Sabre! Why didn't you just let me stay passed out? My whole arm is on fire."

Sabre shook his head, "Not a good idea. Can't have you going into shock on us here. Your job is to stay awake. Our job is to tug bones back into place."

He looked over at Jagger, "Put his bucket back on. We need to stay quiet."

Jagger shot his brother an apologetic look as he sealed the helmet back into place.

Flex's filtered voice came back out from the helmet, "Understood."

Jagger turned his attention back to Sabre, knowing their time was short, "Tell me what to do."

"Hold him steady. Brace his upper arm right here. I'm going to pull the bones back into place. No matter what- don't let go. He's not going to like this, but he'll feel a whole lot better once everything is back where it should be."

"I'm cutting my comms now," Flex said.

Jagger quickly moved into position, bracing down on his upper body. Under Sabre's direction, he placed one of his hands on Flex's upper arm. Even though he had no broken bones that far up in his injured limb, even that pressure was painful. Flex tried to brace himself and focus on not moving, but he instinctively jerked when his limb was touched.

"Sorry," Jagger gritted out, firmly holding him down.

Flex shook his head firmly, telling his brother not to apologize.

A micro-second later, he felt Sabre yank hard on his arm followed by a pop as the bone slid back into place.

Flex bellowed out in protest as his vision swam red, and he felt bile rising up in his throat. He felt better, though, knowing his brothers couldn't hear him yell out.

"That's one," he heard Sabre, say calmly.

_Aw, frak, no, not another one... _Flex's whole arm was still throbbing, and he was sure he couldn't take anymore.

But, before he could react or utter up a word of protest, Sabre grabbed his arm and tugged it again. Flex felt the bones shift and he yelled to the point he felt his vocal chords strain in protest.

_Yeah, better the others didn't hear that... Aw kriff, I'm gonna' be sick..._

He quickly switched his comms back on.

"Gonna'... hurl..." he gasped out, unable to move, since he was being pinned down by his brothers. There few things a clone hated more than hurling in his own bucket.

"Jagger," Sabre directed calmly as braced Flex's arm, holding the newly fixed bones in place.

"I'm on it," Jagger removed his brother's helmet with the swift efficiency that came from years of practice. He tilted his brother's head to the side just as Flex began gagging and coughing. Jagger gently supported his brother's head and shoulders, helping his brother through the after-effects of the bone-setting. Flex's stomach settled, and he nodded.

Sabre immediately applied bone stabilizers to the fractures in Flex's wrist and forearm. Then, swiftly and efficiently wrapped the injured area in a tight layer of bacta wrap.

"Alright, lean down," he directed, tying a sling around Flex's neck. "OK, I'm going to tie this arm down to keep it stable, but it means you won't be able to use it at all."

Flex just nodded, his coloring still pale and wane.

With Jagger's help, Sabre quickly tied down the sling. He ensured the injured limb wouldn't move, but also kept it out of the way so he could fire with his other arm. Sabre nodded in satisfaction, "That should hold it."

The two clones assisted Flex in getting back to his feet. He swayed a moment, before finding his balance.

"You gonna' be OK?" Sabre asked, giving him a critical look. "There's an actual medic on the backup team-"

"No," Flex immediately shook his head, worried he might get pulled from the team and sent back to the ship, "I'm fine." He gestured down toward the broken limb, "thanks for putting it back into place."

"You, OK?" Hok asked Flex, gruffly as the clones rejoined him. Flex nodded, straightening his shoulders, as Jagger handed him his rifle back. "Come on, then, let's _go,_" he gave the signal to move out, his voice betraying his impatience to be moving on, "right now, the outcome of this entire battle depends upon us getting that gate open."

# # #

Up next: Scouts- Part 3!


	96. Chapter 96 Scouts Part 3

**Author's Notes: **_Here it is- Scouts Part 3. I was slow getting this done, but I'm pleased with the final results. Normally, I'm not one to whine about life getting in the way of my writing, but I did get waylaid this time. Let the whining begin! I was out in the middle out of nowhere in Hanalei, Kauai. Woe is me! Stuck in paradise. (sigh) Had a bit of a surfing mishap. (OK, that really did hurt.) Damaged my foot and ankle, but didn't want to go to the doctor for fear it was broken. OK, that sounds like twisted logic, but I knew from past experience that you can't get on airplane if you have a brand new cast. (Happened to me once before. Risk of blood clot, blah, blah, blah.) So, I just continued to hobble around, but kriff, the thing hurt. Tried to do some writing, but my muse was nowhere to be found. It seemed to have fled the island. Finally got home, found out it was a torn ligament. Not broken. Gheesh. Could've gone to a doctor a week ago, and got the darned thing taken care of… lesson learned. Horribly painful foot is not always a break. Now have piles of ice packs and anti-inflammatories, and my muse has quietly come back home. All's well that ends well._

_This is the last chapter focusing just on our scouts and we continue to explore the complex interrelationships of being in a squad. You also get to 'meet' a Kaz'harian in this chapter. I thought it would be useful to give a face to the enemy. In real conflicts, you're often shooting at real living things, and not droids who make bad jokes. The good guys aren't the only ones with complex inner thoughts and personalities. Part of why war takes such a toll on those who actually fight in them._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 96**

"Sorry, Hok," Flex said, moving past Hok to take the lead, "that Kazzie got the jump on me. I won't let it happen again."

Hok shook his head, "It's alright, Flex. Fall in behind me. I'd appreciate it if you'd watch my back."

Flex hesitated for a moment, and Hok could see he wanted to object. The clone sergeant heaved out a small sigh, but couldn't keep the edge of impatience from his words, "Flex, _fall in_."

Flex shifted seamlessly back into the second position and the team was quickly underway again. After several minutes, Hok put up one hand and halted the team in a dark concealing alcove.

With a blink of his eyes, he activated his HUD and sent the image to the other three. He honed in on a region on the map. "We're just entering this area of the fortress, which the two Captains believe contains the main force of the Kaz'harians. Noise is definitely going to be an issue at this point."

"Rrright, so waking them up is a _bad_ idea," Sabre muttered in his sardonic way.

Hok ignored the comment. He nodded toward Sabre's DC-15x, "You're the only one of us with a sniper piece." He tapped the rifle thoughtfully, "Would've helped if we all could've swapped out our rifles for this particular mission."

The DC-15x held a key advantage over the DC-15A carried by the other three clone troopers- it was equipped with a silencer attachment. It fired extremely powerful shots, although it could only fire six of them before needing reloading.

Flex eyed Sabre's sniper rifle, and started to shrug, but then hissed as his broken arm pulled uncomfortably. "Our days of having access to an armory are gone."

Jagger turned to Flex, optimistic as usual, "Hey, we don't have long necks trying to kill us either."

Hok glared at the two scouts to shut up, and turned back to Sabre. "If we stumble across any more of our hairy friends-"

"-I'll be sure to take the shot. I got it," Sabre checked the settings on his rifle.

"I'd appreciate it if you do it in a _single_ shot, since it's currently taking two or three to bring them down." Hok tapped the firing magazine on Sabre's rifle, "You have the advantage of having a bit more kick to your stick."

Sabre snorted, "I can do it in one."

"Show off," Flex grumbled.

"Go ahead and take point," Hok said, stepping back to let Sabre take the lead.

Flex hissed in annoyance as he watched Sabre get to move to the front of the squad.

Hok pivoted, and shot a glare at Flex through his visor, "Is there a problem?"

Flex shook his head.

Jag commed Flex privately, "Quit it, Flex."

"Just venting," Flex grumbled back.

"There's nothing to vent. It makes good sense to have Sabre lead."

"Yeah, I know," Flex cut his comm, and blew out a long sigh. He glanced down at his badly broken arm and tightly bound arm.

_Stupid kriffin' arm. I hate these frakkin' Kaz'harians._

# # #

It was a rather unfortunate twist of fate for the large sleepy simian that he happened to stumble upon the team of scouts.

Normally, Chor'ux would be asleep at this hour, but his shift down in the dungeons had been unusually busy. He'd been asked to gather up new prisoners for the labs. In the first cell he'd opened, the prisoners had shown an unusual amount of spunk and put up a good fight. His partner on duty, Droto, had immediately raised a club to the prisoners, but Chor'ux stopped him before he could inflict serious damage. He knew they could extract the DNA whether the prisoners had a few broken bones, or not, but he didn't like seeing them damaged needlessly. The prisoners were weakened anyway from two months of poor quality food and inadequate exercise. It was easy enough to subdue them without injuring their fragile bodies so greatly. Their bones always seemed to snap so easily. Chor'ux had learned that early on and after that had taken greater care in his dealings with the prisoners.

Exhausted from a long shift, Chor'ux had fallen asleep straight away. But, now his body's need for food was making itself known. With a dissatisfied sigh, he realized he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep unless he ate something. Knowing he had another long day ahead of him on the 'morrow guarding prisoners, Chor'ux heaved himself out of his sleeping hammock and headed down to the cantina. His steps were slow and lumbering, as his body's desire to be asleep at this hour warred with his stomach's demands for _food_.

Chor'ux shook his head at his own foolishness, thinking he should've just forced himself to eat more before bed. Then, he'd be able sleep right now, and not missing out on sleep due to a growling stomach. He knew he'd be tired at work tomorrow for sure due to this interruption in his sleep cycle.

Chor'ux grabbed a plate of fruit and dried meat from the cantina, and decided to eat it back in his bunk. There was no one else in the cantina, and he didn't feel like eating alone. Even if everyone around him was sleeping, it was still better than being alone.

Chor'ux stared down at his fruit plate, and tugged off a piece of Muja fruit. His personal favorite. Good to see there was still some left. Often times the cantina ran out, and-

Chor'ux never did have a chance to finish his thought about Muja fruit.

For a frozen moment that seemed to last for an eternity Chor'ux just stared in front of him. He blinked rapidly, several times. It's difficult to say who had surprised each other more as they rounded the corner by the cantina, clones or Kaz'harian.

Chor'ux had been just slowly ambling along since his natural metabolism slowed at night, and quick movements required a lot more energy. Not having eaten put the large guard at further disadvantage.

As if a hidden switch were flipped for both sides, suddenly clones and Kaz'harian began moving again. Chor'ux tossed up the metallic plate he'd been carrying and reached for the slugthrower slung low about his hips. But, his movements were sluggish compared to the natural speed and grace of the scouts.

The sharpshooter had his large rifle pointed and was firing before Chor'ux had even finished drawing his weapon. The shot that hit him in the neck caused his entire body to jerk back for a moment, before gravity took over and his entire body began limply falling forward.

# # #

Hok pulled up the map again on his HUD, studying how much further they had to go until they reached the gate room. They were making good time, but at the same time, the hallways seemed to go on forever.

It took him a microsecond to realize that Sabre had stopped and was frozen in place. He was about to ask the lead clone why he had stopped, when he suddenly noticed the huge Kaz'harian blocking their path.

_Oh, kriff. Not another one._

_This one is armed with… a plate?_

Everything and everyone went from being frozen to exploding into action all at once. The plate was suddenly thrown into the air and the Kaz'harian was reaching for a weapon on his belt.

"Sabre!" Hok shouted into their comms, although the sound was silent to the outside world. The command was unnecessary since the sharpshooter had already sprung into action. The shot that followed was muffled, followed by an oddly soft, surprised cry from the Kaz'harian. Strange to hear a creature so large make such a quiet keening noise.

Hok didn't take the time to see where the shot hit. He dove forward to catch the metallic plate that had been thrown in the air. Thinking with a scout's stealth, he wanted to intercept the plate before it clattered into the stone floor. His gloved hands closed around the circular object, but in doing so, he crossed right in the path of the falling Kaz'harian.

Hok had planned to have a nice controlled fall to the ground and not a harsh face plant into the stone. He couldn't even speak as all of the air was knocked out of him, and he wondered if his HUD had been smashed. Everything in his display was blinking wildly, and the effect was making him dizzy. He closed his eyes to dispel a wave of nausea. Once his eyes were closed, it was difficult to get them back open again. A moment later, he felt the weight being lifted off, and he heard Sabre's voice.

"Hok! Hey, Hok! Can you hear me?"

He wanted to speak and tell the team he was OK. They had to move out, and it wasn't safe to stay here. But, since he couldn't breathe or get any air in, well, he couldn't exactly speak.

"Get his bucket off."

Hok heard a hiss as the seal of his helmet released and it was tugged off his head.

He recognized Jagger's voice saying, "His display is all messed up."

"Do a manual reset."

Hok felt his eyelids being tugged open, and squinted against the bright light from Sabre's helmet lamp.

"He looks alright. No sign of a concussion."

"If he isn't concussed, why isn't he moving?"

"Hey, Hok!"

"Try giving him a stimshot. That thing pulled me back awake in a hurry after that Kazzie busted me up…Not that I particularly wanted to wake up, I might add."

Hok felt a sharp jab to his neck, and a sudden burst of adrenaline flood his system. He began to cough violently. His eyes popped open at the same time, as he gasped for air, looking around wildly. He wanted to demand a status update. But, could only manage a rasping: "Wha…"

"You did a face plant, courtesy of one of those stinkin' Kaz'harians." Flex said, pointing to the fallen Kaz'harian, they had rolled aside. His voice betrayed his obvious disdain for the enemy. The scout pointed to the plate still clutched in Hok's hand, and his voice brightened considerably, "You did, however, make a spectacular catch."

Hok stared down at the plate, blinking, as if he'd never seen such an object before in his life. His brain started to slowly catch up with everything around him.

"Help me up," he said, gruffly, pushing what he hoped were just bits of fruit off his armor. Still feeling a bit woozy, Hok grabbed at the clone nearest to him.

Flex managed to back up right before the clone sergeant accidentally gripped onto his injured arm. He pivoted his body, and extended his good arm to help pull Hok to a sitting position. "You've looked better," Flex observed.

Sabre gave Hok a critical, assessing look, "You sure you're OK?"

"Fine," he reached out a hand so that Sabre could help haul him to his feet. "Just had the wind knocked out of me." He scowled down at where they had rolled aside the body of the dead Kaz'harian. They'd quickly pushed the body aside into a darkened recess of the hallway, but it was as much as they could do to 'hide' the body considering their severe time constraints. "Like having a Gamorrean fall on you."

Flex snorted, "Except I think Gamorreans are better looking."

"According to the briefing data supplied by Captains Rex and Catcher, they might be the size of Gamorreans, but they're a lot faster and smarter," Jagger cocked his head to the side, as he regarded the dead Kaz'harian thoughtfully, "They'd have to be good warriors if they managed to capture the likes of the 501st and 212th. Most impressive."

Hok scowled, not wanting to reflect on what amazing warriors they were now completely surrounded by. "Come on," he growled, "we have to move out." He yanked his helmet back on with so much force it made his head ache again.

Sabre held up his sniper rifle, and gave him a questioningly look. Hok pointed to the front position, "Yes, Sabre, you're still on point."

As the sharpshooter passed Hok, he gave a final glance down at the fallen enemy, "The neck. Seems to me that they have thick skulls and tough hides, but they're vulnerable in the neck."

"Excellent," Hok praised, "and, good job on taking him out quietly."

Sabre straightened up and walked with pride to the front position, leading the team out.

None of the four clones looked back as they left the cantina hallway, leaving the big carcass behind. After all, it was just another casualty of war.

# # #

"Look alive, team," Hok said.

"Yeah, what exactly does that mean, anyway?" Flex muttered.

"Beats looking dead, I suppose," Sabre muttered.

"Don't say that," Flex objected, "Sounds too much like Geonosis."

"Those bugs give you nightmares, brother?" Sabre asked.

"Maybe," Flex hedged.

Maybe he did have a _few _nightmares, from time to time.

The four scouts had been involved in the massive invasions on both the first and second battles on Geonosis. After making it out alive the first time, it had been hard to believe they had to go back again. But, they made it out of the second time, too, thanks to some _creative_ teamwork.

"We made out of Geonosis. We can handle this," Sabre's voice was devoid of his usual sarcasm. When he spoke of the team, his voice always deepened a bit. Rough as he was around the edges, the sharpshooter believed in the squad.

"We only made it out the second time thanks to Flex... Never will forget that dance he did," the scout chuckled softly. Despite himself, even Hok cracked a small smile behind his helmet at the memory.

Flex had become legend with their unit after that long and difficult battle. When a large portion of the 38th became trapped in a desert ravine and needed a quick distraction, Flex immediately leapt up and threw himself into his stylized rendition of the 'Tanaab Tango.' His highly complex, and slightly exaggerated, dance moves, so baffled and confused the Geonosians that they were momentarily frozen in shock, staring at the wildly gyrating clone. By the time they'd had enough and started shooting at Flex, the enemy had been completely flanked by members of the 38th. Flex sustained a few blast hits, but was still moving so wildly that he was mostly grazed, and his armor took the brunt of the damage. All the men in the ravine made it out and the scouts earned a special place of honor within the 38th.

"Much as I'm enjoying this trip down memory lane…" Hok grumbled.

"Yes, yes, we're cutting the chatter," Flex chimed in, "However, can I just point out that as clones we're designed to multi-task? It's like genetically encoded in our genome, or some such dwang."

"Says the clone who just got bashed by a club. Stow it, Flex, or I swear, as soon as that gate opens, I'm throwing you through it. You'll be med-evaced back to the ship before you can say hypospray."

Flex gasped, "You wouldn't separate me from the team. Not in the middle of the battle!"

"You're _still_ talking, Flex," Hok pointed out.

The scout instantly went silent; to be separated from the team was the highest threat imaginable.

They walked on.

# # #

Hok's head was still ringing from his hard encounter with the stone floor.

_Well, that didn't go nearly as well as I'd envisioned it. That kriffin' thing nearly crushed me. Almost worse than tangling with the sea beastie. _

Hok sighed.

_Actually, the whole sea beastie encounter wasn't so bad because it ended with me being pulled from the water by-_

He cut off that line of thinking, and decided he couldn't let himself be distracted by thinking of Xyra. Hard as it was, _not_ to think of her.

They passed silently by the numerous series of doors marked off on their maps as likely being the Kaz'harians "Dormitories/Barracks."

_Be a bad place to have a noisy run-in with another Kaz'harian. Just what we need is to wake the whole place up before the Legion even gets here._

_Jagger is right. These things are hard to handle even half-asleep and one-at-a-time. How would we handle facing down the whole lot of them at once? Jag is right- they managed to take down two of our top legions._

Hok's nerves were completely on edge. He was waiting for any one of the doors to slide open and trigger a confrontation with another Kaz'harian. Except they were now in such close proximity to so many other slumbering simians, it was impossible to believe that any scuffle could go undetected. He kept imagining all of the doors opening up and scores of Kaz'harians charging out with slugthrowers and clubs, doing a lot more damage than a smashed arm.

_What was I thinking? We're not commandos, nor some kind of arrogant kriffin' ARC. Just run-of-the-mill clone scout troopers._

_I'm not even sure I'm that good of a scout, considering I let a sea creature get the better of me. Mess this up and it's not my hide on the line. I could get my entire team massacred._

Hok glanced back, reassuring himself that Flex and Jagger were still there. He could see Sabre's determined presence in front of him moving with precise stealth. He sucked in a deep bracing breath, his visor sweeping back and forth at the doors they were passing.

Just one door opening could spell death for his entire team…

With each step they took, Hok could feel the blood pounding in his ears. He focused on watching Sabre's back, and listening for the light, almost inaudible sounds of Flex's and Jagger's footsteps behind him. Beyond that, he was hyperaware of every other sight and sound around him, his hands gripping his rifle so tightly that his fingers began to ache.

Jagger's voice in his comm startled him, "That's it. We're through the barracks area."

Hok glanced around and noticed that indeed they were now in a clear section of hallway again, just a long connecting corridor.

_Fek._

He felt his whole chest relax a bit, and he took a few deep breaths. With a blink of his eyes, he pulled up the map on his HUD, realizing that was exactly what Jagger had been doing.

_Good 'ol Jag. Always studying the map._

They were now heading into the lowest level of the facility, and the corridor forked off into two directions.

"Map indicates the gate room is to the right," Jag said. "However, the area where Catcher believes they must be storing their weapons is likely off to the left. Sure would like to get a peak at what surprises these nasties have in store."

"And, maybe blow up their stores," Sabre snorted.

"All excellent thoughts," Hok praised, "but, that area is most certainly guarded, even at night. And, we have to get that gate open, or this rescue is not going to happen. Maybe we can scout back later and check it out."

Another thought ran through Hok's mind, _Plus, that sounds like a job for commandos, not scouts._ But, he didn't voice it. His team was doing exceptionally well. He didn't want to squash their confidence, even if his idea of creeping through the entire fortress at night, past the entire sleeping Kaz'harian army, was starting to feel more and more like _a bad idea._

The lower levels proved to be the quietest of all the levels the scouts passed through. The squad passed through without incident. Hok's mind focused ahead on the challenge of opening the gate, working through the logistics.

But, Flex _was_ right. As clones, they were designed for multi-tasking. While Hok was working through everything that could go wrong at the gate, and possible counter-measures, another part of his mind kept wandering back to Ando.

The more he tried not to think about Xyra, the more she popped into his head.

_Alright, maybe if I just think about her for just a minute, then I can move on. _

What was most on Hok's mind was whether Xyra would forgive him for going away so suddenly and be willing to take him back when he returned. If she wouldn't take him back, he had no idea what he would possibly do with himself. He could not envision a future with Xyra.

And, suddenly, they were there. The gate room.

_Already? We're here already?_

Sabre pulled back from peering around the corner, so Hok could take a look. The room was set off from the rest of the facility, with thick walls protecting the room, and both outer and inner doors. Both sets of doors were open which indicated the Kaz'harians were definitely not on a state of alert.

_We made it all the way down here without triggering any sort of alarms. Maybe we're halfway decent scouts, after all._

There was a well-armed guard posted to either side of the inner door. Hok used the advanced optics to scan in closer on the guards. One of the guards just looked insanely bored, and the other looked like he might have fallen asleep standing on his feet.

Despite himself, Hok smiled behind his helmet, identifying for a moment with the slumbering guard.

_Yeah, I think we're all guilty of having taken a quick snooze on guard duty at some point. _

Figuring they were far enough away from the rest of the facility that the noise of a regular blaster wouldn't be an issue, Hok signaled to Sabre that he would take out the guard on the right. Sabre nodded back, lining up his sniper rifle to take out the one on the left.

And, darn his Fett genome, while part of his mind was totally focused on: '_Take down the enemy_,' another part was busily multi-tasking back to '_What if Xyra won't take you back?_'

"Hok! Stop! Stop! He's dead!" Jagger was pulling his arm back.

Hok snapped out of his trance, and realized he'd shot the last Kaz'harian multiple times. An excessive amount of times.

The scouts moved forward at a quick run to the entrance of the gate room and together rolled the bodies inside.

"Ugggh! They're heavy!" Flex pushed with his back, since it was difficult pushing with just one arm.

"Yeah, we established that brother," Sabre shot back sardonically, a bit breathless from the exertion of getting both guards inside the doors.

They closed the doors, and sealed themselves inside the gate room.

Flex stared down at the guard Hok had taken down, "Well, you _got _him alright."

"Good thing this gate room is far away from the rest of the place," Sabre shook his head, then peered at Hok, "what _was _that?"

Hok shook his head, not wanting to discuss it. After all the battles he'd been through, sometimes he did feel as if he was firing on automatic mode, without a human at the controls anymore.

Flex slapped him on the shoulder, "I don't have a problem with it. I'm just going to consider that payback for that other one busting my arm."

Sabre felt differently. He stared steadily at Hok, "You sure you're OK?"

"Yeah," the clone sergeant grumbled.

"You need another stim? That was a hard fall you took."

"I'm _fine_, Sabre," Hok couldn't keep the edge of impatience out of his voice, "I need to report in." He stormed away from the others before he said something harsh when he knew his brothers were just showing their concern.

# # #

Hok took a deep breath, and composed himself, then he dialed up Captain Rex's comm signal. He finally had a chance to speak the words he'd been longing to say ever since he had the insane idea of scaling the fortress wall, "Captain Rex, sir, you're clear. Gate room is secure."

"Understood. Well done, Hok. The Legion is almost through the jungle. We're just a few minutes from your position."

"Let us know when you're on our doorstep. Not sure how much noise the gate will make when it opens. I advise we wait until you're here to spring it."

"Good thought, Hok. We'll see you soon."

# # #

"Jagger, find the controls for this thing," Hok barked.

"Already working on that," Jag replied, not looking up from where he was intently searching the room with his three brothers.

"Think I found it," Flex noticed a panel on the wall, and he slid it aside to reveal a complex set of controls and switches. "Kriff. Anybody know how to read Kaz'harian?"

Sabre quickly walked over and peered at the controls, "They're color-colored. Work with that." He hefted his rifle over his shoulder. "You two figure it out. I'm going to guard the door."

"Sabre!" Hok yelled, "come over here with me and guard the-"

"Already coming," Sabre shook his head, and hurried his steps.

Flex cocked his head to the side, and regarded the two, "Weird. Those two think alike. Ever notice that?"

Jag smacked Flex's uninjured shoulder to get his attention, "Uh, Flex? Heartwarming as your observations are, we're under a serious time crunch here. The gate controls?"

Flex tugged his helmet off, and took a closer look at the myriad of controls covered with complex writing, "Yes. Yes. Flex save the day," he mumbled, tracing a gloved finger lightly around each of the buttons and switches, "No pressure, though, huh?"

"You're the one with the dumb luck," Jagger pointed out, as he also pulled his helmet off so he could get a clearer view of the confusing controls.

"I'd feel a lot more flattered if you'd have left the word 'dumb' out of that sentence," Flex grumbled, while still intently studying the controls.

Jagger hissed, "Fine, you're the lucky one. Can you make sense of this?"

Flex tapped a finger along the controls, thoughtfully. "Actually, I can. Most of this, has nothing to do with the gate controls. It's just communications equipment. See? You can tell by the lettering on each of the keys. So, I'm betting the only two buttons we need to concern ourselves with are these two." He pointed to the two largest buttons, one of which was color-coded orange, and the other of which was purple.

Jagger folded his arms back across his chest, "Alright, that certainly narrows it down. But, which one do we push?"

Flex furrowed his brow, intensely, "One probably opens the gate, and the other likely triggers the alarm."

"A panic button."

"Everyplace has one."

"So, we push the right one and we let the Legion in here. We push the wrong one and we bring the entire Kaz'harian Army screaming down around us?"

Flex chewed his bottom lip, "Yes."

"Oh, pifgot!" Jag cursed, "and we have no way to know which is which?"

Flex smirked at hearing his usually optimistic brother resorting to cursing. He shook his head, and was about to shrug, and then remembered not to because of his bound and injured arm, "Not unless you want to resurrect one of those Kaz'harians we just took out to ask them to translate for us?"

"No, thank you. I like them better dead. I'd prefer to rely on your luck, brother."

"Luck?" Flex snorted dubiously. "I might have gotten us out of Geonosis. But, so far my track-record here on Kaz'harian has been less than distinctive."

Jagger lowered his voice, "That wasn't your fault, Flex. That could've happened to anyone of us. You just happened to be on point."

Flex cast a glance toward Hok, who was standing tensely at the door with Sabre. Keeping his voice low, he replied: "Hok seems to think I'm to blame for what happened. And, the delay that followed."

"You're a good soldier, Flex," Jagger reassured his brother, as he continued to study the panel, "Hok knows that. He believes in you."

Flex cast another glance toward Hok, who had turned and was walking back toward them, "I don't know," the injured clone's voice conveyed his uncertainty. "He threatened to medevac me out." He also continued to study the controls while they spoke.

"Aw, he's threatened us with that before. He won't do it," Jagger reassured him quickly. "You've always come through for us, Flex."

"Yeah, I guess," He continued to stare down at the orange and purple display, considering the problem from all angles.

"You figure it out, yet?" Hok's voice betrayed his impatience, and the pressure they were all under.

"Flex?" Jagger looked to his brother to make the final call.

Flex's hand hovered over the controls as he spoke, "This purple button here strikes me as a cautionary color. I believe it is the alarm." He nodded toward the orange button, "And, I believe this one here opens the gate."

"You sure?" Hok said.

Flex stared at the clone sergeant pointedly, "Honestly, I'm going more on hunch and intuition than anything else. But, it's all we have."

Hok regarded the clone scout for a long moment, "Alright, Flex. When Captain Rex and the rest of the Legion arrives, orange it is."

He turned around and headed back to continue guarding the door.

Flex stood ramrod straight by the controls and attempted to hide how nervous he was feeling.

Jagger elbowed him gently in the ribs, which did nothing for the knots that were currently twisting themselves in Flex's stomach. Flex glared at him, "Quit it!"

His brother just smiled, and nodded toward Hok's retreating back, "See? He believes in you."

# # #

The minutes until the Legion arrived seemed to pass by with agonizing slowness, while at the same time it seemed Flex had only taken a single breath before Hok announced, "The Legion is here. Do it. _Now_, Flex."

Flex took a deep bracing breath and pressed down on the orange button.

He waited for screaming alarms to go off.

There was just deafening silence.

"Nothing's happening," Hok growled.

"Try it again," Jagger urged.

"Try the other one," Sabre suggested.

"No," Flex said, firmly, "just wait."

The other three were all about to speak again, voicing their objections to this idea and their bevy of suggestions, when the large durasteel gate began to slide upwards.

Hok realized that while the fortress was probably an ancient structure, the metallic gate certainly was modern technology. The heavy reinforced door slid up quietly utilizing what must have been sort of combination of servos.

Before the gate was even halfway up, the familiar blue and white armored form of Captain Rex rolled underneath it. He sprang to his feet on the other side, slightly off-balance from the knee he favored, but quickly catching himself. His twin blasters were in both hands as he assessed the room for dangers. Moments later, he was followed by trooper after trooper, until the gate room was suddenly filled with clones.

Rex holstered his blasters as he spied the clone sergeant, "Hok."

"Captain," Hok walked over to give his official report, "gate room is secure."

"Well done, Hok."

"Thank you, sir. So far, resistance has been light. But, it's only a matter of time until they figure out we're here."

Rex regarded him steadily, "I'm well aware of that, Sergeant."

Hok cursed himself inwardly.

_Kriff. That was a stupid thing to have said. Somehow, it sounded good in my head._

Rex was still studying him. Hok wanted to squirm, but forced himself to stand absolutely still. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You took a lot of initiative when you scaled that wall, Sergeant," Rex dipped his head once, giving a nod of approval. "Catcher made the right call when he promoted you. You're good officer material."

With that, the 501st Captain Rex pivoted on his heel and began bellowing orders, bringing order to the chaos in the gate room.

Hok stared after him as Sabre, Jag and Flex gathered around him.

"Guess we did, OK, then," Sabre commented, glancing over at Captain Rex.

Hok nodded, "Yes, it seems so."

Sabre leaned on his DC-15x, "So, what now, sir?"

Hok's jaw dropped, "Did you just call me 'sir'?"

"It just slipped out," Sabre admitted, then with a small laugh added in, "is it too late to take it back?"

Hok snorted with laughter, and realized that his relationship now with the squad had changed. But, maybe, they could still all grow as a squad together. He gave Sabre an affectionate smack on the shoulder.

"It's good having you back with us, _Sarge_," Sabre said.

"Oh, is that my new nickname now?"

Sabre shrugged, "Seems to suit you. You did good. Captain Rex is right, about you and leading and all."

Jagger and Flex both nodded in agreement.

Hok felt a new sort of confidence brimming within him at this recognition from his squad. Being praised by Captain Rex was one thing, but somehow this acknowledgement from the brothers in his squad was even more meaningful.

"Are we going to just join up with them now?" Flex nodded his head toward the main force of troopers.

Hok shook his head, "No. We're _scouts_. I think it's time we do some more scouting. Give me a moment." He walked over to Captain Rex.

"Sir?"

"What is it, Hok?"

The clone sergeant quickly pulled up a schematic off of his gauntlet. "When we were passing through this area on the lower level, we passed by here—the area you'd indicate was likely weapons storage. We'd like to investigate it further. It might be worth either sabotaging, or stealing some goodies for our own use."

Rex nodded with approval, "Alright. Just realize that's the first area they're going to go charging for once things get hot. First sign of trouble, get your shebs out of there and join back up with us." He pointed a stern finger at Hok's chest, "No crazy heroics. Understood?"

Hok saluted smartly, "Sir! Yes, sir!"

He walked briskly back over to his squad. The three scouts looked up over at him expectantly.

"Well, what'd he say?" Flex asked.

Hok grinned behind his helmet, "Get ready to move out. We have another mission."

# # #

_Author's Notes: This ends the saga of our scouts for now because I have a backlog of other great scenes with the rest of our heroes. Rest assured that the Fab Four will continue to weave in and out right on through until the end, and we'll definitely find out if they successfully make it to that weapons depot. _

_And, from here on out, things get a bit more… intense. Thus far, our big bad enemy has been nice enough to be sleeping quietly, (for the most part), like a sleeping bear in hibernation. Ah, but we all know what happens when you make the bear angry…_


	97. Chapter 97 I'm coming for you

_A/N: Ah, OK, it was my goal to end this story neatly at Chapter 100, and then start the sequel at Chapter 101. However, it appears that Rex and the clones have other ideas. They are still having such an adventure that they are simply not ready to end their story. So, we are definitely going past 100 chapters, (and, the sequel is already growing like a well-fed Hutt, as well.) As usual, this chapter just grew and grew, so I divided it up into parts to make it more readable. The first part features Rex, Ahsoka and Appo. The second part, Chapter 98, features Cody and crew coming to the planet, plus Catcher's commando team wreaking some havoc. And, alas... much as I wanted to get to the fabulous 'Cody-Rex' scene, just too much other action came first. Rest assured, the big Cody-Rex scene is coming, and will be worth the wait._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?'**

**Chapter 97**

Ahsoka was bored. She just lay in the lab for hours and hours on end staring at the bright white ceiling. OK, granted it was a change from the dull, uneven dark stone of her prison cell, but the yawning boredom was beginning to get to her.

The Kaz'harians had still not discovered that the Force collar around her neck was deactivated. As she lay there, filled with restless energy, the Jedi padawan considered making another attempt at escape.

_I could try to find Appo. We could try to find a ship. We could get help. Or, try to rescue Master. Or, get weapons, and work our way down the dungeons, and try to rescue some of the others…._

But, as the padawan's mind kept swirling with possibilities, she kept coming back to five words spoken in her mind with an unerring conviction: "I am coming for you."

_Force! Why hadn't she tried to contact Rex?_

'_Rex?'_

There was a short pause, then a joyous: _'Ahsoka! Are you OK? Are you safe? Where are you?'_

She could feel his fierce protectiveness coming through, and it filled her with a sense she could not quite describe. Initially, Ahsoka had been frustration by Rex's continual overprotectiveness. She'd thought he did not have confidence in her abilities. But, now she viewed Rex's behavior differently, and had a completely different appreciation for all he did to completely ensure her safety.

'_I'm in the lab.'_

There was a pause, and then, _'Alright, then. Stay there. I'll come to you.'_

Ahsoka puzzled over his words. Then, as the full impact of what he had just said sunk in, '_Wait. Rex. Where exactly are you?'_

'_In the jungle.'_

The Jedi padawan paused, trying to decode that answer, _'The jungle where, Rex?' What planet?'_

A familiar chuckle of amusement filled her mind she felt her whole body react to the sensation like an opening flood of warmth. But, the teasing tone also held an edge of seriousness… a conviction that held the seriousness of a vow.

'_I'm on Darkknell, Ahsoka. I said I would come for you… And, I am here.'_

_# # #_

Appo stared up at the Kaz'harian scientist, who held up a strange looking beaker. Next to him, an imposing looking guard was carrying a menacing club.

The scientist held out the lipped cylindrical glass and began speaking to Appo in rapid Kaz'harian.

The clone commander frowned, and looked over at Barlex, "Uh…what's going on? Could you translate? Afraid I still don't speak much Kaz'harian."

The 212th clone snorted, "I forewarned you, sir. You'd be ask to donate your stuff. I suggest you comply, otherwise there will be unfortunate consequences." Barlex gestured with his head toward the guard wielding the heavy staff. "He will quite happily beat the parts of your anatomy not required for donation. I saw them do it to another brother." The Parjai squad clone shook his head at the memory, and his voice dropped low, "His name was Sands… and, he refused to go along with them…. Sands…he didn't even last ten days."

Appo's eyes narrowed, and the hatred for his captors was plain to see. The scientist uttered several harsh words to him, and waved the container once in front of the clone's face.

The 501st commander eyed the collection container distastefully, with a decidedly uncomfortable look. He looked back and forth between the container and the wooden club, obviously weighing his choices. "Aw, kriff. Can't they just do this with a blood or tissue sample or something? Isn't that what the Kaminoans do?" he hissed to Barlex.

The 212th clone tittered, "I have no idea what it is Jango Fett _donated_, sir. Yet, here we all are. You're going to have to do your part, Commander, just like the rest of us brothers."

The Kaz'harians were carefully watching the conversation between the two clones, letting the more 'seasoned' of the two prisoners explain the procedure. But, it was obvious that they would not remain patient for long.

"Somehow I get the feeling you're enjoying this on some level," Appo grumbled.

Barlex just raised up an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

The scientist looked back and forth between the two clones, then reached forward and released Appo's bindings. The guard slapped his club several times against his fist, making an impressively loud 'thwack' very close to Appo's head.

"Honestly, Commander, why should we care if they try to clone some more frakkin' clones, or Jedi, or whatever?" Barlex grumbled in a low tone, "We're either going to be dead soon, anyway. Or, if we do bust out, you know they're just gonna' make us blow the whole place us up anyway. So, donate your junk rather than getting…" his whole face twisted into a sorrowful, bitter look, "… smashed to death like Sands."

The clone commander shot Barlex an annoyed look, and grabbed the intimidating looking beaker. The Kaz'harian scientist smiled, as he realized his latest clone 'subject' was going to comply without having to be beaten into submission.

Appo stared up at the scientist, the guard, and Barlex, wondering if they all intended on watching him the whole time.

"Do you mind?" the clone commander hissed.

"None of us guys in the 212th have performance issues," Barlex said with a shrug.

"Barlex, I swear, if we ever get out of here, I'm going to-"

The 212th clone just snorted, and rolled over the best he could in his bindings facing away from Appo. He muttered, "I'm not making going to make it out of here alive. Don't concern yourself with that, _sir_."

The scientist stared down at the clone commander, obviously not pleased with the delay. He reached down and forcibly removed the simple drawstring pants they'd placed on the clone, rendering him completely bare.

"Hey!" he objected.

From the next bench over, Barlex shook his head, his back still turned to Appo, and advised, "Don't fight them, Commander," he chided in a sing-song voice, "you're just going to make it worse for yourself. Just do the deed and be done with it."

"How am I suppose to do that with these… things…." he glared up at the Kaz'harians, "…staring at me?"

"It's not that hard-" Barlex started from the next table over, then began laughing softly at his own joke.

"Barlex!" Appo hissed.

"Sorry," he cleared his throat, and began again, his voice slightly muffled since he was facing away, "alright… there has to be somebody that…" he paused, as he considered how to word it, and then just decided to go for broke, "…someone who makes you want to spill yourself in your armor."

Appo sputtered in protest.

"Oh, get over yourself, Commander," Barlex chided from his position, still facing away, "or, you are never going to survive this place. You might as well have them beat you to death now and save me the trouble of having to listen to you."

"Sergeant, you are out of line!" Appo protested.

"Says the Commander locked in a prison lab with his pants around his ankles," Barlex sighed. He rolled over and made direct eye contact with Appo, "You want to survive? Get over your insufferable 501st self, and listen to a fellow brother."

Appo stared at Barlex, opening his mouth to reprimand him, and then stopped, realizing he was right. He gazed up, noticing that the two Kaz'harians were quickly losing patience. The guard was once again smacking the wooden club right by his head.

"Alright, I'm… sorry…. Tell me what to do."

"Close your eyes. Think of whomever it is… the one that you wax your decee to at night. Before you know it, that beaker is full. It helps if you roll over onto your side, and face the wall. You have just enough room to roll, even with the ankle bindings on."

Appo nodded, and shot the 212th clone a grateful look. "Thanks… Barlex."

"Yeah," Barlex shrugged, and rolled back over.

The 501st Commander rolled onto his side as instructed, trying to get a slight bit of privacy. He adjusted the beaker into a strategic position so the Kaz'harians knew he meant to 'comply.' This seemed to satisfy the scientist and the club wielding guard. Both of them backed off a step or two, as they waited for the clone commander to finish producing the genetic material the scientist so desperately wanted.

Appo closed his eyes and thought off the one person in the entire galaxy that made him feel the way that Barlex had just described.

# # #

Ahsoka wondered how Commander Appo was doing. She had not seen him since they were recaptured, and she knew his injuries were severe. Initially, she was concerned that he might not even have survived the brief, but fierce, battle against their captors. But, now, cautiously stretching out with her Force senses, she was able to detect his unique Force signature.

He was alive, which was a great relief, but she could feel his stress levels peaking and his emotions in turmoil. The Jedi padawan focused, sending the clone commander calming energies. She hoped to help provide the brave clone with enough strength to assist him in whatever arduous ordeal he might be undergoing.

She was stunned by the news that Rex was on Darkknell. The 501st Captain had vowed he would come for her, yet the odds of him being able to do so had seemed so impossible.

Yet… here he was. The Jedi padawan struggled, and fidgeted restlessly against her bonds, wondering and worrying what chance he possibly had against the overwhelming number of Kaz'harians.

'_Don't worry_,' Rex had reassured her during their brief communication, '_I didn't come alone.'_

Knowing that Rex was no longer in the Republic Army, a fact that brought a painful clench to her chest, but a reality none the same, made Ahsoka wondering whom he could have possibly brought with him. The 501st and 212th had been captured at Kaz'haria and were here at Darkknell. She'd heard that the rest of the 212th, including Commander Cody, had been killed in a devastating minefield explosion, shortly before the capture of the 501st.

As overjoyed as she was at the prospect of seeing Rex again, she was consumed with fear for his safety. Ahsoka kept seeing scenes from the Battle at Kaz'haria playing through her head again and again. And, certainly, the last time she had seen Rex, he was far from battle-ready.

Certainly, Commander Appo was a skilled and competent commander, and they'd been so thoroughly _beaten_ at Kaz'haria. Maybe these enemies were simply unbeatable. She would rather Rex had stayed where he was, safe and alive, than come here simply to die.

_Perhaps I should break free and find some way to help him, _Ahsoka considered, testing her bindings. She then began concentrating with the Force, seeing if she could figure out how to undo them.

She'd only been tugging at her bonds for a few minutes, when a team of four guards came in, led by a Kaz'harian scientist. The scientist was shorter than most Kaz'harians Ahsoka had seen, and looked decidedly older. He had a tuft of grey hair between his deep, dark eyes, and studied the Jedi for a long moment, pursing his lips thoughtfully. Unlike the standard chest armor, and thick leather pants favored by most of his species, the scientist was dressed simply in a lab coat and pants of a thin, light material. He did not appear as if he spent a great deal of time fighting, like the others of his species. The grey-haired scientist pulled a probe from his pocket and without preamble quickly and efficiently plunged into the young padawan's arm, drawing out a blood sample.

"Hey!" Ahsoka protested, the sharp sting taking her by surprise. One of the guards stepped closer, towering over her, daring her to say anything further. The padawan just rolled her eyes.

_As if I could do anything anyway, trussed up like I am. Well, actually, I could, considering this collar is deactivated, but they don't know that…_

So, she just lay back, patiently, kept her mouth shut, and watched everything that was going on.

The older Kaz'harian pulled an analyzer tool out of another deep pocket, and inserted the blood sample into it. He studied the results, and then grunted with satisfaction, giving the padawan a long, speculative look.

"What? Decided I'm good breeding stock, then?" Ahsoka muttered under her breath.

The scientist signaled to the four guards, and they unstrapped the Jedi padawan from her bindings. Much as she wanted to use this as an opportunity to start teaching these simians some manners, she had promised Rex she would stay in the lab.

_Fine,_ she heaved out a sigh, and allowed herself to be dragged away.

"Where are we going anyway?" she asked, looking up at her captors as she was dragged from the room. She briefly panicked, realizing she was leaving the area she knew as 'the lab.'

One of the guards looked down at her, and uttered some harsh words in Kaz'harian.

"Huh, I don't know what that means," Ahsoka muttered, talking to herself to keep herself calm as he was dragged away, "but, I take it that did not mean we are all now gonna' meditate together, huh?"

Deciding to just bide her time and see where it was she was being taken, the Jedi remained limp and allowed the guards to pull her away from the lab.

# # #

Appo kept his eyes closed as he felt himself explode, trying to maintain the illusion he'd created for himself in his mind. He was _not_ locked in a lab being observed doing something totally humiliating in front of the enemy. Mmmm… he'd just shared an amazing experience both giving and receiving pleasure. And, he'd so pleased his partner that she had rewarded him by locking her beautiful lips around his shaft, sliding back and forth, until she'd brought him the ultimate pleasure. And, now, she was smiling up at him, murmuring 'Appo' in rich, sultry tones-

The clone commander felt the glass lipped container get ripped roughly from his hands, rudely pulling him from the slight haze he was in. His eyes flew open just in time to see the back of the departing Kaz'harian scientist, beaker in hand. The clone commander stared down at himself, noticing that his body was still 'ready for action.'

"Kriffin' Fett genes," he grumbled under his breath, trying to get his body to relax. Appo stared down. _ No good. Still hard as duracrete._ He reached a hand down to tug up the simple drawstring cotton pants and cover himself. But, his hand was ripped roughly away.

The clone commander looked up in alarm to see the large dark eyes of the Kaz'harian guard. The enormous simian stared down at Appo's glistening erect member with amusement, and to the commander's horror, a look that almost appeared to be _interest_.

'_No! No! No! No! No!' _ Appo's mind rebelled, _this is not happening!_

The large guard pinned the clone commander's hands and strapped them back down to the bindings. He began to struggle in earnest, but to no avail, he could not break himself free.

The guard just stared down at him in amusement, watching his struggles.

From the other bed, Barlex commented, "Relax, Commander. You're just going to make things harder on yourself."

"Relax?" Appo could hear his voice rise up slightly as he stared up nervously at the huge guard, and then down at his exposed body.

"Yeah. You could really hurt yourself twisting around in your bindings like that."

"How the frak am I supposed to relax when-" Appo protested.

The Kaz'harian guard simply gave the clone commander one last amused look, including a last gaze down at his exposed regions, and then walked away.

Appo stared after him, and then sagged in relief.

"Aw, kriff," the clone commander muttered, so relieved he felt like passing out. Then, he stared down, and realized that his pants were still down around his ankles. "I suppose they're just going to leave me like this."

Barlex gave his characteristic snort, a sound Appo had now come to associate with the clone, "Your comfort and dignity is of no concern to them. To be honest, I'm not sure why they bother putting clothes on us in the first place."

Appo glared at him, "There's a comforting thought."

"Just being realistic, Commander. Considering what we are here for."

The clone commander let his head sink back into the thin piece of durafoam that passed for a 'pillow.' He breathed out a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I almost thought that the guard was going to… uh…." he gulped, and stopped, not quite able to finish.

"Rape you?" Barlex supplied, having no problems saying the difficult words.

"Yeah," Appo confessed.

"Not out of the question."

"What?" Appo almost bolted upright in his bindings, but his movement was cut short and he gasped in pain as the material tugged and cut at him.

"It hasn't happened to me… yet," Barlex supplied, his voice turning dark. "But, the clones, when they disappear from here, I hear screams. Terrible screams. Our species aren't too far off. Sure, they're _bigger_ than us, but that doesn't mean they can't-"

"Enough!" Appo shouted out the word in his command tone, making it clear he didn't want to hear more.

And, for once, the 212th clone did actually have nothing else to say. Appo was left alone with his thoughts. All he could think of was if he didn't figure out a way to escape, he was doomed to a most horrific death. Suddenly, getting beaten to death, like Sands, did not seem so horrific, considering the alternative. Barlex's surly indignation began to make more sense, as Appo suddenly got a true understanding of all that the clone had seen and endured over the past ten days. A cold shudder passed through his body that had nothing to do with his near nakedness, or the always cool temperature of the sterile, white lab. A sense of deep hopelessness began to pervade him, and he tried not to think of the look the guard had given him, or think of the description Barlex had given of his brothers' screams.

And, to make it even worse, his life would have been meaningless, because in the end, he had failed to protect the commander.

# # #

Ahsoka let her body go limp and allowed the guards to drag her body forward.

_No sense in incurring any damage unnecessarily. I'll save my energies for later… for when I can help Rex._

She knew it was more of her Master's style to fight at every opportunity, even if it meant getting beaten or shocked senseless. But, Ahsoka thought it might be wiser to pretend to cooperate and conserve her energies for later.

She was pulled out the door of the lab she was in.

_Where are we going?_

Her sensitive Jedi hearing briefly detected what she thought were perhaps a few odd mewling cries of some sort of small creatures. Before she could investigate further, or look around her surroundings, she was harshly strung up to the wall. The collar was removed from her neck, much to her disappointment, since that was her one advantage over her captors.

_Why are they removing the Force collar? What now?_

She looked to her left, and saw the limp form of Anakin Skywalker.

"Master!"

To the right, hung the equally limp form of Obi Wan Kenobi.

"Master Kenobi!"

She immediately began struggling against her bonds, determined to free herself and help the two fallen Masters. But, it quickly became apparent why her Force collar had been removed, and why the two Masters were not wearing the bulky collars. She felt a prickly sensation and all of a sudden she felt a draining sensation.

"A force suppressing field!" she realized with a horrified gasp.

The insidious fields were even worse than the Force restraining collars, and explained why the two Jedi Masters were in such a deplorable state. Prolonged exposure to such a field was deadly to a Jedi. There was no chance she would be able to escape using her Jedi powers now. Her only hope now lay in Rex.

# # #

Rex moved quietly through the lower levels of the Kaz'harian complex, at the head of a long line of troopers. He glanced back and then ahead, his ears alert for any noise. He knew that anytime their presence could be detected and he could expect a full-on engagement with the Kaz'harians.

He was hoping to make his way to the lab, and remove the prisoners, before their first major incursion with the Kaz'harians. They still had to pass through the second level of the fortress, where the main bulk of the enemy forces lay. He was counting on Catcher's commando squad to provide a key series of 'distractions.'

Thinking back to some of the trouble he and Travis had gotten themselves into at Kamino, this sort of 'distraction behavior' should prove second-nature for the sometimes quarrelsome Marine.

Once Rex's team had taken the labs, they would circle around and attack the main Kaz'harian forces from behind. It all looked good on flimsi, but well, as Rex knew from his many engagements with Skywalker, the best laid plans on flimsy tended to oft go awry.

At the moment, the clone Captain was just intently focused on making it to the labs. They'd decided that once they'd subdued the main force of Kaz'harians, they would free the prisoners in the dungeons as a final stage of the attack. It would be difficult to fight in the closed quarters of the dungeons, so they'd decided it would be best to do the bulk of the fighting away from the dungeons. Travis and Rex had not mentioned to the others about the 'vision' or the foreknowledge they had of the dungeons. They just were insistent that it was best to keep the fighting away from prison cells, and once the enemy was defeated, they would free the trapped forces.

"Catcher, what's your status?" Rex asked, calmly and evenly, through his comm, as he led his troops through the dimly lit corridors.

"Finishing up on the hillside, Captain. We're about to head inside. Looks like we'll have more than enough ships to choose from. Don't think we'll have any problems evacuating the troops. The Kaz'harians have a substantial fleet."

"Good to hear."

"Torch actually suggested we could strategically plant a few explosives in the hangar area. Could make a good distraction. Some of these ships are _big_. They'd make a heck of a bang when they go. We were just discussing the range of our detonators."

Rex blinked in surprise, impressed that the reticent Marine had started to offer up suggestions to his team.

"It's an excellent idea, actually. But, unfortunately, we're too pressed for time. I need your team inside, planting explosives in the areas we discussed. Time to wake these guys up. I have to move my team through and get them up to the lab."

Catcher gave a short laugh, but there was little humor behind it, "You sure you want to wake them up? One thing I remember clearly from my last visit is that they're most unpleasant when angry."

"You would know better than anyone, Catcher. But, it's time. Start planting those explosives, and began drawing them out your way. Good luck."

"Luck? We're just trying to draw the entire Kaz'harian Force down upon us. What would we need luck for?" Catcher scoffed.

Rex shook his head, thinking the ARC Captain was starting to remind him a bit of Fives with his emerging cheekiness. The thought gave him a sharp pang, and he wondered where the venerable ARC had ended up. He pushed the thoughts aside.

"Be careful, Catcher," Rex said, all seriousness in his tone, "we'll be right behind you, as soon as we get the prisoners out of the lab."

"Sure, sure. We'll see you soon, Captain," Catcher said, "Getting ready to plant the first bomb now. Keep yourselves a bit hidden, because you can expect the Kazzies to be waking up soon."

"We'll stay on the lower levels for now," Rex said.

"And, we're headed _toward_ those Kazzies," Catcher said. "with lots and lots of explosives."

_# # #_

_Author's Notes: So, just like with Laloga, writing battle scenes is not my forte. However, I've been reading numerous articles online such as: 'How to write epic battle scenes!' One helpful article suggested created a map of your battle site, which I did, and another suggested making a little diorama with figurines, (like in the war movies.) I haven't one that yet, but if I get desperate, I might start acting things out with my son's Lego mini figures. Because the Star Wars universe is an ancient one, the people who live there make use of things that have been there from times long ago. The Kaz'harians are using a huge old facility that has been there since the time of their ancestors, (much like the B'omarr monastery on Teth.) The lowest levels of the facilities contain the prison cells/dungeons. The ground level/"lower level" contains the gate room, and on the backside, the morgue. The second level contains the living quarters/cantina, with a hallway that forks off into weapons storage. The highest level contains more storage, and the look-out points for the sentries, which is where the scouts initially gained access. The hangar area containing the ships is external to the rest of the structure, since there were no space-faring ships when the ancient fortress was first built._

_# # #_


	98. Chapter 98 Explosions in the Fortress

_Author's Notes: This was a most enjoyable chapter to work on. Lots of fun dialogue between the commando team as they run about the fortress blowing things up. Much of this dialogue provides hints of things that will come later on in the story, and also in the sequel. Blaze drops some hints of things that happened to him during his two months back in Ando. These events will be elaborated more on in detail later on. We also get some fun in the cockpit with Cody and the gang, (sounds like a band, if I ever heard one), plus a rousing speech from Cody. Enjoy._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

Chapter 98

The commando team moved away from where they'd been hidden in the jungle above the hangar, quietly observing.

"I still say we need to steal that PLY 5000."

"It's a kriffin' luxury yacht, Travis," Catcher argued, from his position beside the Marine. He stumbled on an oversized Dbergo tree root. Travis instinctively reached out and steadied his fellow clone.

"Thanks," the ARC Captain said, gruffly, annoyed with himself that he needed the extra help.

The Marine shrugged off the thanks, and kept talking, more interested in the topic of luxury yachts, "Yes… but, it would be the perfect addition for our new Andoan fleet. I've been putting a lot of thought into this… We are going to need _ships_ if we're to get the economy going again." He waved a gauntleted hand toward the larger ships arrayed in the hangar below them as they continued to pass by on the ridge above, well-concealed by the ample jungle foliage, "We can't go from planet-to-planet trading in _troop transports_."

"And, what's wrong with the ship we have now?" Catcher countered, as they continued to move along the ridge, "the pirate raider? You worked on it yourself."

"Nothing. She's a great ship. We need to think on a bigger scale. We need to think about the future. This is about _vision_, Catcher."

"Fine. You've made your point. But, a kriffin' yacht? Can't you have your _vision _without a kriffin' yacht?"

"Don't let the sleek lines fool you. It's fully armored, has two heavy laser canons, two hangar bays, and can carry three fighters-"

"We don't _have_ three fighters," the ARC Captain argued.

"Not yet," Travis countered. "But, we're not done raiding their fleet yet either, are we? You need to _think_ more like a pirate."

"And, I think spending too much time on a pirate raider has addled your brains," Catcher grumbled.

"Lieutenant Travis actually has a good point," Viper chimed in. "A ship of that class has ray shielding."

"No one would likely expect a group of renegade clones to be traveling around in a ship of that class," Blaze contributed, backing up Viper, as usual.

"Holds a crew complement of thirty," Dart added in. "Sounds ideal to be me for trading missions."

"And, if I'm not mistaken, amongst its' luxury features is a fancy medbay with a bacta tank," Lance added, thoughtfully, "We could use more than one tank, but that's one more tank than what we have now."

Catcher threw up his one-free hand, the one not holding his crutch, in exasperation. "Do the entire lot of you spend all your free time studying luxury ship specs?"

"Well, a clone has to dream about something in his free time," Travis' voice took on an almost dreamlike quality, "not like one thinks of cruising the galaxy in an LA-TE someday, you know?"

The rest of the team started laughing at that comment, and were just about to launch back into a discussion of luxury ship specs when Catcher intervened. He emitted a growl from the back of his throat, "Can we discuss this more later? We're at our first drop point."

"Yes, of course… but, we're considering it, right?" Travis prompted.

"Yes, fine!" Catcher acquiesced, "now, you Marines get your shebs across the water and start wiring."

The entire team had taken cover behind a crumbling stonewall directly across from the fortress. Orbital scans had confirmed the hand-drawn sketches of the facility done by Captain Rex, and the easily identifiable heat signature that identified the fortress morgue.

Travis scowled as he stared across the rushing stream of water. Rex hadn't 'shared' the vision his Jedi girlfriend had provided with regards to the morgue portion of the facility, but obviously his information had proved accurate. The scans had revealed the external features, such as the stream outside, which they'd guessed was used to flush away ashes. Based upon this revealing feature, they knew there had to be some sort of access hatch or doorway.

"Ah, the morgue," Travis grumbled as he double-checked the supplies on his belt pouch, "we seriously want to place explosives at the morgue?"

"What does it matter?" Catcher countered, resisting the urge to give the clone a shove to hurry him up when he had explosives in hand, "those within are beyond caring."

"True… Just seems a bit… grim," Travis pulled out det tape, detonite, wiring, and a detonator and looked it all over quickly.

"Have you ever been to a cheerful morgue?"

Travis shook his head, and replaced everything in his belt pouch, "Nope. Clones don't burn their dead. Jedi do. Weird custom, you know?"

Catcher heaved out a sighed, "Yes, well, I've never pretended to understand Jedi. Bly called them a bunch of... ah... never mind. You done?"

"Yup," Travis said, cheerfully, patting his belt pouch fondly, "pirates left us enough dets to blow this fortress three times over. Too bad we killed them. I'm really beginning to like them."

Catcher shook his head, and waved to the other Marine, "Torch, give him a hand, before he talk us all to death."

The two Marines moved out side-by-side from behind the rock wall together. One-by-one, they leapt across the water, and carefully balanced on a small lip of land on the edge of the stream. The two Marines squatted side-by-side in the tiny space, and efficiently began wiring the explosives by the nearly hidden door.

"How's it going?" Catcher prompted.

"Just wrapping the detonite," Travis advised, holding the charge in place and carefully handing a roll of tape over to Torch. "Det tape is tricky stuff, Captain."

His voice lowered a bit in both volume and octave as he watched Torch work. "Use too little and your charge won't go off…. Use too much and uh…." he stopped speaking, and moved his thumb out of the way, so his fellow Marine could wrap the tape around the charge fully.

"Yeah, I get it," Catcher said, adjusting his body as he leaned up against the rock, watching the two Marines work.

"OK, that should do it," Travis said, leaning back, and breathing a short sigh of relief. He straightened up, and frowned at the closed door right next to him. "What if we blow the furnace?"

"No," Catcher said into the comm, "this should be just powerful enough to get us in. The ash still has to cool before they can dump it… I think we're still a fair distance from the furnace. We'll be fine… I think."

"That's an awful lot of 'I thinks'," Travis grumbled.

"Fine. When you see the fiery furnace come flying at your shabla head, dive into the kriffin' stream. Happy?" the ARC Captain's voice betrayed his exasperation.

Torch snorted with laughter.

The rest of the team looked at the normally quiet Marine with surprise. He just shrugged, handed the det tape back to Travis, and leapt back across the stream. He returned to his place by Dart's side. Travis' followed a half-second behind, and took his place next to Catcher.

"Whenever you're ready, Travis," Catcher said, with a nod.

The Marine Lieutenant pulled a detonator from his belt pouch, double-checked it, and signaled to the rest of the team. Everyone ducked down into a defensive crouch. Travis flicked the switch with his thumb. There was a brief delay, in which nothing happened, and then a dull 'thud' followed by the whistling sound of raining debris. The small chunks of fortress wall that rained down around them pelted harmlessly off their armor, and plinked down onto the ground. Ash blew all over, temporarily creating a dark cloud around them, and smearing their white armor a smeary sooty color.

Torch was furthest to the end, and the first to unfurl and look around the stonewall.

"Clear," he declared in his rough, rarely used voice. Even his burgundy maroon armor now looked a deep blood red with sooty ash settled into every crevice.

The entire team of commandos untucked from their defensive position behind the wall, and peered up toward the morgue. The steel door now contained a gaping, still smoking hole.

"Move! Move! Move!" Catcher directed, waving the team on, his arm movements creating swirls of movements in the ash-stricken air.

Viper and Blaze ran in first, DC-17ms in hand, ready to take out any Kaz'harians who might be working the night shift in the morgue. The rest of the clones swiftly leapt over in swift succession. Torch grabbed Dart by his utility belt as they leapt across the ash-covered stream, ensuring that the ARC kept his balance.

"Thanks, vod," Dart said, quietly, surprised by the unexpected kindness, since he'd never once mentioned to the Marine about the blaster shot that had caused permanent damage to his hip.

Torch just gave a curt nod, and then moved on, brandishing his DC-15A rifle, and running swiftly on to support Viper and Blaze.

Travis peered down at the ash-slicken ground, then looked over at Catcher and his mechanical legs.

"I know what you're thinking," the ARC Captain grumbled, staring at the water, "go on. I'll be fine."

Travis shook his head in refusal, "Nope. Not leaving you. We're crossing together."

Before Catcher could argue further, Travis threw one of his arms over his shoulders.

"Ready?" the Marine said. "Best if we get a bit of a running start…" Using his momentum, he propelled both of them over the rapidly rushing stream. Thrown off by the weight of the other man, they both ended up falling on the other side into the blast rubble and started sliding backwards toward the water.

A pair of arms reached down and grabbed onto them, preventing them from slipping into the rapidly moving waterway.

Travis looked up, "Lance."

The medic helped haul both of the clones to their feet. "You two, OK?"

Travis nodded, brushing himself off quickly, and then decided his armor was so dirty at this point, it didn't matter anyway. He looked over at Catcher, "You, OK?"

The ARC Captain blew out an irritated sigh, "Yes, I'm fine. Let's go."

The medic disappeared back into the morgue.

Catcher drew his blaster with one hand, and had his crutch in the other hand. However, the rubble-strewn entrance presented more of a challenge for the ARC with his mechanical legs. Travis assisted Catcher over the rough uneven ledge, pulling his mechanical legs through.

As they made it through to the smoky interior on the other side, Catcher caught Travis' arm, "Thank you."

"Yeah, I've got your back, OK?" the Marine shrugged, peering ahead, but refusing to move more than a few steps away from the ARC.

A shadowy form appeared directly ahead of them and the two clones drew their blasters in one smooth simultaneous move.

"Hold!" Catcher said, reading the signature on his HUD, "it's Lance."

Crunching forward on the ash and debris strewn path under their feet, the medic stepped forward. "We dispatched the night crew in here. But, Viper and Blaze said to move your shebs. They're expecting a whole mess of angry Kazzies to descend upon this place any micro-second."

Catcher was having difficulties moving on the slick, ash-covered pathway.

Lance and Travis exchanged a look between them that needed no translation, even with visors in place.

"Hey!" Catcher protested, as he was hauled into the air. Travis slung Catcher's free arm over his shoulder. Lance grabbed Catcher's crutch, and tucked into the back of the ARC's belt. He threw the Captain's other arm over his shoulder, and together they quickly lifted the protesting clone between them and carried him over the slippery, debris-strewn terrain. "You can't just carry me like I'm a sack of Oorp!"

Lance gave him a quizzical look, "Oorp? Seriously? What would you know about Oorp?"

Catcher paused, his protests forgotten for the moment as he considered the question, "Well… Ashla mentioned Oorp. She said if we ever ended up… uh… that is…" He shook his head with annoyance, "Forget I mentioned it."

Lance snorted.

Travis took a sudden interest in the conversation, "Wait! I'm missing something! What is this Oorp? I've never heard of it."

They cleared the entrance of the morgue. Viper and Blaze were waiting for them, desperately waving them on.

"Hurry up," Viper hissed, "are you _trying_ to get us killed?"

Blaze had already dropped to one knee and was pointing his rifle down the corridor. The sound of many pairs of heavy stomping feet could be heard running at a brisk, militarized pace toward them.

"Our distraction has worked all too well," Viper said, "the Kaz'harians are on their way." The rest of the clone team passed by, and then he tapped Blaze on the shoulder, and the commandos turned and ran. The entire team of clones had just cleared the corridor and taken cover, when a huge contingent of Kaz'harians burst upon the scene. They crossed over in a corridor diagonally opposite and went sprinting on heavy feet toward the direction of the morgue.

As they watched from the safety of the second corridor, Catcher asked, "Torch, are all the explosives in place in the morgue?"

"Yes, sir," the Marine nodded, sounding like he was positively grinning behind his helmet. He held up a small detonator.

"Whenever you are ready, then," the ARC Captain advised.

They watched the last of the Kaz'harians run into the morgue, and then as one, they all tucked into a defensive pose once again. With a smooth practiced flick of his thumb, Torch activated the detonator.

This second explosion was a little louder than the first, since it echoed within the hallways of the fortress. Plus, it contained the piercing cries of many different Kaz'harians all crying out at once in shock and pain as they were blasted within the confined space of a single room.

This time, the team was situated at such an angle that no pieces of debris rained down around them. "That should buy the Captain some time," Travis said, as he and Lance hauled Catcher back up.

"Well, then, you can set me back down now," Catcher stated.

"Actually, we're behind schedule," Travis said, pulling up statistical info in his HUD and checking it quickly. "We still have a number of explosives to set. After the _next_ drop point, we can set you down." He gave the ARC Captain a questioning look, "Unless you're specifically making it an order?"

"Frak," Catcher blew out an exasperated sigh. He knew there was no way he could keep pace with how fast they were currently moving.

Travis shrugged, "Alright, I'll take that as consent to haul your shebs, then. Just until the next drop point." He lifted up Catcher, and nodded to Lance who did the same on the other side.

"So, getting back to this Oorp," Travis said to Lance, as they ran, "what exactly is it?" His voice was slightly winded from the exertion of running, and carrying the added weight of his brother.

Lance looked over at him across Catcher, "Apparently, pregnant women crave this food." He laughed fondly, and then said, "Rose told me that-"

"Rose?" Catcher and Travis both immediately questioned together.

Catcher temporarily forgot his annoyance at being hauled around like a piece of space freight, now that there was a good piece of clone gossip.

Lance hesitated.

"Hey," Catcher objected, "if you two can give me grief, then you have to spill your secrets. Lance, who is this 'Rose'?'"

Torch turned his helmeted head, and shot back over his shoulder, "Rose is… Lance's girlfriend. Her full… name is Jade Rose. He sees… her _all_ the time." The Marine's speech was still slightly stilted, but definitely improving the more he spoke.

The entire team turned and stared at Torch. It was the most they'd ever heard the Marine speak.

"Wait! You've been seeing somebody, and you told kriffin' _Torch_, and nobody else?" Travis sputtered.

"I'm not …_'kriffin' Torch',_" grumbled the second Marine in his deep baritone.

Lance cursed, "I don't see why my personal life has to be shared with the entire shabla legion."

Catcher snorted, "That's 'cause there _are_ no secrets in _this_ shabla Legion. You told _Torch_."

"Hey," Torch objected, "right here… you know."

"I sat with Torch for many hours during his recovery," Lance explained. "He's a good listener."

"Did he have any choice in the matter? He had a _head_ injury," Travis pointed out.

"Hey! _Still_ right… here," Torch grumbled, glancing back and shooting the three an annoyed look, tired of being talked about in the third person.

"Sorry, vode." Travis said to Torch, then turned his attention back to Lance, "Hang on… why were you and Rose talking about Oorp?"

Viper held up a hand to halt the team, and the two Republic commandos walked back to the others. Their steps were precise and crisp. Viper shook his head, "If you ladies are done discussing gestation vat issues, we've reached the next det point."

Lance and Travis set Catcher down and the three men shot the two Republic Commandos a _look_.

"Women," Blaze grumbled, shaking a gloved hand in the direction of the other three, "nothing but trouble. The Kaminoans had the right idea… just _clone_ us and be done with it." He checked the charge on his rifle, then swapped out the clip, and replaced it with a resounding 'click.' "We're better off without the miserable lot of them." His voice betrayed his absolute disgust. He nodded to Viper, and the two pivoted around, perfectly synchronized as usual, and walked to the end of the corridor.

Coordinating with hand signals, the two Republic commandos panned out and took defensive poses, guarding over the others as they set the next set of charges. Down the corridor, Torch and Travis worked together quickly setting down detonite and wrapping it with it efficiency that bespoke of having been trained in the actions many times before.

"Kriff! What's with Blaze?" Travis grumbled, under his breath, double-checking the tightness of the det tape.

"Trouble… with women," Torch said, simply, with a casual lift of his shoulders.

"Women? As in women, _plural_? Wait! There was more than one? What do you know?" Travis hissed under his breath, as he ran a wire for the detonator.

Torch shook his head, and focused on the explosive, and Travis gritted his teeth in frustration.

"You can be very frustrating sometimes," Travis complained. "You're like the kriffin' holonet. Giving just enough information to tease, but not enough to be actually useful."

The other Marine glanced up at Travis, and grinned.

"Huh. You have a sense of humor. I never would have suspected it," Travis said, shaking his head with a sense of wonder as they finished setting the explosive.

Catcher quickly pulled up a 3-D holographic map display on his wrist. "Just a reminder, we need a longer timer this time to keep the Kazzies away from where the rest of the Legion is headed."

The two Marines looked up and nodded in unison.

Travis tapped the detonator, and called over to Catcher, "Charge is set."

They pulled back and rejoined the rest of the team.

"Alright, let's go." Catcher immediately began setting down the corridor at a fast clip before Travis and Lance could get the idea he was too slow and yank him back off his feet again. To his immense relief, the rest of the team let him move under his own power. He concentrated on keeping his movements smooth so that he could maximize his speed with his mechanical legs.

He could hear Travis muttering in low tones to Torch, and caught just snatches of their conversation. "Come on vod, tell me what you know… Keep it between us Marines…"

Catcher rolled his eyes behind his helmet, and ignored the two of them. He let out a deep breath, and realized it was much easier being here in the Kaz'harian stronghold with vode than it had been when he'd been a single operative tackling it alone. Hearing the voices of his brothers around him was soothing, and the team was performing exceptionally well. Catcher felt like the only weak link in the team was… him. If he stumbled and fell now, the others would likely hoist him back up again in order to keep him from holding the team back. The words '_failed experiment_' nagged at him.

_I am not a defective clone_, Catcher grumbled to himself, as he struggled to keep up with the rest of the team. _I can do this. _He focused on his pacing, and everything he'd learned during his weeks of physical therapy on Ando. He stared determinedly ahead at the rest of his team, as inspiration, thinking how each member of the team had conquered their own challenges. Every one of them had been rejected by the GAR, and sent to be disposed of at Kamino.

_We will prove them all wrong when their 'throw away clones' rescue the two finest legions in the GAR._

# # #

Cody's gaze wandered toward the refresher door, which remained stubbornly shut. The sounds of crying had stopped, and the cabin was now eerily silent.

Kix's eyes sought out the clone commander's, "Should I… go check on her, sir?"

Cody nodded, and then rose up to go check in with Fives and Echo. Not that anything had probably changed since he'd walked up there a few minutes before, but he didn't want it to appear as if he was just sitting there, waiting for the Jedi to make an appearance.

He heard Kix talking in low tones, and then the slight hiss of the refresher door opening. Cody intentionally resisted the temptation of spinning around, and kept his gaze fixed out at the stars visible streaking by in hyperspace.

"Status, Fives?" Cody said, in his most commanding tone.

Fives quirked an eyebrow, but straightened his shoulders and immediately responded, "We're two hours out from Darkknell, Commander." He resisted adding in 'just like I told you a minute ago, sir.'

"Sir," Echo began, "I need to …use the refresher. Could you watch my station?"

Cody's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he nodded. As the third ARC onboard, he was certainly qualified to pilot.

Echo nodded his head in gratitude, and slid from his seat, hurrying toward the back.

Once Cody settled into the co-pilot's chair, Fives leaned his head in close to the clone commander and boldly asked, "Sir, _what_ are you doing?"

"Excuse me?" Cody blinked, in surprise, and stared at the unconventional ARC from the 501st.

"Why are you _hiding_ up here with us rather than back there trying to work things out with Commander Offee?"

"I'm not _hiding_," Cody said, defensively, staring down at the control panel, and refusing to meet Fives' gaze.

"Fine. Then, you don't mind if I call the other commander up here right now and-"

"No," Cody immediately protested, then quickly added, "there's _nothing _to work out." He couldn't quite keep the annoyed edge out of his voice.

Fives snorted, raising up a skeptical eyebrow, "Oh, really? It didn't sound that way to me when you two were in the galley-"

"Lieutenant Fives, you are _out_ of line-"

"OK, OK," Fives put up his hands in submission, "Hey, I am just trying to help."

"I don't _need_ your help."

Fives raised up a skeptical eyebrow, "Says the person who'd rather be up here, than back there? You've never exactly enjoyed my company before, Commander."

"Let's make it clear, I _still_ don't. Can we change the subject?"

Rather than be offended, Fives burst out laughing. "Fine."

Cody glanced back over his shoulder and looked puzzled, "Does Echo always take this long in the refresher?"

Fives shrugged, "Yes, well, that depends upon what he is _doing_ in there."

"Doing?"

"You don't exactly always just drink caf in the galley, now, do you?"

Cody scowled, and was silent.

Fives leaned back, checked his chrono, and cracked his knuckles. "When Echo is done in there, I think I'd like a go. We still have enough time before Darkknell. Do you mind covering for me-"

Cody stared the other officer down, "Seriously, Fives?"

"Yes, well, Captain Rex always allotted us…" Fives voice trailed off. He turned his head away for a moment, and then met Cody's brown eyes with his own. "I'm sorry, Commander. That was inconsiderate of me. I didn't mean to compare you to Captain Rex."

Cody gave the ARC a speculative look. "It's alright, Fives. I suppose I should be flattered by the comparison. Rex… he was one of the best."

Fives gave a slow nod of respect, "That he was, sir."

The two clone officers were both silent, then, pausing in their combined reflections for their fallen friend.

Echo suddenly reappeared, breaking the moment, looking slightly flushed and considerably cheerier, "I'm back! What did I miss?"

Cody just made a dismissive hand gesture that meant 'nothing.' He took a long speculative glance at Echo, noticed his complexion and shook his head. Then, he blew out a resigned sigh, "Fine. Go on, Fives."

Fives slid out from the pilot's chair, "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. I'll be quick." He hurried toward the direction of the refresher.

"Quick?" Echo grumbled from the co-pilot's chair, "he always is at that."

Cody found piloting next to Echo to be a different experience than sitting next to Fives. Rather than plague him with questions about his personal life, the other 501st ARC pulled up data about Darkknell. He freely shared the information with the 212th Commander, pointing out important and relevant features. Cody actually found himself enjoying the conversation, and was impressed with the keen insights provided by Echo. He was somewhat startled when Fives suddenly reappeared to claim his seat.

"I'm back. Thank you, sir," Fives gave the clone commander a cheerful smile, and rested a hand on Cody's shoulder pauldron, looking over his shoulder into the starscape.

Cody peered up at his pauldron, scowling fiercely, giving Fives' hand a most disdainful look.

"Actually, sir, we'll be coming out of hyperspace near Darkknell soon," Echo pointed out, drawing his attention away from Fives.

Cody looked over to Echo, and then quickly rose, "Right. I want to provide the others with a short briefing before we landed. You may want to listen in as well."

Fives and Echo nodded in acknowledgement as Cody left the cockpit. He headed back toward the main compartment of the RTT. Trapper and Hawkeye began to shift over to make room for him, but he put up a hand to still their motions.

"I'll stand for the moment," he said. All eyes turned toward him, including the pair of eyes he'd just spend the better part of an hour trying to avoid.

Cody knew he'd need to work with Barriss for the rest of this mission, so there'd be no avoiding her from here on out. The clone commander gazed upon every member of the team, dispersed upon the two benches, Jesse, Denal, Kix, Trapper, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Wooley, Waxer, Boil, and, then, lastly made eye contact with the deep blue eyes of the Mirilian Jedi commander. He didn't linger and let his gaze pass over her as swiftly as he could before he could get distracted, trying to avoid taking in any details, such as the fact that her eyes looked red and bloodshot, as if she had been crying.

"We'll be landing soon at Darkknell," Cody began. "We've all been over our plans, preliminary as they are. We don't know much about what to expect down there, other than the research Echo and Fives were able to uncover from the scattered reports of this ARC Captain Catcher. But, we do know that they have our Generals- Kenobi…" he met the eyes of the 212th team members, "… and Unduli," Cody finally made eye contact again with Barriss, and saw a ripple of emotion pass through her at the mention of her missing Master. "We also know that at the Battle of Kaz'hariah they almost succeeded in wiping out a good portion of the 212th Attack Battalion." He made eye contact with the surviving members of the minefield explosion. "But, they did not succeed, and we are here to reclaim our brothers." Cody turned toward the members of the 501st, "And, from the 501st, they took your both your General and your Commander, along with many of your brothers. I cannot guarantee we will be successful today in what we are trying to do, but, it is time we avenge what was done to us that day at Kaz'hariah." His voice rang clear with conviction, and there was an underlying tone of anger reflecting the devastating losses suffered during the battle.

A ripple of ascent went through the gathered clones, although Barriss' face furrowed up into a frown. Cody knew that 'revenge' was not the Jedi way. However, clone ways were not so complex as the Jedi. He had finally reached the point where he was tired of the complex rules that hobbled and hindered the Jedi order.

It was time to simplify things. They were here to free their brothers. And, they were here for vengeance. They had been born and bred to fight. And, fight they would.

Cody felt a ripple of satisfaction assuage through him as his brothers collectively gave a deep-throated rallying battle cry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Barriss go completely pale. But, he blocked her out. This was the way it ought to be. No Jedi calling the shots. Clones directing the battles. This was the natural order of things. If the battle today was a victory, it would be because the clones had made it so.

# # #


	99. Chapter 99 The Kaz'harians Strike Back

_Revised: July 15, 2013._

_A/N: Things get more serious from here on out, and I did warn that we were going to start losing some characters. So, I'm just saying… _

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 99**

"Well, this is not going nearly as well as we had planned," Viper commented wryly, from where the team was currently pinned down behind a low stonewall. He burst up to shoot a barrage of shots, then immediately dove down as an answering wall of flame swooshed by right over his head.

Blaze reloaded, and got ready to take his turn rising up to shoot, "Maybe that's because nobody let the Kazzies in on the plan," he commented wryly to his brother, and glanced up. The latest wall of flame had stopped. He rose up and let off a quick burst of shots. Viper yanked his brother back down before another wall of flame succeeded in roaring into his head.

From his position next to the commandos, Travis commented, "I think they're just mad because we keep lighting bombs up underneath them. His hands deftly worked at wrapping det tape and detonite. As he finished the charge, he handed it over to Torch, who meticulously double-checked his work and then began preparing a detonator.

"I think they're mad because we blew up the morgue," Blaze commented, waving a vague hand toward the structure on the other side of the wall.

The team was currently back behind the same stonewall where they'd initially started out their journey of destruction. They were keeping the Kaz'harians 'occupied' on the lower levels, and drawing them around in circles. So far, the team of commandos was doing a highly effective job of distracting attention away from the rest of the Legion as they worked their way to the labs to rescue the captured Jedi and clones.

"What makes…. you think they're… angry?" Torch asked wryly, just as another wall of flame roared by over their heads.

No words were necessary as all the clones as one tilted their helmets up and peered at the impressive sight of the fire washing right over their heads.

"Huh," Travis said, with a shrug, as the flames receded, "impressive. Yes, well, getting them angry was part of the big plan."

Dart glanced over from his position on the other side of Torch, "Judging by the amount of flame erupting all around us, mission accomplished."

Travis pulled out another piece of det tape, measured it by eye, sliced it with his vibroblade, and handed it over to Torch to prepare a back-up charge, "Apes with flamethrowers seems wrong to me somehow."

"Clones… use flamethrowers," Torch pointed out, selecting the correcting proportion of detonite, and then working in perfect synchronicity with Travis, expertly wrapping the tape. He nodded to Travis to double-check his work. His fellow Marine took the explosive back, and intently checked it over with a practiced eye then nodded.

"Yeah. But, we're not so... _hairy_," Travis said, setting the timing on the detonator. "Wouldn't you think they'd find that would be something of a fire hazard?"

Torch snorted, and Travis glanced at him, now becoming used to the sound of his brother's laugh, "Does not seem… to be a problem for them."

Lance hunkered down in his corner and ignored the banter of the others. He just focused on squeezing off shot after shot, with the single-minded objective of getting out of this alive. After a relatively easy time of planting their first several charges, the Kaz'harians had successfully rallied a counter-offensive.

Just as they'd been working their way outside the fortress to head down to the hangar area, they'd been pinned down.

Catcher gesture to Torch and Travis, and the two Marines crawled low behind the rock wall and joined him, one Marine to either side of him.

The ARC Captain pulled up a 3-D schematic on his wrist gauntlet, "Our current location is here," his other hand pointed within the shimmering blue schematic indicating the area just outside the now-destroyed morgue, "Det point for next set of charges is here, just outside the hangar area."

He arched his body back and pointed down the hill in the direction they would need to go. The two Marines leaned back in tandem and looked in the direction he was pointing. Since the hill sloped down steeply, the hangar was not visible from where they were pinned down at the rock wall.

His visored gaze took in the two Marines, "Captain Rex wanted a blast just strong enough to catch their attention, and began drawing them that way, but not enough to damage any potential ships we may want to use to get troops out of here."

Travis held up the two sets of charges, "We've prepared two different dets- a standard charge, and one with a bit more of a… punch to it."

"Considering we want use of those ships, the standard charge should do nicely," Catcher said. "But, keep the other one handy… just in case."

Torch and Travis nodded in unison, both studying the schematic, and then looking down toward the objective. A wall of flame roared by over their heads and all of three instinctively crouched down lower behind the wall, then looked up to check out the flame.

"We'll keep the Fire Kazzies busy-" the ARC Captain continued.

"Fire Kazzies?" Travis interrupted, amused, "did you just make that up?"

Catcher shrugged, and went on, "We'll keep the enemy engaged. Do you two think you can still get down there and back with _this_ going on?" He pointed upwards, where the latest wall of flame was just receding.

"Is that some sort of challenge?" Travis laughed.

"Travis," Catcher forewarned, "I need you to be serious, for once. _Can you make it?"_

The Marine Lieutenant looked toward Torch, "What do you think?"

Torch gave a simple nod of his head.

"We're in. Keep the Fire Kazzies busy and we'll get the charges set. Once it blows, it should take the heat off the team up here and give us a chance to clear out."

"Take the heat off?" Catcher grimaced, "is that some sort of flamethrower joke?"

# # #

Lance threw his body back against the wall, feeling the rough surface scraping against his armor, just avoiding a vicious lick of flame. The conversation about Oorp had reminded him how much he had at stake.

He shook his head. Flamethrowers. Neither Captain had mentioned the possibility of the Kaz'harians being armed with flamethrowers. Slugthrowers. Yes. They'd covered those, and he and Mako had prepared the medbay for the unique puncture wounds created by the projectile weapons. But, flamethrowers? The medic scowled, feeling the burns on his face and neck pulling tightly as he did, and concentrated intently on his firing pattern.

As the medic dove down from the Kaz'harians latest fiery attack, he was suddenly taken back to the Battle of Cato Neimoidia. The planet's vast forests were rich in flora and fauna, not all that different from this region of Darkknell. The last thing Lance remembered seeing before the massive fireball was a Neimoidian kreehawk.

In their pre-battle briefing, they'd been warned that the large, beautiful birds were dangerous to humans. The medic had ducked backwards into the cover of a tree to avoid being sighted by the carnivorous avian. And, just a micro-second too late, he registered the warning shout of: "Grenade!" The blast that had propelled him so far backwards into the jungle hadn't hurt. Or… not as far as he could remember. But, he vividly remembered the agony of his burns when he first awakened floating in a tank of bacta. He also recounted how he almost immediately began assessing his own injuries, calculating how much of him had been burnt. As he did the critical math, dividing body quadrants into neat percentiles as he'd been trained, he _knew_…

When some of his brothers from the 442nd came to visit and stand before the bacta tank, Lance refused to meet their eyes.

But, then Captain Rex had stood up on that pirate ship and said: "Listen up, troopers!" He was here on Darkknell out of a sense of loyalty to the man who had changed everything for him.

Lance hoped this would be his last mission. He found he was strangely content living on Ando. He enjoyed being a medic there, and together with Mako, was kept constantly busy monitoring the health of the hundred troopers in the Legion.

And, that was how Lance had met Rose. He had gone to check on Deuce, an amiable AT-TE mechanic who'd been assigned housing at Rose's humble cottage by the sea. The cheerful clone had lost an arm shortly before being shipped off to Kamino and the wound still needed checking and monitoring. After he'd finished treating Deuce, the clone was filled with nervous excitement, "Sorry to just run off, but…I'm meeting a… uh…"

"You met a girl, Deuce?" Lance filled in.

The mechanic beamed with pride, and was out the door in a rush.

Lance was just letting himself out through the kitchen door, when he saw Deuce's host doubled over, coughing. She startled when she noticed Lance. She straightened up, as well, since her coughing fit had ended.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

Her cheeks had turned red when he had spoken to her, and she'd turned her face away. Ruling out a medical cause for this flushing, Lance briefly wondered what could cause such a reaction. He frowned, then, reaching briefly up to brush the back of his hand against his cheek. Perhaps she was bothered by the burn scarring on his face and neck? He had continued to treat the healing scars himself, just as he treated all the others with similar injuries, and the marks were beginning to fade. None of his brothers seemed bothered by the marks. He knew civilians could be odd creatures, at times, though.

He'd only recently stopped wearing his armor in his off-duty time, since the Captain and Lieutenant had suggested they try to 'adapt to more civilian customs.' He was dressed in his fatigues, which were the only clothes he owned other than his armor. But, Mako was getting more serious about his knitting hobby, and had provided Lance with a thick sweater in the colors of the 442nd Siege Battalion. The sweater opened in a "V" at the neck, so it did nothing to hide the scarring usually covered by his bodysuit. Lance inwardly cursed, and wished he'd remained in his armor.

The medic in him felt obligated to help someone if he could, so he gently persisted. "Ma'am? Have you seen Karyn about that cough?"

She shook her head, still refusing to meet his gaze. He blew out a patient breath between his teeth, thinking his visage must be more offensive than he'd imagined if a civilian woman could not even look at him.

He gritted his teeth lightly, and persisted, "Your condition can be serious if left untreated. I advise you to see her."

She finally turned her head and looked at him. He noted that her eyes were an emerald shade of green and was immediately reminded of the Andoan ocean. Her gaze swept his, and he noted her taking in his scarring. He watched her carefully for signs of disgust, but her gaze softened and she seemed more curious than anything else.

"I… have been meaning to see her," the woman finally confessed, "but, I've heard she has been very busy since…" she hesitated, and then flushed again, biting her lip as if unsure if she should continue.

"Since?" Lance prodded.

"Since… uh… well, the arrival of…" she hesitated again.

Recognition hit Lance, and he finished her sentence in his deep, lilting accent, "Since the troopers arrived here, you mean."

She nodded.

"This won't do," his voice betrayed his displeasure.

Her emerald eyes flashed to his, widening slightly in alarm.

"My brothers are occupying the doctor's services. It is only right that you allow me to help you."

He also must speak with Karyn about shifting an even greater percentage of workload onto he and Mako, so she could return her attention to the Andoans.

The woman studied him for a long moment, looking as if she were going to object, but then finally relented.

"Sit," Lance pointed to one of the kitchen chairs, and then remembered he was dealing with a civilian, "uh… please, ma'am."

He automatically began examining her with the brisk efficiency that he would use in examining one of his brothers. But, as his hands approached her lung area, it struck him again that this was _different._ He had never examined a woman before. Brothers did not have cushy, lovely breasts. Lance strived to remain completely professional. He tried to still the slight tremble in his hands.

_Kriff. My hands never shake. What is that smell? Like flowers._

He resisted the temptation to inhale deeply.

"Would you- ah-" Lance stopped, and noticed his voice sounded shaky. He was about to ask her to take off her shirt. It was standard procedure to do a lung exam bare chested.

He went into a sudden panic at the thought of seeing this particular patient bare chested.

The woman looked up at him, and studied him thoughtfully. Finally, she said quietly: "You don't get many civilian patients, do you?"

"Actually," Lance admitted, looking down into his medpack to avoid meeting her curious gaze, "you're my first one." He wondered if she was now going to refuse his care. He kept staring into his pack, his eyes at first not really focused on what he was doing. Then, he shook his head, and quickly reached in to find a medscanner, intent on using the tool to further examine her lungs.

A hand on top of his stilled his actions. _This is it_, Lance thought_, she is going to ask me to leave._

"I'm Jade Rose," she said, softly.

Lance stared at where their two hands were touching, and then looked up and met the eyes of the woman. He wasn't sure what to say.

The silence stretched on for an awkward moment. "Jade Rose," she repeated, a little more confidently, "like the flower."

Lance cocked his head to the side, trying to think if he was familiar with that particular subspecies of the plant genus Rosa. "Jade Rose," he repeated.

She smiled, and blushed when he repeated her name. He suddenly stopped thinking about genus subspecies, as it struck him that she was particularly attractive when that flushing came to her cheeks.

"I'm… uh… " the medic drew a blank, suddenly staring at the woman, Jade Rose, he corrected himself, and then tried to think what it was they were talking about? "…uh…"

"You are?" Jade Rose prompted.

"I'm Lance," the medic burst out in a rush of air.

"Lance," the woman repeated, thoughtfully.

Why did his name sound different when said by Jade Rose versus when his brothers said it? Why did he now feel a flush coming to _his_ cheeks?

"Lance," Jade Rose repeated again, "like a syringe?"

He nodded quickly, probably too much so, trying to avoid having his face color again.

"Well," the woman declared, "that does seem appropriate for a doctor."

"I'm not a doctor," Lance quickly corrected, "I'm a medic, ma'am. In the army, we primarily use medics."

"A medic, then," she said, seemingly not bothered by the distinction, "it's nice to meet you… Lance."

This time when she said his name, Lance felt a shiver run down his spine. He wondered perhaps if he should perhaps return to wearing his bodysuit. Perhaps civilian clothing did not provide adequate warmth for the current climatory conditions?

Jade Rose was a practical woman and came up with the idea of simply tugging down the top portion of her tunic enough to allow the medic to exam her lungs easily, while still preserving her modesty. It worked fine, and he was able to get a good reading with the medprobe. However, a bead of sweat broke out on his brow as he focused on not allowing his eyes to stray to her female regions. He decided the task would be much easier if she didn't smell so-

Jade Rose was struck with one of her bouts of coughing in the midst of his exam. It immediately tore his thoughts away from the downward spiral in which they'd been heading, and focused him back on the task at hand. It also allowed him to get an excellent reading on the problem and her lung function. He finished his examination, and then settled down into a chair across from her.

She looked up at him expectantly.

"Well," he said, carefully putting his equipment away, "you have a bacterial infection in your lungs."

"Is it serious?" she asked.

"It can be," Lance admitted, "left untreated, it can spread to every organ in the body. It can even be… "

He paused. With his brothers, he was used to giving a straightforward assessment of their condition. But, somehow it felt different with Jade Rose.

She looked at him expectantly, then furrowed her brow. "It can be… fatal?" she filled in the blank.

He gave her a small apologetic smile, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"So, what do I need to do?" she asked, her practical side emerging again.

"I'll give you antibiotics for it," Lance advised, "but, that's not all. Infections like this are also contagious. When you cough, the contagion becomes airborne. You can infect others with it. So, you'll need to stay away from others until your symptoms subside."

"Like a quarantine?" her eyes widened.

Lance nodded, "Afraid so." _Kriff. This was so much easier with brothers. Quarantine was standard procedure when confronted with infectious contagions._

"But, I work at a shop in town," Jade Rose protested, "and, I provide meals for Deuce. I made a commitment when I agreed to take him in-"

"I'll talk to Captain Rex about reassigning housing for Deuce. With regards to your work, I'm sorry, but you will need to go off active duty for now."

Jade Rose just stared at him.

Lance frowned, suddenly wondering if he'd said something wrong. Dealing with civilians was still new to him, and he found their ways and customs puzzling, "Ma'am, if you want me to call Karyn over to give you a second opinion on your condition-"

"No," she shook her head, "I'll go off _active duty_."

He wondered why her lips quirked up into a small smile when she said those words.

"I have a small savings and I suppose I'll need to dip into that," she looked thoughtful, "But, I'll need to go to the market and stock up first, though, if I'm going to be stuck here for a while-"

"No, ma'am," Lance shook his head, and made a severing motion with his hand, "A quarantine effects immediately. I'll comm the Captain to get Deuce a new housing assignment, and I'll pack and deliver his kit myself."

"But, what about food-"

"I'll bring you food," Lance immediately offered, "I have to come by this way anyway as I make my rounds."

Jade Rose frowned, "But, aren't you likely to get this-" she gestured with her hands toward herself, "-thing that I have? Wouldn't you be placing yourself at risk?"

Lance shook his head, "It's alright. I'll place myself on preventative medication so the bacteria won't gain a foothold. I have such things in my kit, but I don't have enough to give the whole town."

He spoke with Jade Rose a few more minutes, answering all of her questions and inquiring about where she thought she may have been exposed, and whom she thought she could have infected. He was concerned when she said she worked at a 'shop', thinking she could have easily spread the contagion to the whole of Ando. But, she specified that she stayed in the backroom crafting plates and platters for the townspeople now that they no longer had access to imports.

"Not the most social of jobs," she confessed with a smile, "but it brings in a little income."

He made a few final notes on his datapad, and injected her with a syringe, "Alright, I still need to let Karyn know about this. But, I'll be back in the morning with breakfast, and your next dosing."

Jade Rose folded her arms across her chest, "You know, I'm not _that_ low on food. I certainly have enough to put together meals for a couple of days, at least. How about I make _you_ breakfast, and you still bring the medication?"

Lance nodded in agreement, and left to contact the Captain about Deuce, then continue on his rounds. He suddenly realized he was already looking forward to breakfast the next morning.

# # #

Because of the seriousness of lung infections, Lance kept Rose on a treatment course for three weeks. Initially, she had balked at such a long period of time away from work, but as they settled into a routine of sharing meals together, the medic heard no more objections from the Andoan woman.

What started as daily breakfasts, soon turned into Lance coming over for every meal that he could, in-between his other duties. Jade Rose would also provide him with what the civilians referred to as a 'shopping list.' It consisted of items that he needed to requisition, and while he found the experience of entering a civilian store to be nerve wracking and strange at first, the skill was not difficult to master. In return for his efforts, he could always expect a hot meal waiting for him, along with a warm welcoming smile. While he had little spare time due to the number of brothers under his care, Jade Rose encouraged him to come visit when he was done with his duties for the day. She insisted upon teaching him the crafting skill known as 'pottery.' He also did not find this skill difficult to master, but since he enjoyed the feel of the Andoan woman's hands upon his own he did ask for assistance… often.

They started sharing more and more with each other during their meals together, talking about their life experiences. Lance talked of his experiences during the war. One evening, as they sat sitting tea on the couch after dinner, he even told Jade Rose of being shipped off to Kamino. He paused, getting ready to get to the part of the story where the pirates came, and Captain Rex rallied all the troopers together.

But, he felt Jade Rose tug his homemade tea mug out of his hands and place it down on her rough-hewn wooden side table. Lance had already made a mental note that he could perhaps make her better furniture with his own two hands. He'd always wanted to try woodworking… He returned his attention to Jade Rose, and looked over at her curiously. She took both of his hands in her own. He felt something warm and wet splash down onto his hands, and then looked up in surprise. Jade Rose was crying.

"What- why- what's wrong?" he said, instinctively reaching up to brush a tear away. "Did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head, and then leaned in and buried her head against his shoulder. Unsure what to do, Lance just stared down at her. Then, following instinct, he wrapped an arm around her and just held her. He took a deep breath, and his senses were assailed with the scent of roses.

Lance wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or so, and the sensation of Jade Rose being in his arms was… pleasurable. So, he decided perhaps to just be patient, and then perhaps he could figure out this civilian custom of crying.

After a few minutes, Jade Rose's tears subsided, and she explained to Lance, "You didn't do or say anything wrong, Lance. I was crying because I was upset about what was done to you. It was _wrong_."

The medic thought about this for a long moment, still enjoying the feeling of Jade Rose leaning against him.

_Yes, but I met you._

He didn't have the courage to say the words out loud. After he finished his tea, he left as usual back to the host house where he'd been assigned. But, he couldn't stop thinking about the scent of roses.

# # #

After three weeks, Lance declared Jade Rose completely healthy again.

As he finished his examination and put his kit away, he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I guess this means you'll be returning to work."

Jade Rose nodded, "Yes. I'm almost through my savings." She gestured to the simple wooden house around them, "This is not much, but it is all I have. I need my job to pay the bills."

"And, there is no need for me to bring you food anymore," Lance said, knowing that it was an unnecessary statement, because obviously he did not need to perform this task now that she was well. But, he was just hoping perhaps if he said something…

"No," she immediately agreed, "there is no need for you to bring me food."

Lance felt his heart sink. He closed up his pack, and slipped it onto his shoulders. "Well, I guess I should be going then. Good bye-"

"Stay."

He turned in surprise, at the simple command and was immediately halted by the feel of Jade Rose's lips pressing down onto his own. Never having been kissed before, he was caught completely off-guard by the action. Lance nearly lost his balance from being pushed forward and the weight of his ever-present pack on his back. He threw down one hand to grip the kitchen table to steady himself, and then on instinct wrapped another around Jade Rose. This just served to bring her even tighter into his embrace, and suddenly the intensity of the kissing experience increased. Lance found his balance, and was therefore able to wrap both hands securely around Jade Rose. He heard a low moan, and suddenly realized he had made a woman make this sound. This knowledge thrilled him, but also fueled an intensity in him, like he had never known. Instilled with a new confidence, he proceeded to lay Jade Rose down upon the table and show her everything he'd been feeling about her ever since he'd noticed she'd smelled like flowers.

He never did make it back to his 'assigned housing' that night. Or… any night after that.

And, that was when he'd simply started calling her 'Rose.'

# # #

Dart glanced over at Torch. The one-eyed Marine had a look of ironclad determination on his face as he knelt in a classic sniper pose. His aim was incredible and the Kaz'harians dropped like stones under his onslaught. Torch's helmet swiveled slightly, staring straight at Dart, as he noticed the ARC's regard.

"Aim for the... neck," Torch advised in his slightly halting speaking rhythm. He squeezed off several shots, then added, "takes them down... in a single shot."

Dart nodded in gratitude to the Marine, and then ducked to the side as he was nearly hit with a lick of flame. He began firing again, and gave a quick victorious shout when he felled one of the large enemies in a shot.

He glanced over at Torch.

Without looking up from his concentrated firing, the Marine commented, "Not bad... for an ARC."

Dart snorted, his lips curling up into a smile, and went back to firing.

Catcher glanced over at Travis and Torch, "You two ready?"

"Be ready in a microsecond," Travis said. He leaned in toward Lance, who had paused in his firing to reload. "So, you never answered my question. Why do you know so much about this Oorp?"

Torch leaned in, as well, the two Marines gazing at him with near identical burgundy helmets. Lance sighed, realizing they were not going to give up without getting an answer. He finished loading his rifle, and got back into a position to fire, "_I've_ been buying it."

The two Marines both cocked their heads to the side in one simultaneous move, echoing their confusion.

The medic sighted on a Kazzie and prepared to fire off the shot. Without glancing back, his eyes still on his target, Lance confessed, "Rose is pregnant."

# # #

"We're ready," Travis said, with Torch right beside him. "If all goes well, we'll be down there and back without these FireKazzies even noticing we left."

Catcher nodded, more concerned about if things _didn't_ go well. "Good luck."

Both Marines nodded in unison.

"All right, on my mark," he advised the rest of the commando team. He glanced back, and saw that Torch and Travis were crouched down, facing the hangar below, prepared to take off at a sprint. He didn't have the same range of motion to 'crouch,' with the braces on his legs. But, he was able to bend his legs at the knees, allowing him to slide down the wall enough to avoid the flames coming at them.

He looked to his left, and saw Viper, Blaze, Lance and Dart all with their backs to the wall, and rifles to their chest, prepared to jump up and fire. He gripped his weapon, getting ready to burst into action with the others, "Move!"

The five clones burst up at once laying down a heavy burst of fire just as Travis and Torch took off at a run down the hillside. The clones kept firing non-stop until the next wall of flame came at them.

Catcher slid down the wall, glancing up at the next wall of flame, knowing if they timed it wrong their armor would be little protection against a weapon of such intensity.

He glanced down the hill toward Torch and Travis. The two clones had already disappeared from sight over the crest. He knew the tight tension that gripped his chest wouldn't ease until his two-team members safely. The ARC Captain focused back on trying to take down some of the fire-wielding Kaz'harians.

# # #

"OK, that should do it. Det is set. The timer should give us enough time to get back up the hill and rejoin the others before it goes off," Travis said, as Torch stood guard over him. "Check."

He switched places with his fellow Marine so that Torch could double-check his work. Everything with explosives had to be checked twice, because there were no chances for a 'do over' when dealing with combustibles. Since they were considered the most elite fighting force in the Grand Army of the Republic, all Galactic Marines were cross-trained to fight in a variety of environments. Their extensive training included a wide variety of weapons, and dets had been considered an essential part of the training.

"Correct," Torch confirmed, "just like all the others we've done."

Travis nodded, his gaze sweeping out over the hangar area before settling with satisfaction on the PLY-5000. His lips upturned in a slight smile, and he wanted to gaze just a bit longer, but resisted the temptation. He continued sweeping the area.

Suddenly, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He barely had time to react to the large group of armored Kaz'harians approaching before he was spotted. It was another team of 'FireKazzies,' as Catcher would call them, and their team lead was already sighting on him and preparing to fire.

Feeling adrenaline pumping through his veins, Travis dove down toward the hangar floor. But, even as he did so, he felt a blinding, searing pain across his chest and smelled the peculiar smell of burning plastoid.

He blinked up at the sky, and could see Torch crouching over him, and it appeared he was trying to communicate with him while he returned fire back at the Kaz'harians. But, the intense heat had caused Travis' HUD to automatically shut down. He couldn't read lips when they were both wearing helmets. He quickly blinked and reset his HUD. He saw Torch reach into his belt pouch and then lob something in the direction of the Kaz'harians. There was a bright flash of light, and then a temporary halt in the fire coming at them. He suspected Torch had utilized one of the small flash bombs they'd pieced together utilizing portions of their own limited supplies, and items found in the pirate's cache.

"Travis! Can you move at all?"

Travis tried to respond, but found the burning pain wouldn't even allow him to speak. He tried again to form words, but could only manage a gasp of pain.

Torch nodded, having gotten the answer he needed. He felt Torch lift him up in a classic wounded man carry, and suddenly they were running up the hill. Travis' head banged against his brother's back as they moved, and he felt ill from the pain of his burning chest wound. But, he still forced his head up and looked down the hill back toward the hangar.

_Oh, frak._

Either the flashbomb hadn't slowed them down for long, or there just were an incredible amount of Kaz'harians in this particular contingent, because there was a whole mess of angry Kaz'harians right on their tail.

"Torch!" Travis shouted into their comms, hoping his brother heard him. He couldn't tell if he'd made any sound. A moment later, a transcribed note from his brother appeared across his HUD, and he knew his message had gotten through.

"A little busy now, Travis," Torch responded.

"We've- got- company!" Travis gritted out, in pained breaths.

Torch pivoted and glanced behind him as he ran, a twisting move that caused his armor to grate up painfully against Travis' burnt chest. He cursed vehemently, but his words were drowned out by Torch's colorful exclamations as he took in the sight behind him.

"That's… a lot of FireKazzies," he agreed, reaching down into his belt pouch to grab one of the few precious concussion grenades that they'd scavenged off the pirate ship. They'd agreed that these more powerful explosives would be for emergencies only.

Torch paused just long enough to lob the grenade back at the Kaz'harians pursuing them, and then took off at an even faster run again up the hill. _This would definitely constitute an emergency._

It took several seconds before the grenade blew, but was still powerful enough to lift him up off his feet and throw him down into the soft jungle floor. Travis went down underneath him, although this time he made no sound.

Torch had expected him to be cursing up at a storm, and rolled him over in concern. His brother was completely limp and unmoving. Knowing there was no time to spare, he threw Travis back over his shoulder again and resumed his sprint back up the hill.

Torch glanced back over his shoulder, and noticed that for the time being his pursuers had stopped. It seemed that those who had not been mortally wounded by the grenade were checking and seeing to the other injured.

_Huh. Seems these apes care for each other._

As he continued to run up the hill with his wounded brother on his back, it occurred to Torch that perhaps in this way they were not that far different.

Before he could ponder this further, he was back at the stonewall and depositing Travis down next to Lance.

"What happened?" Catcher demanded, working his way over to Torch.

Torch watched the medic work for a moment, quickly and efficiently pulling off pieces off Travis' burnt chest armor. He was breathing heavily from running so hard up the hill. Torch pointed down the hill behind him, over the rise and out of sight. Catcher looked where he was pointing. There was nothing to see. No signs of pursuit.

"More… Fire Kazzies," Torch gasped out, his breathlessness making his difficulties in speaking more pronounced. "Got… Travis. Grenade… slowed them down."

Catcher stared down the hill in alarm. They were completely exposed on this side of the rock wall.

He looked around trying to figure out possible avenues of escape for the team before the second group of Kaz'harians arrived. Their only chance would be to run straight back out into the jungle, but that would mean leaving their mission incomplete. They still had several important tasks to finish other than the placement of the dets. They couldn't aid their brothers if they were out in the jungle. They needed to punch through one of the lines of Kaz'harians and get back into the fortress.

"How many-" he began asking Torch.

But, a rapid stream of cursing drew his attention over to Travis and Lance. Torch breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar sound. The injured Marine had just regained consciousness.

"Hold still," Lance said, calmly and firmly, putting a bracing hand on Travis' shoulder. "If you try to get up again like that, you're only going to make the pain worse. Just let me get this treated."

Travis lifted up his head again, looking around quickly, "Where's Torch?"

"He's fine," Lance said, "just talking to Catcher." The medic leaned back so that the injured Marine could see for himself that his brother was in one piece.

Travis visibly relaxed for a moment, resting his head back down. Then, he tensed up again, and pushed back up, "Wait! We have to go! If they were at the hangar, then-"

"Hold still, Lieutenant," Lance told him again in his firm even tone, "Torch is apprising Captain Catcher of the situation as we speak."

He took a closer look at the burns, switching on the headlamp on his helmet so he could get a better look in the shaded lighting behind the rock wall.

"Are you having any problems breathing at all?" the medic questioned.

"My chest hurts," the Marine admitted, "but, I can breathe alright."

The medic nodded, "Any signs of breathing difficulty at all, inform me immediately. With this kind of heat-"

As if summoned by his words, another wall of flame roared over their heads. They both looked up at the now familiar sight. Lance shook his head, and a few moments later the flame receded again.

"As I was saying," Lance continued, "with this kind of heat, inhalation injuries are possibility. Causes the airway above the glottis to obstruct." He gestured with his gloved hand to the appropriate area on the middle of his own throat.

"I dropped down quick," Travis said, "I think my chest took the worst of it."

"It did at that. Still, it can take a while for these things to show up. Alright," he said, reaching into his medpack for a syringe, "this is a painkiller. A _strong_ one." He leaned back on his heels for a moment, "These burns are deep… they're dermal burns." The medic folded his arms across his chest, "You should head back to the ship."

Travis' face reflected his shock, then anger, "Absolutely not! Just patch me up. I'm staying. I'll make it an order, if I have to."

Lance shook his head, and gave a small patient smile, as he reached down to remove Travis' helmet, "You know that won't work. As a medic, I can-"

The Marine reached up and gripped Lance's hand, startling the medic, "Lance, I'm asking you…" his filtered voice softened for a moment, "please, I need to stay with the team. Don't make me go back." He released his grip so that Lance could finish removing his helmet.

The medic injected him in the neck with a painkiller. "These burns are going to hinder your mobility considerably," Lance warned him.

"Understood," Travis' voice was tight with pain, "just let me stay."

"Fine," Lance agreed with a sigh, "but, I mean it. First sign of breathing difficulties, you let me know, alright?"

"Yes," He glanced over toward where Catcher and Torch were still deep in discussion. "I can't hear when my helmet's off. Tell me if they call for me?"

"I will," Lance assured him, injecting him with a stim shot to bolster his system. Travis winced for a moment from the injection, then settled.

The medic removed his armored gloves and gauntlets, and replaced them with a sterile pair of gloves. He cleansed the wound carefully, removing foreign debris from their perilous run up the hill, and collision with the ground. Once he was satisfied that the burn was completely sterile, he coated it with an epiderm spray, then began coating with a generous layer of healing bacta.

"I know how painful burns can be, Travis," Lance commented, as he worked to evenly distribute the bacta into the wound. He pointed up toward the burn scars on his face that disappeared down the neck of his bodysuit. Lance's words startled the Marine, as he looked up toward the medic's face.

He had gotten so used to seeing the scarring that he had forgotten it was there. As the pain began to ease, his body relaxed under the effects of the painkiller, and the medic's practiced touch, he asked: "What happened?"

"Same thing as most everyone else, I guess. Caught too close to an explosive," he shrugged, "All right, I'm going to help you sit up. Lean forward." He tugged Travis' arms around his chest so that he could wrap a bandage securely around his burnt middle, swathing it several times. He quirked up an eyebrow at Travis, and gave him a bit of an amused smile, "No flamethrowers, though."

Travis rolled his eyes, "You find this funny?"

Lance shrugged, "Oversized apes with flamethrowers? Wasn't expecting that on this mission. Should be interesting to see what else they throw at us-"

Suddenly, the same det that Travis and Torch had left down at the hangar was tossed right back at them within their midst.

Travis, leaning forward over Lance's shoulder, had a perfect view of the timer which had just micro-seconds left.

He shouted out the fastest, most effective warning he could.

"Grenade!" he shouted, warning the others. He pushed Lance backwards off of him, preparing to throw himself on top of the device. There was no time to throw it back at the Kaz'harians, but if he threw himself on top of it, he could minimize the blast damage to his brothers.

Just as he was making a move toward the armed det, he felt himself be yanked backwards and tackled down to the ground. He just had time to register that Lance had thrown himself on top of him when suddenly the whole world was blown to Tartarus.

# # #

_A/N: Astute readers will notice we just passed our two year anniversary. "Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?" was first published on August 8, 2010. So, for those of you would have been here from the start, whoa. And, for those of you who have joined along the way, so happy to have you along for the journey. I wanted to thank everyone for each time they have taken the time to leave feedback. I try to always reply, but am not always able to do so. But, rest assured, your comments are always read, loved, treasured, greatly appreciated and inspire me to create writing. Why else would I be insane enough to write a story of this length?_


	100. Chapter 100 Aftermath of the Attack

_A/N: Chapter 100. Wow. All I have to say is thank you. All of you._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 100**

"Grenade!"

Viper and Blaze snapped their heads over toward Travis as they heard his panicked warning.

_Where is it? _Blaze looked around frantically.

Not seeing which way the ordinance had landed, or possibly rolled, Blaze dropped down into a crouch against the wall, focusing on making his body as small a target as possible for flying shrapnel. He suddenly felt his body get further pressed back into the stonewall.

"Viper! No!" Blaze objected, pushing back on his brother, who had spread his body out in front of him, providing a human shield in front. Then, the blast was upon him with the punishing ferocity of a Nkllonian Boulder Storm. He felt dirt and rock cascading into him, and suddenly the sound filters in his helmet were unable to cope with the escalation of the blast wave. Without warning, Blaze's hearing cut out from the punishing intensity of the sound. His back scraped painfully along the rock wall, and he instantly felt his skin beneath it bruising from the punishing strain.

He felt Viper, still pressed in front of him, suddenly stiffen up in startled shock. Then, in horrific slow motion, his brother began to sag down, seemingly as if all the strength had suddenly been sucked out of his frame.

"Viper!" Strangely, he couldn't hear his own voice, but he was sure he had called out. He made a grab for his brother, but before his arms could connect with Viper's keltarn armor, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a flash of grey coming at the side of his face. Blaze had no further warning before suddenly he felt a sickening 'thud' and the sensation of his helmet cracking, and the ground was rushing up to meet him.

# # #

As stunned as he'd been from the blow to the head, Blaze prided himself on having an incredibly thick skull. After a few moments of lying on the ground, he was able to shakily push up again, realizing his helmet had taken the worst of the damage. His bucket was cracked, and he could tell at a glance that it was beyond repair. He tugged it off, and tossed it aside, refusing to worry at the moment over the loss of the helmet. He could feel blood on his his cheek and chin. There was a cut over his eye, dripping down and making it difficult to see. He swiped with annoyance at it trying to clear his vision.

"Viper?" he coughed out, waving at the smoky air. He crawled forward, stumbling immediately on the prone form of his brother. "Viper!" He rose up on his knees, immediately noting that his closest brother was lying unnaturally still.

"Medic!" he shouted, automatically, and didn't wait for a reply. "Come on… talk to me, vod," he urged, tugging off his brother's helmet. Remarkably, despite the ferocity of the explosion, Viper's helmet showed no signs of damage. As Blaze quickly popped the seals and tugged off the protective headware, he noticed his hands were trembling. He hoped to see his brother's eyes looking back into his own. But, the dark lashes were sealed.

Blaze felt his insides as he continued to inspect Viper- a small trail of blood had bubbled up on his lips, and trailed off into the high neck of his bodysuit.

The commando began gently running his hands over his brother's chest looking for signs of internal injury. He stopped suddenly, frozen at the sight of the jagged fragment that had cracked Viper's strong commando armor and punctured his heart.

"No, no, no," he murmured in denial, staring down at the offending shard, his brain trying to process what he was seeing. There had to be some kind of mistake, maybe this was not as bad as it looked.

Blaze numbly tugged off his gloves, and felt for a pulse. He couldn't detect one, but medics could do _amazing_ things sometimes… They could still bring a brother back if he hadn't been gone that long. Blaze had seen it before. And, maybe it just _looked_ like it had punctured Viper's aortic cavity.

Yes, of course, he was not seeing this right. The fragment had surely hit something else, like… like… the spleen. Blaze himself had once been struck in the spleen and lived. It had been close… but he'd lived. Of course, that was only because Viper had been there and…

_No, no, no. Viper._

"Lance! Lance! Where the frak are you?" He noticed numbly that his hearing was starting to come back, although his ears still felt like they were ringing. His voice sounded rough and odd to his own ears. "Lance!" he shouted again, and this time he heard his voice crack from stress and strain, "Get your shebs over there!"

Not hearing any response at all through the hazy smoke, he pushed up, and began looking around desperately for Lance, knowing time was essential if he was going to save his brother.

Within seconds of crawling through the hazy smoke, he found Lance.

The medic looked to be in worse shape than Viper.

Blaze sat shock still and just stared. The medic's limp, still form was draped over the top of Travis, who was also unmoving. The distinctive red medic's symbol from his right shoulder had been completely blown off and was lying in the dirt, scattered amongst the contents of his medical pack which had been decimated and were leaking and oozing.

_Kriff. No. Is the entire team dead?_

For the first time, ever, Blaze felt like completely giving up. He hung his head down, and let out a bitter sigh, and then crawled back to Viper's side to grieve for his dead brother.

# # #

Travis knew if he weren't already deaf, the close proximity to the blast would surely have done the job a second time.

From his position underneath Lance he felt the peculiar weightlessness of the shockwave lifting both of them up, and as dread and adrenaline flooded his body, he knew what was coming next…. Much as he tried to make his body relax to ease the blow, it still _hurt_ in a nauseating way when his body was slammed back down a moment later. He felt the distinct sensation of something 'cracking' above him, and hoped it was just armor giving way under the stress and not bone. His helmet suddenly shut itself off, temporarily sealing him in darkness. And, then, the shockwave seemed to be over. Travis lay there, feeling rocks digging into his back and knew he'd have a number of new bruises to explain to Karyn when he returned.

_Karyn…_

He immediately pushed thoughts of his beautiful Andoan lover from his mind, not allowing himself to be distracted. He focused back on the here and now. _Have to reset my helmet. Again. How many times is that now? It'll be a wonder if my bucket makes it through the day at this rate._

Then, he pushed up at the brother on top of him. "Lance. Get off of me, you kriffin' di'kut. I can't breathe," Travis grumbled.

In reality, breathing was not the issue. Lance's added weight was making the sting from his chest unbearable, but he couldn't actually _say_ that since he'd just been arguing with the medic about the actual severity of his burns. But, he would've thought the always-perceptive Lance would've just known anyway what was going on with him. The medic always seemed to have a sixth sense, and along with Mako, was continually hovering and fussing over every trooper in the Legion.

It was annoying.

And, all of a sudden, Travis missed it.

Why wasn't Lance doing all his usual hovering? And… fussing?

Travis shifted, and tried to reach one arm up to poke the medic on top of him, grunting as it made his chest burns pull, "Darkknell to Lance, hey!... Come in, Lance?"

As the micro-seconds ticked by, and there was still no response, Travis forced himself to remain calm.

_I am a Galactic Marine. Marines do not panic._

In his mind, he immediately began calculating the type of det it was, the radius of the blast pattern, where they had been located when it had gone off…

_Oh, kriff…_

Bracing one arm to his chest, he pushed up and gently rolled his brother off to one side.

"Lance?" The medic slumped off limply to one side.

Travis was just starting to examine his fellow clone, trying to figure out how badly he was hurt when the proximity sensor in his HUD began flashing. There was a flurry of movement going on right over on the other side of the stonewall. Travis cautiously peered up and over, careful not to get his head blown off.

_Frak._

He allowed his body to quickly drop back down again and dove his gauntleted hand into his belt pouch.

The Kaz'harians were piling out of the ruined morgue and preparing to rush across the stream.

_They're getting ready to finish us off._

He spread out his remaining munitions onto his armored thigh and quickly selected two, and then tucked the others away in a hasty move. One would take longer to set up than the other, so to buy a bit of time, Travis rose up and quickly lobbed a flashbang and then hissed and grabbed at his chest.

_OK, that hurt._

After the bright flash went off, he ventured a quick peek over the wall just in time to see one of the Kaz'harians dive into the stream, fully engulfed in flames.

"What do you know," he mumbled in wonder, "a flaming FireKazzie."

He didn't allow himself to be distracted by the sight and went back to fishing through his belt. In addition to temporarily overwhelming the senses through sight and sound, flashbangs were highly flammable. Travis figured he must have inadvertently struck the fuel packs on one of the flame throwers.

_That was nothing, little apes, the best is yet to come._

He began working the second munition he had selected, his movements quick and precise. _Well, Torch and I told Catcher that this was our 'just-in-case' det… _Travis felt a sudden pang as he wondered what had happened to Torch, but he had no time to wonder at the fate of his fellow Marine when he knew the wall was about to be overrun with a horde of Kaz'harians.

"Thanks so much for the present, boys," Travis muttered to himself. "And, now we have one for you."

Travis held the det in his hand for a moment, 'cooking it' to ensure there was no way it could be thrown back at them. He stared down at the timer as it counted down, watched it precisely, ensuring it would explode as soon as it made contact with the enemy.

_This one will not be coming back to haunt us.._.

"Five, four, three…" He dared to stand up fully this time and threw the cooked det for all he worth noting with alarm that the Kaz'harians were now in the middle of the stream. "Frag out! Down! Down! Down!" He warned the others, diving down to the ground. He hadn't even noticed if anyone else was alive beside himself, but Travis refused to believe he was the sole survivor of the commando team.

Even more powerful than the grenades he had in his belt, Travis and Torch's custom det hit the bottom of the streambed and blew up a huge volume of water, rock, dirt and silt. Travis threw himself on top of Lance, trying to protect the medic from the maelstrom of debris, and hoped if he was still alive, he wasn't injuring him any further.

And, suddenly it felt like the entire bottom of the riverbed had been upended and dumped on top of him.

# # #

Blaze moved back over to Viper's side and felt for his pulse again.

_Aw, kriff._

Blaze just knew then that Viper was gone. Sitting there next to his brother, there was something about him that just didn't feel like Viper anymore. He could feel that his brother was just _gone_.

He stared down at the fragment lodged in Viper's chest, transfixed by it for a moment.

_He had the biggest heart of any brother I knew. How could he die by being stabbed in the heart?_

Blaze hung his head down and felt the flame within him die.

His closest brother was gone.

When he heard Travis' voice warning of a 'Frag out' it was just pure training that caused his body to crash down to the ground. He didn't even remember falling to the ground, but somehow his body did it anyway from countless years of drills and practice the action was just automatic. He covered his head, and felt rock, dirt, mud and huge volumes of water plunge down around him. He decided to just stay down and let himself be buried. There was no sense getting up anymore. He was finished anyway. He felt his body sink deeper and deeper into the Darkknell soil. It seemed fitting to be buried here beside his brother.

_I'm drowning. Just let me drown._

# # #

"Blaze."

The Republic Commando dimly thought he heard somebody calling his name.

Not Viper.

Viper's gone.

"Blaze!"

He slowly forced his head to turn at the authoritative command tone, years of training overriding even his overpowering grief. He lifted his head from the deep muck, and it suddenly occurred to him that he wasn't dead. The smoke was slowly starting to clear and Travis was staring at him from a few meters away.

"You're alive," Travis heaved out a sigh of relief, and began swiping muck off of himself. He gave up after a moment, and then just shook his head, grumbling.

Blaze wanted to make some comment to dispute the fact that he was alive, but couldn't think of anything so he just nodded numbly. He raised his head up a bit further, and started spitting out globs of dirt and silt. Darkknell tasted terrible. Now, he was sorely missing his bucket. He reached up a gloved hand, trying to swipe some muck from his face, and feeling he was just making the mess worse. Some part of him was aware that the cut over his eye was still oozing something, too, but maybe that was just more muck.

Travis was gesturing to the fallen commando, and saying something. Blaze tried to focus on what the Lieutenant was saying.

"Viper—is he…"

Blaze looked down at his brother, and felt another punch to his chest as he saw the latest explosion had half buried his brother in dirt and silt. Even so, it was still obvious from the way Viper was lying, and that incredibly obvious fragment sticking in the middle of his chest that he…

"Viper's dead," Blaze said, thickly.

Travis sucked in a breath, and gave their fallen team member a long searching look. Then, he looked back at Blaze, as if he'd been thinking of saying something. Blaze turned his face abruptly away, feeling a piece of rapidly drying mud flying off as he did so. He didn't want to hear any words of comfort.

Travis heaved out a sigh, and then pointed to the medic by his side, "Lance is hurt."

The muddied commando just stared at the Marine, as if the words made no sense to him.

"Blaze! Fek! Snap out of it! Did you hear me? Lance is hurt!"

"What... do you need me do?" Blaze blinked, and his voice was low and hoarse. He could follow orders. Orders didn't require anything thinking.

"Help me find the medscanner," Travis said.

The Marine pointed to the wreckage of the medkit, which had sitting opened next to Lance when the explosive hit. Pieces of the kit were lying strewn all over, and many components looked ruined beyond saving. Blaze began picking through the scattered pieces on the ground, shattered vials leaking their precious medical contents into the dirt and muck. Bacta bandages had been ripped open and were oozing now into the filth. An irrigation bulb was ripped, deflated and useless, and one of Lance's trademark hyposprays had completely melted from the heat of the explosion. However, there was also an entire section of the medkit that had survived intact, the sturdy metallic casing of the box still in one piece. Precious medical supplies were still in place, exactly as Lance had neatly and precisely placed them there.

"Scanner's here," Blaze said, rescuing out of the metallic case. He was about to hand the medical device to Travis, then hesitated. "You been trained a lot in this sort of thing?"

"Probably not as much as you," Travis admitted, much as it grieved him to admit that a commando might an edge over a Marine. He waved a hand an indicated for Blaze to continue.

The commando just shrugged, and began running a scan over Lance while Travis looked on. Blaze shook his head as he ran the scanner slowly over the medic from head to toe.

"Well?" he demanded, roughly, staring at the commando.

_If Lance lives through this, I'm going to kill him_, Travis thought.

"He's alive," Blaze said, his voice sounded thick, and Travis thought, almost a bit bitter. His eyes flickered back over to Viper's fallen form and he wondered once again if he should say something, but he still had no words to say. He turned his attention back to Lance, feeling his shoulders sag with relief that the medic was still alive.

As they finished gathering up the medical supplies, Travis found his chest plates which Lance had removed in order to treat his burns. He scowled at the amount of mud covering them, but knew they'd do their job just as well, filthy or not. As a Marine, he'd certainly been muckier, at times.

Fully armored up, he straighten up a little more fully and began peering around through the still thick smoke, looking around for the other missing members of their team, starting with their leader. "Where's Catcher?"

Blaze continued to run the scanner, but they both pivoted their helmeted heads around, looking for the missing ARC Captain.

"There," Blaze noticed him first, lying prone on his side about six meters away.

"Oh, not good," Travis muttered, working his way over to Catcher, staying low in a semi-crouch to avoid any possible stray fire that could still possibly come over the wall. "Catcher!" He began shaking the ARC, but received no response. Travis rolled the fallen Captain onto his back, and Catcher's arms fell limply to his sides.

The Marine let out a mournful groan, and sagged back onto his heels. Out of the corner of his eye, a glint of metal caught his attention—Catcher's crutch. He reached out an arm and picked it up. The explosion has completely mangled the metal, bending and twisting it until it snapped in the middle.

"Fek!" Travis angrily tossed it aside.

Destroyed. Like their commando team.

# # #

Catcher wished whoever it was that was slamming on the inside of his skull would just quit it. He had no idea what had just happened, but the last time he'd felt like this, he and Bly had been out on all night bender.

"Bly?" he croaked out, figuring his brother would have a decent explanation for the sorry state of his head. But, his mouth wasn't working properly, so the sound came out more as a garbled: "—y?"

Travis froze in his tracks at the garbled syllable like he'd been struck, then turned in astonishment.

"Catcher!" Travis dropped onto his knee next to the ARC, quickly popping the seal on his helmet and tugging it off. "You're alive."

The ARC Captain squinted, owlishly up at Travis, "Ifff… you ssssay so." He rubbed hard at the back of his head, and grimaced, "Owwwwww."

Then, starting to take in more awareness of his surroundings, he focused on the person in front of him, "Travvvvis?"

The Marine grinned, "Yeah, vod, it's me."

"Whyyy are there two of you?" Catcher squinted up at the Marine accusingly.

Travis frowned, and began prodding at the back of the ARC Captain's head.

"Ow!" Catcher complained, reaching a clumsy hand up to swat Travis' hand away, "Stop that! Zat hurts!"

Travis lent a supportive arm behind Catcher, holding him up, and then with his other arm continued probing the back of the ARC Captain's head.

"Ow!" Catcher protested again, but the pain was starting to bring the ARC more back to himself, "Travis, what happened?"

The Marine grunted, "Kazzies threw one of our 'munitions right back at us."

"What?!" Catcher immediately tried to rise up, looking around for the rest of the team, but then grabbed at his head with both hands, groaning, "OK, that hurts."

"Hold still, you di'kut," Travis shoved Catcher back down to a sitting position, none too gently. He located the injured area on the back of his brother's skull, and lifted his glove away, rubbing his fingers looking at the blood there. "Looks like you landed right on your head."

"Feels like it, too. Now, just leave it!" Catcher complained, irritably, trying to rise up again.

Travis completely ignored his protestations, holding his brother in place with a firm group on his shoulder pauldron, while he reached into the medpac on his beltpouch with his other hand. He adjusted his hands quickly, and pulled Catcher's head back so he could inject a syringe full of pain reliever.

"That should sweeten up your disposition," Travis commented.

Catcher still glared at him, but he stopped fighting him and the tension eased from his shoulders as the pain began to lessen. Travis grabbed an antiseptic and deftly cleaned the cut on the back of the Captain's head.

"Sitrep?" Catcher prompted, grabbing at Travis' hand and stilling his motions.

The Marine Lieutenant blew out a harsh breath, "Lance is down. Badly injured. Blaze is assessing him now. And, Viper… he's dead. I don't know yet about the others."

Catcher closed his eyes for a moment, as he absorbed the news of the death of one of their team members. Then, he opened his eyes and nodded, "And, the Kaz'harians?"

Travis finished cleaning the cut, and stuffed the trash into another pouch on his belt. He leaned back on his heels, "They tried to rush us right after throwing the first explosion, So I threw a flashbang," the Marine made a sweeping gesture with his hands, "the rest of you were still out, followed by that other little det Torch and I had worked up."

Catcher's eyes took on a gleam of approval, "Good work, Travis."

"It was one of our _own _dets they threw back at us," the Marine emphasized, not wanting to hear any praise. He looked at Catcher with eyes filled with guilt, "Viper was killed with a det that Torch and I-"

Catcher's eyes bored into Travis', not letting him even continue the self-destructive thought, "_Don't._" His voice rang with authority, and confidence, "We all signed onto this mission knowing the risks. Viper was a commando. He knew that as well as anybody." He began pushing himself up. "Come on."

"We've lost team members-" Travis objected, a hint of despair, creeping into his tone.

Catcher gave the Lieutenant an annoyed look, "We are far from finished, Travis." He began pushing himself up to his feet. Travis reached an arm down, and yanked Catcher up on his braced legs, holding him steady for a moment. The ARC Captain looked around.

"Looking for your crutch?" Travis asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh… yeah. You seen it?"

Travis pointed to the snarled remains of what was once Catcher's crutch. "That's all that's left. Still think we can go on?"

Catcher pulled himself free from Travis' grip, and caught his balance on his own. He swung one of his braced legs forward on his own, his gaze fiercely holding into Travis' the whole time. It took him a moment to steady himself, and then he swung his other leg forward.

"I've been thinking for a while that I didn't need that kriffin' crutch anymore," Catcher said, staring over at the charred remains of the crutch. "But, Karyn and Ashla thought I'd be safer with it. I don't _need_ safe, Travis. I'm a clone. We adapt. We will always _adapt_." He slapped his brother on the shoulder, "We have work to do."

A failed experiment? No. Not at all.

# # #

The last thing Dart had been aware of was somebody tackling him from behind. Since the only one near him was Torch, he figured it was the enigmatic Marine. He didn't have time to think about much else because the explosion happened so quickly. The next thing he felt was a huge sensation of heat, noise, light, all the electronics in his suit cut out, and then nothing. Some part of him dimly thought there might have even been a _second_ explosion because he'd just been starting to come to when suddenly it had all started all over again and he'd blacked out again. But, everything was just such a haze he was wondering if his brain just made up that second part to explain how lousy he was currently feeling.

_Ugggh. My HUD. Hate it when it blinks all crazy likes that. Makes me nauseous._

Dart reset the systems, and breathed out a sigh of relief when the wild blinking reset in a normal reboot pattern. The normal cycle-up pattern was reassuring. But, when he tried to set his screen for an outside view, all he saw was… mud? Dirt? What the-

_Did I get buried alive? And, why can't I move? _

Knowing that panic could be deadly in situation like this, he forced himself to take deep breaths and concentrated on slowing his heart rate and breathing. _I'm not dead. My suit still has air. Calm. I am a calm ARC._

He slowly became aware that there was something heavy on top of him. No, not something. Someone. As awareness and memory came back, he suddenly remembered...

"Torch!"

There was no movement at all from the brother lying on top of him. In a panic, Dart began pushing and prodding at the Marine.

"Torch!"

He heard a hiss of pain and then some muttered protestations.

"Fek," the Marine grumbled, rolling irritably to his side, "stop… poking me, Dart... That _hurts_."

"You're alive!"

"Last time... I checked. Yeah. So… stop... poking me," Torch grumbled, managing to clumsily slide off of his brother and roll to his knees.

He lifted his head up and began studying his surroundings. As a wave of air blew in from the jungle, clearing some of the lingering smoke, he caught sight of Blaze working over Lance.

"Oh… not good," Torch muttered.

The Marine hung his head down for a moment for a moment. When he did, Dart noticed a trail of blood oozing out from between the plates on one of his arms, and also from several places on his back.

Dart gripped Torch's arm firmly, much to the Marine's annoyance, and studied it, "Looks like you got some shrapnel."

Catcher worked his way over to Dart and Torch, "You two, OK?"

"Fine-" Torch started.

Dart interrupted, "Torch caught some shrapnel."

Torch fixed his brother with an annoyed look.

Catcher studied the Marine for a moment, looking him over, "Alright, understood." He nodded to Dart, "Do what you can for him. But, make it fast. We need to move out. Travis said they've already tried to overrun this position."

They both nodded automatically at the order, and then turned back to look at where Blaze was working on Lance, a questioning look in their gazes.

Catcher took a deep breath, delivering the worst news first, not attempting to soften the blow, "Viper is dead. Lance is injured. How bad- I don't know. From what I can see, it looks… bad."

Dart cast a quick glance over the stone wall, "So, what will do we do… about Lance?"

"We're going to have to take him with us." He looked toward the jungle grimly, as if torn by a great weight, the burden of command weighing on him heavily, "We'll do what we can, but without a medic…. " He heaved a long sigh, "I don't think heading back to the ship is an option. If we don't complete our mission-"

"I… understand, sir. You don't need to explain," Dart said, suddenly feeling glad he was an ARC, independent, and not responsible for making decisions where he had to always weigh the lives… and deaths, of others.

Catcher gave the two troopers a nod, a heavy, weighted gesture, and turned to head back over to Lance, Travis and Blaze.

# # #

Dart watched Catcher walk away, and suddenly noted the Captain was walking without his crutch.

A small amused smile came to his face, _Huh. Guess he got tired of Travis and Lance-_

His amusement immediately faded, and he cast a worried glance over to where the downed medic lay prone amongst the haphazard blown bits of medical supplies.

_Shab. Why Lance? _

He shook his head, and turned his attention back to Torch, reaching into his belt pouch, noticing for the first time it was covered in copious amounts of mud. He ignored the sorry state of his armor and went back to the task at hand.

"Can't promise you I'll do this half as well as Lance," Dart begin, tugging off his filthy gloves and setting them aside, "But, it will have to do..." He found a pair of steri-plast gloves and tugged them on, trying not to shred the thin material. "Alright, trust me, this will be a lot more fun with a painkiller. Take off your bucket, vod."

There was no response from the Marine in front of him.

"Aw, come on, then, I'm not _that_ bad at this. Take of your bucket, OK?" Still no response. Dart frowned, and waved his plasti-wrapped hand in front of the Marine's face. "Hey, Torch! You still with me?" Dart waved a hand in front of the Marine's face.

He almost didn't hear the softly spoken words.

"Lance…. he was always… there for me."

The ARC carefully removed the thin, sterile plasti-gloves and shoved them into one of his pouches for safekeeping, and then leaned forward and tugged off the Marine's helmet. "Uh… yes… well, think positive, OK? Lance… he'll make it through this, and be annoying us all with those syringes of his again in no time at all, OK?" He cast a dubious glance back at where both Travis and Blaze were working in tandem over the injured medic. "Speaking of which, heads up…" He injected Torch in the neck with a painkiller, and noticed the Marine didn't react at all.

_Odd. Those things hurt. For something called 'painkillers,' they are oddly painful going in. Torch didn't twitch so much as a muscle when I jabbed him._

Slightly unnerved, Dart continued to talk his brother while he worked, "So, uh, Torch, hold still, OK?" _Alright, Dart. That was a stupid thing to say. He is holding still. He's holding freakishly still. "_I was never the best when it came to removing shrapnel." _Way to instill confidence, Dart._ He tugged the plasti-gloves back on, cursing under his breath when he got a small rip along the thumb on one side. Dart heaved out a sigh, and then flipped on the headlamps on his helmet."Alright, vod, hold out your arm. This looks like a piece of rock off the wall." He grimaced in sympathy, and prepared to grasp the shard.

Torch didn't react at all, and continued to stare over at Lance. Dart glanced up at him, and noticed his eyes were beginning to glaze over. "Hey," he snapped his fingers in front of the Marine's face, but with the gloves on the snap came out more as a an odd crinkling sound. "Torch? Are you OK?"

Dart turned his attention back to Torch's arm. There were two sizable shards, side-by-side. He removed both in quick succession and tossed them aside into the muck below. As soon as the shards came free, the Marine's arm started bleeding in a fast stream of red. "Alright, I got it, but we need to stem the bleeding." He tugged a piece of gauze out of his medpac, "Here, hold this while I grab-"

He looked up and noticed the Marine was still completely non-responsive. "Torch?... Hey! Torch?!"

Starting to get truly concerned now, Dart looked backwards over his shoulder, and called to Catcher, "Hey, Captain? I think there's something wrong with Torch!"

The ARC Captain quickly worked his way back over, his braced, mechanical legs making a hinging, clicking sound as he moved. He stared at the Marine, and then back at Dart. "Yes, he's TBI, Dart, remember?"

"Yeah, so?" Dart said, reaching for an anti-septic out of his pouch and spraying the area he'd just treated. He located an appropriate sized bacta bandage, and adhered it with a press of his thumbs. Then, he pivoted his body around so that he could reach the shrapnel on his fellow Marine's back.

"Well, he's not necessarily going to react to extreme stress the same way you or I would," Catcher said, waving a hand in front of Torch's face. He stood back and folded his arms across his chest, studying the non-responsive team member.

Deciding to call in some additional help, Catcher turned and called in the other Marine on the team, "Hey, Travis?"

"I'm a little busy right now, Catcher," Travis said, from where he and Blaze were still working on stabilizing Lance. He injected Lance in the neck, ran the medscanner over him again, and then nodded. "Alright," he said, looking back at the commando, "let's work on splinting his arm and leg. We can at least stabilize the bones. I'm not sure how much we can do much more for his internal injuries. We need an actual _medic_ for that. And, ours," he grimaced, and then his features settled in a fierce scowl, "is _broken_."

"Travis!" Catcher bellowed.

"What?" Travis turned, annoyed.

"Let Blaze handle that for the moment," Catcher ordered, "I need you over here."

Travis handed the medscanner over to Blaze, and let out an irritated growl. But, he did as he was ordered and pushing up stiffly from the ground, made his way over to the others. "_What_?"

Catcher raised up an eyebrow, at the surly, borderline disrespectful response, "_Careful_, Travis." His voice made it clear that he would not have the same unlimited patience with the Marine that Rex seemed to have.

Torch threw up his hands in what seemed to pass for an apology.

Catcher pointed to Torch. "Your dets buddy seems to have checked out on us."

Travis snapped his fingers in front of Torch's non-responsive face and then frowned, "This is not good. Rex did warn something like this was a possibility."

Dart peered around from his position behind Torch's back, a bloody piece of shrapnel held up in his field-kit forceps, "He did?"

Travis nodded, "Yes, well, Torch did pull a gun on him."

Catcher nodded, "True…" he rubbed his chin, thoughtfully, "Twice, actually."

"Twice?!" Dart shook his head and went back to his task at hand, muttering something unsavory under his breath about the Galactic Marines.

"Yes, well, not like he succeeded," Travis growled, defensive of his fellow Marine, "It was more of a… misunderstanding." He shrugged his shoulders in frustration, then gave a worried glance back at where Blaze was hovering over Lance, waiting for him. "Give him a stim. Seemed to work last time."

Dart fished in his medpac and pulled out a stim. He injected the Marine, and they all waited for a response. Travis tensely tapped his hand against his armored thigh, edgy and impatient. Torch's gaze remained fixed and non-responsive.

"Give him a second one," Travis ordered, giving another worried glance back toward Lance.

Dart fished around in his medpac, "That's all I have. Haven't restocked this thing since… " he threw up his hands, "I don't know when."

Travis reached into his beltpack and grabbed out a handful of stims, and shoved them into Dart's medpac. The others were giving him an odd look. "What? I'm dating a doctor."

Catcher continued to give Travis an unsure gaze.

"She _gave_ these to me, alright?" Travis said, defensively, and this his voice took on a hint of embarrassment, "She's a bit…overprotective." He reached grabbed another stim out of his pack, and reached forward and injected the non-responsive Marine with another stim himself.

Within seconds, Torch started and blinked. "Why are you… all looking at me?" he asked, and then his eyes narrowed, "What did I do?" His voice was defensive; but also held a sense of dread.

Travis snorted, in a sound very reminiscent of Torch's own distinctive laugh, "Nothing, vod. Just checked out on us, for a moment. You're good." He looked over at Dart, "You done with him?"

The ARC finished spraying Torch's back with antiseptic, "Yeah, that's all the shrapnel I can see. If anything else hurts, let me know. Means I missed something."

Torch gave a casual shrug, as if to say 'whatever,' not seemingly bothered by the recent spray of shrapnel that had peppered his body.

"Come on then," Travis gripped Torch on the shoulder in an impatient tug, "You can help me and Blaze with Lance."

Catcher stopped Travis with a tug on his arm, and pointed to his medpac. The Marine sighed and held open the bag. The ARC Captain reached in and fished out a few stims and painkillers, and tucked them into his belt. He nodded to Travis, indicating he could go on his way. Travis scowled, muttering under his breath, and missed the smile that graced Catcher's face behind his back.

As they kept their heads down and worked their way back over to the others, Torch glanced over the stonewall. "What about…" He pointed in the general direction of the morgue.

"While you were out, they tried to rush us. I tossed over a flashbang and our secondary det," he huffed out a grim laugh, "turns out Kazzies are highly flammable. Who knew?"

"Sorry, I missed it," replied Torch, as he reached into his belt pouch, rifling around for supplies. "Still have... a few frag grenades left."

"Save them," Travis said, "we still have a ways to go until our mission is complete." They both settled next to Lance in a crouch, and he pointed to the prone medic, "We need to hurry." He pointed over the wall, "They're quiet now, but…"

Torch nodded in understanding, "Just tell me… what to do."

Travis looked up at Blaze who had straightened Lance's arm, and was critically examining the surviving medical supplies.

"Get his plates off of his right side," Travis said, "that's where the damage is."

Torch seemed glad to have something to do and quickly and adeptly stripped the medic of the necessary armor plates. He stacked them in a pile in the cleanest spot he could find, while Travis and Blaze used an inflatable splint to quickly stabilize Lance's arm.

"Don't think we have time to worry about setting the bones properly," Travis grumbled with regret, casting a worried eye toward the stone wall, "but, at least we can stabilize things a bit for when we move him."

"His ribbed crack on this side, as well," Blaze pointed out, "we should at least wrap those. Could help with his other internal injuries, as well."

_And, it could make them worse_, Travis felt his gut twist with worry, but didn't say anything. There was no time to second-guess anything. The best they could hope was try to keep the bones from grinding together, and keep Lance alive, before they could expect the next wave of attackers.

"You almost done?" Catcher prompted, without even looking back at them, his gaze alternatively between looking worriedly down the hill, and glancing backwards toward the morgue.

"Not quite," Travis responded irritably. _We're working as quickly as we can for fierfek's sake!_

But, suddenly Travis noticed that Catcher was looking more and more down the hill.

With rapid hand gestures, the Marine coordinated the splinting of Lance's leg, glad that he and Blaze worked so well together. Even half blown apart, the medic's pack was ridiculously well stocked. He just hoped what they were doing would be enough…

Then, realizing there had been something more to what Catcher said, he looked up at the Captain. "Wait—why. Do you see something?" Without waiting for a response, he gently tugged Lance up and held him while Blaze quickly wrapped bandages around his ribs.

"Not sure. But, I thought I heard something," Catcher murmured, still straining to see down the hill. "Now though, I don't…" His voice trailed off, and he sounded puzzled.

"Can't help you there," Travis responded wryly, but the worry was evident in his voice.

"Are you two done?" Catcher asked, not tearing his gaze away from the hill.

He glanced up at Blaze, and the commando nodded. "Alright, yes, done. Come on, let's move out."

With Lance still draped over his shoulder, Travis struggled to his feet, adjusting his brother's weight into the same wounded-man carry that Torch had used before on him. It _hurt_ to carry the medic with the burns on his chest but he wouldn't consider allowing anyone else to carry him.

He gestured to Torch to hand him his rifle. He couldn't turn his head with Lance on his shoulder, but could sense the rest of the team forming up behind him. "Which way?" he asked, standing right next to Catcher and trying to see down the hill.

Catcher shook his head, "Since our next det point is right past the hangar area on the inside, I was going to take us down that direction… We either need to enter back in the fortress down there, or… " He hooked his thumb back over his shoulder, and indicated the blown out morgue entrance, "…back through that way." He hesitated, a move that Travis found uncharacteristic in the ARC Captain and therefore somewhat unnerving.

"Well?" Travis prompted, feeling the micro-seconds ticking by almost as assuredly as if another det was about to fall upon them.

Catcher glanced back again over his shoulder toward the morgue and heaved out a long sigh, "This way," he pointed down the hill, although his voice sounded less than confident.

"Let's go then," Travis growled, pushing past Catcher in his impatient haste to get going. Right decision or wrong, they just need to get _moving_.

Catcher moved to quickly catch up with him, and out of the corner of his eye, Travis saw the ARC Captain slide on rubble and lose his footing. He couldn't arch or flex his feet to compensate for the uneven terrain the way someone who could feel their legs could. Torch was suddenly there at Catcher's side, before anyone else could react, catching him and setting him back on his feet. Without being asked, he slung an arm around the ARC's waist and wordlessly guided him over the rest of the rubble. Together, they moved quickly and efficiently, and Catcher moved up to the head of the team, Torch by his side.

"Thanks," Catcher said, once they were away from the blast site and the ground had evened out again.

Torch just gave a nonchalant shrug, and let go of his brother's waist, giving him back his independence. But, Travis noted that Torch stayed within arm's reach of the Captain, ready to grab onto him again should he lose his footing.

He regarded Torch with a sense of wonder, thinking of all the doubts he'd had when the other Marine had been added to the team. _Who would've thought that he'd be the one to turn out to be such an integral team player?_

He was just starting to think things were going to be OK again, and they'd make it to the next det point and everything would get back on track, when suddenly they crested over the hill and all hell broke loose again.

# # #

Being in front, Catcher spotted them first.

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Travis would have smirked in amusement as his HUD struggled to transcribe the rapid-fire stream of curses erupting from the normal stalwart ARC Captain. But, then again, Catcher had been on edge from the moment they'd left the somewhat questionable safety of the stonewall.

"Down! Down! Down!" Catcher ordered, throwing himself down and grabbing Torch by the legs and tackling him to the ground just as a wall of flame came roaring at them from the bottom of the hill.

Every member of the team immediately responded by hitting the jungle floor, except… for Blaze. The Republic commando hit the ground, rolled and immediately came up firing.

"Blaze! Frak! Get down!" Catcher ordered.

The commando gave a quick glance at the Captain, and then shook his head, steadfastly advancing. For the moment, his rapid, relentless fire halted the onslaught of fire. Then, the flames started again.

"Blaze! Down!" Catcher ordered again.

For a few moments, Blaze's keltarn armor held out against the onslaught. But, he was at a severe disadvantage without his helmet. He put one arm shielding his face and eyes from the flames as he blindly kept firing, before he fell backwards and lay still not moving.

The others began firing from where they lay on the ground trading shots with the Kaz'harians as flames singed directly over their heads.

And, then, the situation got worse…

Travis felt a wave of heat singe the bottom of his armored boots and he turned in horror to see another wave of Kaz'harians advancing upon them from behind.

"We're pinned down!" he shouted, slapping Torch on the shoulder, and the two Marines pivoted in tandem and began firing on the enemy advancing on them from behind.

Through his HUD, Travis was dimly aware of Catcher trying to establish a commlink out to Rex and his team. With dismay, he noted the comm connector flash: "FAIL" time and time again. Their signals were being disrupted. Travis was starting to get an appreciation for how the Kaz'harians were able to take down both the 501st and the 212th…

_Frak. These apes were clever…_

He exchanged a worried glance with Torch as flames began surrounding them from both sides, closing in.

_This is it. Our team is finished. We'll never reach the dungeons. Never complete our mission-_

Suddenly, out from the jungle a barrage of blue blaster erupted and began taking down the Kaz'harians on both sides of the line. As the pinned down team watched in temporary stunned amazement, Kaz'harians began falling from the hail of blue fire. Recovering from their shock, the commando team immediately joined in with their unexpected allies, working together, taking down the remainder of the enemy. There was no noise for a time except for blaster fire and flame until all of a sudden the Kaz'harians were all dead or retreating back.

The team rose up from where they'd been crouched down in firing position and every one of the clones stared toward the jungle in puzzlement.

Through the haze of smoke, fourteen figures rushed forward out of the hazy smoke.

The front form was wielding a lightsaber.

Light saber?

Torch hauled Catcher to his feet. "Go, check on Blaze," Catcher gruffly ordered, pointing to their fallen teammate, and then cautiously stepped forward to greet their new allies.

As the smoke began to clear around them, blown by a mild breeze coming in off the jungle, Catcher's eyes widened with surprise. Standing boldly behind the Jedi, were six blue armored clones, unmistakably 501st Legion, and interspersed with these warriors were seven members of the 212th Attack Legion. One of the orange and white clad clones stepped forward ahead of the others, and Catcher gasped as he recognized the distinctive armor of the _commander_ of the entire 212th.

"Commander Cody!" Catcher gasped out.

Cody stepped forward, his helmeted head quickly scanning back and forth as he took in the situation. "Yes," he acknowledged, regarding the ARC Captain in front of him curiously, cocking his head to the side, "and, you are?"

Catcher saluted briskly, "ARC Captain Catcher, sir." It was on the tip of his tongue to introduce himself as being of the 327th Star Corps, but since his orders came from Captain Rex, he held his tongue.

Somehow though, just saying his name seemed to be enough information. A collective gasp went through the group of newcomers assembled in front of him. Commander Cody was the first to recover. He folded his arms across his chest, and pointed a finger at Catcher's chest, almost accusingly. "We've heard of you." Then, he added in bluntly, in his low, smooth tones, "We were told you were _dead_."

Catcher glanced back at Travis, who was now standing directly behind him, and the two exchanged uneasy glances. The look was not lost on Commander Cody, "You have something you want to tell me, soldier?" He gave a searching look to their group.

Catcher folded his arms across his chest, in the same stubborn pose as Cody's, the two ARCs now in perfect counterpoise to each other, "With all due respect, sir, that's an issue you'll have to take up with Captain Rex. We're under strict orders-"

Cody gripped Catcher's arm so harshly, the ARC thought his armor was in danger of cracking. "What - did - you - say?"

Even though they were all helmeted, he could sense the stunned gazes of all of the newcomers. And, the shock on the Jedi's un-helmeted face was plain to see.

"Uh... I said, sir," he glanced around nervously, wondering what he had said that had evoked such a strong reaction in all of these men, "we are under strict orders from our Captain-"

Cody waved his other hand impatiently in front of Catcher's face, "Not that! Who? Who is this _Captain_ of yours?"

Catcher stared at the blue and white armor of the men assembled behind Cody as it suddenly dawned upon him just who this group was. "Oh."

_It's the kriffin' 501__st__._

He felt Cody's heated glare on him, and sweat began to trickle down his neck.

"Well?" demanded Cody, his hand had still not released it's punishing grip on Catcher's arm.

Catcher took a deep breath, and repeated, "Captain Rex." As he said the name, he could feel the impact the words had on the group of men in front of him. It was as if they'd been struck a physical blow.

Cody immediately released him, and then paced back and forth a couple of agitated steps. Catcher rubbed at his sore arm, staring at the tense commander, unsure what to do. He glanced back nervously at Travis, who shrugged helplessly. Cody suddenly grabbed one of the blue armored clones, an ARC, and tugged him roughly forward. "Hey!" the clone squawked.

Cody pointed to the armor of the clone he'd dragged in front of Catcher, "Captain Rex? _The_ Captain Rex? Like _this_?" He smacked the blue and white stripes, the pauldron and the kama as he made his point.

"Hey, easy!" protested the clone again. "I'm _attached _to all this armor, you know!"

"Shut it, Fives," Cody hissed, turning his attention back to Catcher, and waiting a response.

"Yes, of course," Catcher said, he pointed to the clone who had just been identified as Fives, "except the Captain, he has a bad knee. Or, at least he did until he had it replaced last month. But, yeah, the very same….. as I said, we are under strict orders to divert all questions to our Captain. So, if you want to know anything else, you're going to have to talk to him." He folded his arms across his chest again in the same stubborn ARC pose.

"Where the frak is he, then?" Fives demanded, impatiently, getting right in Catcher's face.

Catcher stared at the impudent ARC, and snorted, "Well, other than the kama and stripes, you're nothing like the Captain, are you?"

Fives suddenly raised up a hand, until Cody got between the two.

"Fives! Back off!" Cody ordered, and then pointed, indicating that the ARC was to go back in line with the others.

"Fives go here. Fives do this. Fives do that," the ARC hissed, his temper still high, resuming his previous position.

"Shut it, Fives!" hissed the clone next to him, elbowing the ARC hard enough in the ribs that he yelped.

Fives objected, "Yeah, but-"

"Just _shut it_, Fives, so we can hear about the Captain," grumbled a clone from the other side of him, a medic.

"We lost communications during the battle," Catcher was explaining to Cody. "We think the Kaz'harians may have figured out a way to jam our signals. But, we know where he was headed. We can give you his coordinates." He looked back over his shoulder at where Torch was tending to Blaze, and where Lance was lying unconscious on the ground. "Do you have a medic? We've got wounded."

"Kix," Cody said, gesturing the medic forward.

Kix immediately moved forward and set to examining the two injured team members. Blaze had already started coming around, and was sitting up. "I'm fine," the commando insisted, holding a bacta pad that had been given to him by Torch. "Take care of Lance."

Kix pointed a commanding finger at the commando, "I'll be the judge of who's fine. Stay where you are." He immediately slid his medkit off his back and set to work.

Catcher nodded in relief, "I appreciate your help, Commander."

Cody regarded the small team critically, "Why are you separated from this _Captain_ of yours, anyway?" There was a slight ironic lilt to his voice as if the possession of the Captain was still very much in doubt.

"We're on special assignment for Captain Rex," Catcher said stubbornly, pride in his voice. He noticed a ripple still went through the assembled men when he said the name of their previously presumed dead Captain. He was starting to find it all slightly unnerving himself. "We have a mission to fulfill." The tone in his voice made it very clear that he intended to fulfill this mission at all costs. Travis took a step forward, and raised up his chin proudly and defiantly, in an indication that he, too, was of a mindset that they were going to carry on with their mission no matter what.

"You're down several team members," Cody pointed out, gesturing toward where Kix was tending to Blaze and Lance.

Catcher shook his head, "Doesn't matter. We're _not_ letting the Captain down."

"Rex would never give up on us," Travis said, speaking up for the first time, "there's no way we're going to disappoint him."

Cody shook his head, and grumbled, "Leave it to Rex to be gone for two months, and be able to find himself his own group of fanatics." He regarded Travis steadily, "And, you are?"

Travis saluted sharply, "Lieutenant Travis, Galactic Marines."

Cody studied Travis critically, then looked down at Catcher's braced legs curiously, "Right. So, we have an ARC Captain who is supposed to be dead, a Galactic Marine," he peered behind Catcher and noticed Torch assisting Lance, "no, make that _two_ Galactic Marines," he took in Blaze's armor, "a Republic commando," his assessing glance took in Dart, who stared back at him defiantly, "yet _another_ ARC, and… that one on the ground, who's he?" He pointed down to Lance.

"He's our medic," Catcher said, impatiently, as if it should have been entirely obvious.

"Right, of course, he is," Cody said.

Catcher gave Cody an annoyed look, then glanced back to check Kix's progress with the wounded, "Sir, look, if there's nothing else, we really need to be moving on. Thank you for your assistance-"

Cody gripped Catcher's arm again, "No."

Catcher stared down at his arm.

The Jedi stepped forward, speaking up for the first time, "Cody-"

He put up a hand, stalling her interruption, shaking his head, "I've got this."

Catcher started a bit in confusion, wondering at just who was in command here. The Jedi frowned, but relented, allowing Cody to continue.

"Look," Cody began, "I don't know what _this_ is all about." He made a circular gesture with his finger to indicate the unusual team assembled behind the ARC Captain, and before Catcher could say anything further, "and, yes, I do intend to take this up with _your_ Captain. But, I have faith in Rex." Cody paused for a moment because his voice cracked slightly when he'd said the word 'Rex.' He cleared his throat, and continued, his voice slightly gruffer and deeper. "I'll take your wounded with us."

"Thank you," Catcher said, with a sigh of relief, "that would be much appreciated."

Cody nodded, and pivoted his body slightly so he could address the group behind him, "Fives! Echo! Come forward."

The two 501st ARCs exchanged a quick questioning glance with each other and then immediately came forward, and saluted, with Fives' salute just a tad more casual than the crisp salute offered by Echo.

"I'm going to give you a few more ARCs to add to your _colorful_ team here," Cody made a bit of a flourish with his hand, and then pointed, "This one is Echo. And, this one here is Fives." He shook his head, and then mumbled, "Good luck with _that_ one."

Catcher gave the Commander a dubious look as he regarded Fives, but then graciously said to Cody, "Uh… thank you, sir. Very generous." He nodded to Fives and Echo, gesturing them over to 'his team.' When he pointed to Fives, he jerked his thumb very abruptly and harshly.

"How do I get to this lab, then?" Cody asked.

Catcher transmitted a HUD to Cody's schematic. "These are all the plans we have of the facility. Lab is on the second level. The Captain believes there are Jedi prisoners being held in the lab, along with clones. We were planning on doing the rescue in a top-down approach, hitting the labs first, and then working our way down to the dungeons."

The Jedi visibly reacted at Catcher's words, "Do you know which Jedi are in the labs?"

Catcher shook his head, "No. I'm sorry. I don't know the specifics, other than the Captain was quite anxious to rescue some Jedi from the 501st-"

"General Skywalker?" the Jedi prompted.

Catcher frowned, and shook his head, "No. It was a commander-"

"Ahsoka!"

The ARC Captain shrugged at the unfamiliar name, "Uh… sorry. I really don't know the specifics." He glanced back at where Kix seemed to be finishing up with the two injured clones. "Thank you again, Commander. Appreciate the help. However, we must be moving on."

Cody put out a hand out and shook it with Catcher, mando'a style, "Good to meet you, Captain. Wouldn't have made it to Darkknell without you."

Catcher cocked his head to the side, puzzled, "Another time I'd like to hear that story," He glanced back at his team, including giving a quick frown to Fives, "Ready?" He sighed then, put his helmet on.

Cody gave Catcher one last speculative glance, "Just how many others can we expect to meet up with when we catch up with _your_ Captain at the lab?"

"Captain Rex is leading a force of 83 troopers on the main lab," the ARC said, "and, we have several more back on our ship."

The clone commander shook his head, obviously impressed, "Only Rex could pull something like that off." He glanced down at Kix, "You done?" The medic nodded that he had done all he could to stabilize the wounded. Cody nodded to Jesse to give Kix a hand in carrying the wounded. "Let's go," Cody said, signaling to move out. "Let's find this lab." He turned back to the ARC Captain, "Best of luck on your mission."

As Fives and Echo were preparing to move out, Cody pulled the two ARCs aside, gruffly saying to them, "Be careful. Both of you."

"We're always, careful, aren't we Echo?" Fives said, almost a bit flustered to suddenly find himself under the caring gaze of Cody.

Echo just shook his head, and then turned back to Cody, "Sir, when you find the lab, would you let us know aboutthe Captain?"

There was a wistfulness to Echo's voice that suggested he was still having difficulties believing that this was real, and perhaps their long missing Captain and friend wouldn't be at the labs, after all. The clone commander could tell that the ARC wished he were going along with them to see for himself.

"Yes, Echo, of course. If at all possible, I'll see if I can have him drop you a quick comm at some point."

"Thank you, sir!" Echo's voice betrayed his delight, and he spun on his heel and turned and joined his new team.

Fives didn't say anything, but he briefly clasped Cody's shoulder and nodded in a gesture of appreciation. Then, he, too, turned and went to join his new team and whatever fate might await them.

# # #

_Author's Notes: In the original draft of this chapter, two main characters died._

_(In the original version of this scene, just minutes after breathing out the words, "Rose is pregnant," Lance dies while throwing himself on top of Travis to protect him from the explosion.) I decided I didn't like the way the scene read, so it went through a rewrite. Such is the power of the pen. Hope you're not too disappointed._


	101. Chapter 101 The Armory

_A/N: I'm back from Celebration VI. Wow. Best four days of my life. _And… t_here's a real treat here in Chapter 101... we get to finally meet another two another members of the Andoan Legion. Many hours went into creating these two characters. I'd like to give credit where it is properly due. A huge thank you to the gang on the Isle of Wight, in the United Kingdom, for all the help and research they provided in bringing these characters to life._

**"**_**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 101**_

The prickly feel of the Force suppressing field had long ago faded to just an overall feel of numbness. Except for her stomach. The only area of Ahsoka's body that she was still keenly aware of feeling was her stomach. Her gut twisted and churned unpleasantly with nausea. Her lips twisted, and she wondered what the effects would be of hurling with the field. Would the little chunks just stay suspended there, or would they float around like they did when one heaved in zero gravity? With all all the flying (and subsequent _crashing_) she had done with her Master, she had witnessed that particularly unpleasant zero gravity trick on more than one occasion.

There was a part of the padawan that spitefully wanted to hurl in the hopes it would make it down to the floor just so her captors would have to deal with the subsequent mess. But, faced with all the other unknown possibilities of what could happen within the field, the Jedi took calming breaths and struggled to control her riotous stomach.

Time and time again, Ahsoka kept trying to call upon the Force to soothe her gut. It was such second-nature to be able to ease her aches this way, now that she was once again cut off, the young Jedi felt somehow doubly devastated.

_Come on, Rex, hurry up…_

She lifted her head wearily toward the entrance of the lab, expecting Rex to come bursting through at any moment. She had realized, after studying her surroundings that she was actually in a second lab. She had only ever known about the one lab, and was startled to realize there was another, even larger facility behind the first one.

At one point, she had managed to crane her neck around enough to catch a glimpse further down the way into the large facility. She was sure she'd caught a glimpse of the yellow-green skinned Mirilian Jedi Master, Luminara Unduli, and next to her a number of clones. All of them were strapped down to lab tables, unconscious and likely drugged. Beyond that, she couldn't see much. But, she did note that like the other lab, it was blindingly well lit, appeared to be extremely clean and sterile, and there were still those strange mewling cries…

Craning her neck had succeeded nicely in giving Ahsoka a blinding headache to add to her churning stomach. She ended up allowing her body to relax back into the cursed bonds. There was not much more she could at the moment. She glanced back worriedly over at her Master and Obi Wan. Neither one had stirred at all during the time she had been in the lab. They both remained pale, limp and unmoving. Her only indication that either of them still lived was the slight rise and fall of their chests.

Rex's arrival on planet could not have come at a better time. She doubted either of the two Jedi masters could possibly survive much longer at this rate.

# # #

Appo was having a good dream.

He was not in that cursed lab. He was not even anywhere on Darkknell anymore. He was someplace… else.

The rusty skin tones against his skin contrasted beautifully as they lay intertwined intimately together.

"How many times have you saved me now, Commander?" she whispered, huskily, reached one a hand up to trail it through his hair.

"Call me… Appo," he insisted, reaching a hand and capturing her hand, drawing it down and kissing it tenderly. He drew each of her fingers down to his mouth, taking the time to lavish affection on each and every digit. "I'm just doing my duty."

"No, Appo. You do so much more," she insisted, twisting her body so that she lay fully beneath him again, "and I need to show you how much I appreciate-"

The 501st Commander was rudely jerked awake as he felt his bindings suddenly being snapped open. Before Appo could even react, he was crushed up into the fierce hold of the large Kaz'harian guard who had been 'eyeing' him earlier.

In a panic, Appo twisted his head and looked over toward Barlex. The 212th clone shook his head sadly, and looked utterly… defeated.

"What's happening?!" the 501st commander gasped out, giving out a grunt of protest as the guard's grip on him tightened.

Barlex gave him a grim look and shook his head again, not answering.

"Barlex!" Appo shouted, as he was carried away out of sight, "answer me!"

Behind his retreating form, the 212th clone cursed and stared up at the ceiling. "Can't believe I outlived him," he muttered to himself, morosely. He glanced upwards and backwards at where Appo and the guard had disappeared. "Kriff… he was just beginning to grow on me, too."

# # #

With his drawstring pants still down around his ankles, Appo could not imagine a more humiliating position in which to be carried. His only consolation was that nobody, other than Barlex, seemed to be around to witness his utterly mortifying end.

The only question was… what did the Kaz'harians still have in store for him?

The look in Barlex's eye had made it clear that his time was done. Appo knew his chances of escape were desperately low… the grip the enormous simian had on him was like crushing permacrete.

Appo's eyes blinked furiously as they left the harsh bright lights of the lab and plunged back into the darkness of one of the old stone fortress corridors.

_Fek! Where is this guard taking me?_

Suddenly, the tactical part of Appo's brain took over, and he began to get the tiniest glimmer of hope that maybe it was not over for him after all. Conserving his energies, he held still and took careful stock of their surroundings as they walked along. There was a slight 'swoosh' as an automatic door opened, and suddenly they were plunged into darkness.

_What the hell?_

Before Appo could react, the Kaz'harian guard was upon him.

# # #

As they walked along, Travis made sure they were out of earshot of the newest members of the team, the ARC troopers, and then he pulled even with Catcher.

"That was nicely done," he murmured to the ARC Captain.

"Hmmmm?"

"That whole playing dumb with regards to the Jedi in the lab," Travis leveled Catcher with a look. "You know all about the Captain and whom he came here to rescue. You overheard us talking that day in physical therapy."

The ARC shrugged, not denying it, "Having gotten to know Captain Rex and what a private person he is, I certainly didn't think he wanted everybody…" Catcher paused, trying to think of the proper wording, "…in his business."

Travis nodded, giving Catcher an all-new look of respect, "No. He certainly wouldn't." As they walked, he reached forward and placed a quick, affectionate hand on his brother's shoulder, giving it a short squeeze and then released it. "Since Rex is not here to thank you, uh…"

Catcher glanced sideways at the Marine, "Travis?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Right."

Catcher grinned, "But, thanks, vod." He gave Travis an affectionate jab on the arm, eliciting a surprised laugh out of the Marine who expecting such a move from the ARC Captain.

Watching all of this surreptitiously from the back of the line of soldiers, Fives commented to Echo, "Affectionate bunch of vode, aren't they?"

Echo shrugged, "Yeah, well, it is to be expected. They've been through a lot together."

"So have we," pointed out Fives, "Darkknell was no trip to Alderaan."

"Not the same," argued Echo, "these troopers were decommissioned and sent to Kamino. I think the only one of us who has ever who could relate is Chopper. He was decommissioned… twice, wasn't it? And, you remember how _he_ was in the beginning."

"He seems fine now," the ARC grumbled.

"Maybe on the outside. But, some scars never go away. Chopper is a perfect example." He spread an arm forward an indicated the troopers ahead of him, "If you look at these vode the same way, maybe they'll make more sense."

Fives scowled, and was thoughtful for a long moment. "I suppose," he finally conceded. Then, he changed topics "Do you… think it's really the Captain?"

He remembered the skepticism in Cody's voice when he physically hauled him forward and pointed out his markings and colorings like some sort of Coruscanti shop mannequin.

Echo's voice echoed the same uncertainty, but also a sort of new hope. "I'm… not sure. General Skywalker told us he was dead. I don't see how the Captain could be… " He paused, and then pointed to ARC Captain Catcher, "Well, then again, that guy is supposed to be dead, too."

Fives shook his head, "Just hard to accept, you know? All this time we've been thinking the Captain is gone, and now suddenly all these guys show up and start talking about _their_ Captain."

"It _is _all a little unsettling," Echo admitted.

"A little?!" Fives showed what an understatement he thought that was.

"Hey, Fives?" Echo said, uncertainly.

"Uh huh… still right here next to you. Right where I always am, Echo."

"What if…" Echo started out hesitantly.

Fives waited patiently, knowing Echo would get his thoughts out patiently. It just took him a while sometimes. He was always the thoughtful, measured one out of the two of them.

"What if…" he heaved out a long, measured sigh.

Fives heaved out a sigh of his own, wishing Echo would get to the point before he ran out of his accelerated life span. But, he remained quiet out of affection for his closest vod.

"What if.." Echo started again, and this time Fives resisted the urge to smack him on the back of the bucket to get him to spit the words out faster. "… the Captain doesn't want to come back with us?"

Fives was so startled he stopped in his tracks.

"What?!" he sputtered.

"You heard me," Echo said, quietly, also halting his his tracks.

"Not possible," his fellow ARC stated in an absolute tone.

"It _is _possible, Fives," Echo insisted, "he was dismissed from the GAR. We don't even know if he _can_ come back. Has any clone ever done that before? Technically, he's a deserter. Do you _know_ what happens to deserters?"

"Of course, I know what happens to deserters!" Fives snapped, getting annoyed, "Deserters are..." He stopped, not wanting to complete the thought.

Echo finished it for him anyway, and quietly said, "Deserters are shot, Fives."

"He's coming back," Fives stubbornly insisted, "he has to! He-"

"Is there a problem?"

Fives and Echo looked up startled to see Captain Catcher standing directly in front of them, with Lieutenant Travis by his side. Lined up in formation behind them stood the entire rest of the commando group.

Fives and Echo quickly looked at each other, and then shook their heads.

"Excuse me?" Catcher asked, the annoyance evident in his voice.

"No, sir!" the two ARCs said, in unison, snapping to attention.

"Good. Then, you can walk up here at the front of the legion with Lieutenant Travis and I," Catcher said. He crossed his arms across his chest, and gave the two ARCs a stern look, "And, while you're at it, you can take your comms off private channel and tie in with the rest of the group. You might be 501st, but while you're with me, you will function as if you are part of my legion. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Echo and Fives said, still standing at attention.

Catcher made a brisk hand motion indicating that the two ARCs should walk with him back to the head of the line. The rest of the team fell back into formation behind him.

Fives and Echo both gazed down quickly at the ARC Captain's braced legs, noting the slightly stiff, limping way he had of forcing his legs to move. They both adjusted their gait to keep their steps even with his as they walked.

"Good," Catcher was saying, "Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you how pleased I am to have you onboard our team. With your help, we are about to perform some of the most critical portions of this entire rescue operation."

Fives and Echo shot a surprised glance back and forth at each other, but it was obvious they were both intrigued and excited.

This was their kind of mission.

"A souvenir of my last trip here to Darkknell," Catcher explained, noticing their curiosity about his legs. He ran a hand down his braced legs, "A little experiment the GAR came up with… mech legs."

"Really?" Echo's voice betrayed his fascination. "Mechanical?"

"Well," Catcher corrected himself, "that's probably the wrong word to use. They're still my legs. I just always think of them that way because I have so much wiring in me to control them. They're wired directly to my spinal cord and brain."

"That's amazing!" Echo's voice betrayed his awe.

"You had a spinal cord injury?" Fives asked, gazing down at the long braces covering Catcher's legs.

"Yes," the ARC Captain corrected, "I didn't have a spinal cord injury, Fives. I _do_ have a spinal cord injury. I'm paralyzed from the waist down."

Both of the ARCs made a slight sound conveying their awe as they walked next to the Captain.

Echo spoke first, "Amazing."

Catcher snorted, "You think so?"

"Look at you…"

The ARC Captain shrugged, "Look at me, what?"

Echo shook his head in amazement, "You're walking along here with us," he indicated the others behind them, "leading this entire squad… and… and…"

"And, what?" Catcher prompted.

"You're paralyzed," Fives finished.

The ARC Captain chuckled, "You haven't met any of the rest of the Legion yet. You're… ah… in for a surprise."

# # #

Sabre kept his DC-15x held comfortably in his grip, all of his scout senses on high-alert as he looked for any signs of the Kaz'harians. For the brief time that they had been surrounded by the entire rest of the Legion again, he had felt _safe_. Now, venturing back out into the dark forbidding hallways of the lower fortress, he could feel the adrenaline start pumping back through his system.

Beside him, he noticed Flex rubbing at his injured and bound arm with two free fingers that weren't gripping his rifle. "You doing OK, Flex?"

Flex heaved out a sigh, "Uh, I guess, yeah. Just getting kind of sore again."

Sabre nodded. "Hey, Sarge?"

Hok turned, and put up a hand calling the team to a halt.

"Flex needs a painshot."

The lead scout glanced around at their surroundings, and then gestured, pulling the team off to a shadowed recess in the hallway. "Make it quick."

"Understood," Sabre responded, already tugging Flex's bucket off and handing it back to Jagger. "Heads up." He angled his brother's chin slightly and jabbed in the shot. "Need a stim?"

Flex shook his head, "No. Maybe later. Too many of those and I'll be bouncing off the walls."

"More so than usual, you mean," Jagger tossed in, reaching forward and slapping Flex's bucket back on his head.

"Break time's over. Move out," Hok ordered, waving the team forward with a brisk gesture.

# # #

Rex glanced back at the Legion, as they transitioned from the lower to the upper level. So far, they had encountered no resistance from the Kaz'harians. It was all going smoothly. This meant either they were incredibly lucky, or that the commando team was taking all of the heat on their end.

And, Catcher was late checking in.

"Catcher, this is Rex, come in," the 501st Captain frowned and toggled his comm again. "Travis, this is Rex, respond."

There was nothing but frustrating silence from the other end.

He heaved a sigh, and glanced around at the thick stone walls of the ancient fortress. Experience taught him there could be any number of reasons for the interference. The walls could be shielded. Kazzies could be jamming their signals. Or, something could have happened to the team.

Rex peered back again at the troopers behind him, tempted to divide up his numbers and send some of the Legion off in pursuit of the overdue commando team. But, they had a _plan_, and he meant to stick to it. He had faith in Travis and Catcher. They were going to come through on their end. Sticking to that belief, Rex calmed the ache in his gut and focused on the upcoming assault on the lab.

# # #

"That's it," Jagger said, cross-referencing data they had gathered on their earlier sweep through the facility with the large arched entranceway down the darkened corridor. "That has to be the weapons storage facility."

Hok studied it carefully from the recesses of the darkened shadows where the team kept carefully out of sight, "Alright, I'm seeing four guards. Anything else?"

"Alarm system," Sabre pointed out, pointing upwards above the head of the right-most guard, "likely motion-activated. See? All the guards are staying below and out of the range of it. I can take it out." He nodded toward his sniper rifle.

Hok cocked his head and looked at the alarm system, judging the distance with a critical eye. He nodded.

The others all moved back, clearing room so that Sabre had more room to maneuver. The sniper dropped down to one knee, sighting up one the alarm system.

"Be prepared to move on the others as the soon as that alarm system goes," Hok ordered, "any debris shatters off that system, it's going to set those guards on alert as surely as the alarm going off."

The other two scouts drew their rifles to the ready, prepared to spring into action the moment Sabre took his shot.

The small compact alarm system above the head of the Kaz'harian guard seemed out of place in the archaic hallways. The shiny durasteel reflected the dim light and a single indicator light faithfully blinked onto the undercarriage.

Sabre took a steadying breath, and then squeezed off a single, perfect shot. In an impressive explosion of mini-sparks and bright lights, the rectangular housing was reduced to a pile of flying shrapnel. The guard directly below cried out as he was struck by piercing bits of flying metal. He was instantly felled, and dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

His partner was injured by the whirling bits of fragmented steel, but remained standing. Roaring out in pain, he reached down and succeeded in drawing his weapon. The two guards on the other side of the door were too far away to be seriously harmed by the shower of fragments, and instantly began firing.

"Slugthrowers!" Hok cursed, "take them down!"

The four scouts simultaneously let out an impressive hail of blue blaster fire and then hit the ground as a vicious round of slugthrowers came screaming back at them. The corridor was suddenly silent, except… for Flex. The scout moaned, and struggled as he pushed up to his feet.

"Flex!" Sabre was instantly by his brother's side, an arm around his good shoulder, supporting him.

"I'm OK," Flex managed, his face pale, "hitting the deck like that just didn't feel exactly _good_."

Sabre laughed, relieved, "You didn't get hit?"

Flex managed a smile, "You mean not since the original getting totally smashed with a giant club? No. No. That was enough for one day."

Sabre chuckled, and helped haul his brother fully back onto his feet. The two of them turned and studied the scene at the end of the hallway. All four Kaz'harian guards lay fallen at the entrance. The one who'd initially been hit with the shrapnel was stirring weakly.

"Sabre!" Hok barked out, pointing.

"On it," Sabre said, calmly, as he lifted his sniper rifle to his shoulder. He cooly squeezed off a single shot. The last remaining Kaz'harian jerked violently from the impact, and then lay still.

"Good shot," Hok praised, folding his arms across his chest, and surveying the scene of the four dead Kaz'harians with a critical eye.

Sabre shrugged, and lower his rifle.

Hok turned and ran his hand along the wall where the slugthrower shots had embedded themselves into the rock. He shook his head, and murmured, "Hate those things."

Jagger stuck his fingers into one of the holes, and then cocked his head to the side thoughtfully in a typical clone pose. "Hey… uh… Sarge? You think you'd hate 'em a little less if we stole 'em for ourselves?"

Hok paused, considering the suggestion, "Huh…" His head cocked to the side in an exact imitation of Jagger's pose a moment earlier as his keen clone intellect began working through possibilities... "Mmmm... perhaps you are right, Jag." A moment later he finished his contemplation and waved the team on and into the weapons storage depot.

The four scouts stepped over the bodies of the fallen enemy and stood just inside the doors of the Kaz'harian armory.

"Wow," Flex said in admiration, looking at the racks and racks of stockpiled weapons. "They've got a little bit of everything in here…"

Jagger snorted, "Don't forget. They seized stuff from almost two entire legions."

Hok walked over to one of the racks and ran his fingers along the familiar shape of a SC blaster rifle. "And, it looks like the Seppies have been supplying them with weapons."

Sabre admiringly ran his hand over a high end 17m commando rifle. "So, just _what_ exactly are we going to be doing with all of this?" His fingers caressed the rifle longingly, like he'd made a new friend. He knew the Sarge was up to something…

Hok glanced around at the rows and rows of armaments. "Find some carrying cases. Or, repulsor lifts. Gear bags. _Something. _ I need to call the Captain."

Sabre's face lit up with delight, "Really? We actually get to take this gat with us?"

"Some of it, Sabre," Hok cautioned, "not all of it. So, choose wisely."

Sabre whooped for joy, and began moving amongst the racks like he'd just been granted an unlimited shopping pass amongst the upper levels of Coruscant. He let out a most unmanly exclamation of joy as his eyes lit upon a rare sniper rifle. He grabbed it up, and slung it over his shoulder. "Oh, we definitely have to have one of these…"

# # #

In every battle, heroes were born.

As Rex finished up his comlink call with Hok, he eyed the two soldiers from the 313th Legion. He'd been watching this particular pair all through practice on Ando. He'd almost selected them for Catcher's commando team, but in the end he and Travis had decided it was best to keep the team small.

"Tomm. Hugh." The 501st Captain made a sweeping gesture with one finger, signaling the two clones to step forward out of formation from the rest of the legion.

The two white and grey clad troopers snapped forward immediately, DLT-20A blaster rifles at the ready.

"Sir?" Hugh questioned, adjusting his rifle in the grip of his one hand. Rex studied the two critically for a moment, and Hugh automatically slid his missing hand behind back, hiding it from view.

If the 501st Captain took note of the missing limb, he made no indication. Instead, he focused his attention on the heavy armor covering the two troopers. They were snow troopers of the famed 313th Legion. Briefly, he wondered how they'd fared in the trek across the humid Darkknell jungle. Certainly, Tomm and Hugh had an advantage with their gear on Ando. Rex briefly thought of all the times the chill wind on the planet had cut right through _his_ armor. But, on a mission to a warmer climate like this, certainly it would have benefited the Legion to be able to change out their kit.

"Sir?" Hugh prompted, noticing Rex studying them and their specialized gear.

He pointed to the terrain grip boots, padded pants, and heavier composite armor the two troopers were wearing, "That kit presenting any problems for you two here?"

"No, sir!" Both clones immediately shook their heads, straightening up under the Captain's gaze.

"Alright," Rex acquiesced the issue, and projected a map off his gauntlet, "I need two troopers to meet Sergeant Hok at these coordinates. He has some bags of gear that need to delivered to the commando team." His gauntleted hand pointed inside the map, "So, you'll need to cross across some hostile territory _here_ in order to rendezvous with the scouts," Rex's helmet tilted to the side, as his gaze focused on the two snow troopers. "Together, you'll need to then deliver the armaments to the command team… _except_ they are not currently responding to hails."

"Sir, if we don't know where they are, how will we find them?" Tomm asked.

Rex's chuckled slightly, "You'll have the four scouts with you. If anybody has a chance of finding them, it will be Hok and his team."

Tomm studied the map for a moment, then looked at the Captain, "Just one, sir. Just _what_ exactly is it that we're supposed to be carrying?"

"Hok and his team found the weapons depot."

The two troopers from the 313th Legion looked back and forth at each, expressing an intrigued look. Hand picked for a mission by the Captain, and getting to wander around inside an enemy weapons depot? Tomm rocked back on his armored heels, anxious to be going. Next to him, he could see Hugh tapping one of his fingers against his rifle as he awaited further orders. Seconds later, the Captain sent the coordinates for the scout team to their HUDs. After a few more quick instructions, and a few slightly disturbing warnings, they were dismissed.

# # #

As Hugh and Tomm moved away in the opposite direction of the rest of the Legion, Tomm commented to his brother, "Is it just me, or does our white armor seem particularly bright in these dark hallways?"

Hugh paused as they reached a fork in the corridor. With a crisp hand signal, he waved his brother back into the recesses of a darkened alcove. He double-checked their location against his HUD, and then with one crisp, gloved finger movement, indicated the direction they needed to go. He peered around the corner, his DLT-20A barely visible as he eased his way around the corner, and then waved his brother on.

"Well, don't blame me," Hugh rumbled in his deep voice, continuing their conversation as they moved out, "_I_ preferred it back on Ando, you know."

Tomm shot his brother a sideways look, "Are you going to start that again?"

"What? I liked it there."

"You liked it there because you met a nice karena."

Hugh immediately grew defensive, and it was apparent that this was a familiar argument, "Georgia is so much more than just a karena. She's…" He stopped, and gave up as he was not able to put the complex, unfamiliar feelings into words. His visored gaze constantly swept back and forth across the corridor looking for enemy combatants. "Gah!" He finally threw up his one free hand in frustration, the one not holding his specialized combat rifle. "When _you_ meet somebody, vod, you'll finally get it."

The two troopers walked in perfect synchronicity, vigilantly watching the corridors for any signs of resistance as they swiftly moved their way through. Hugh pressed to one side of the darkened corridor, and Tomm pressed tightly up against the opposite side. Despite the light color of their armor, they did an admirable job blending into the darkness.

Tomm opened his mouth to protest Hugh's statement, and then shut it again. The whole topic of him meeting somebody was _not_ something he wanted to discuss. Hugh and Georgia were forever trying to set him up, and Tomm kept evading their efforts. While he was as confident as Hugh when it came to the battlefield, around the women of the frozen planet, he always felt like churning up Andoan fish stew.

No, Tomm preferred to spend his free time _alone_pursuing his hobbies. Although, at first, his principal hobby seemed to be evading the happy couple's obsessive matchmaking efforts.

But, things did improve in time. Lieutenant Travis and Captain Catcher had suggested... no, it was more like _ordered_, the Legion to "get off their shebs and do something other than eat." Lieutenant Travis, in particular, was keenly interested in giving back to the community and rebuilding the war-devastated town. So, it was just a coincidence that Tomm had been out trying to evade Georgia and Hugh when he'd discovered the delightful farm full of guapas.

He'd been absolutely intrigued by the miniature horse-like creatures, and stared at them longingly over the simple rough-hewn fence. He'd only ever seen such creatures in holofilms. The older couple who owned the farm, Ian and Ka'te, had spotted him admiring the herd. Being unusually shy around anybody who was not a brother, Tomm's first instinct had been to bolt.

But, the couple had been so kind and polite. They'd opened up the gate to the guapa pen so he could see the creatures right up close. His fascination with the animals had won out over his terrible fear of actually having to be around non-brothers.

To his delight, the animals took to him right away. He found himself unable to stop laughing as he was surrounded by guapas nuzzling him for attention. Before he knew it, the afternoon was spent, and Ian and Ka'te were insisting he join them for the evening meal.

They ate fish stew together, but Tomm was sure it was the best version he'd had since arriving on the snowy planet. Dinner was followed by dessert, and he was introduced to Bluefruit Kobbler. Ka'te insisted he eat all of it. After Tomm had polished off his first bowl in record time, they both kept saying they were too full to eat any and kept refilling his dish.

After four bowls of the sweet, light pastry dessert, he worked side-by-side with Ka'te to wash the dishes. Tomm insisted on helping with the clean-up, saying it was the least he could do after being served what was surely the best meal of his life. He wasn't really sure why his words seemed to please the elderly woman so since he was just speaking the truth.

Once the dishes were stashed in the few simple cupboards of the ranch house, Ian announced he had to tend the guapa herd. Tomm nervously asked if he could lend a hand, not sure if he was overstepping his bounds. He would never forget how the old Andoan's face had lit up with delight at the offer. They'd worked side-by-side until darkness fell, tending to the affectionate, four-legged animals.

That one afternoon and evening turned into a daily routine. When Ian and Ka'te found out that the clones were being hired to work around Ando, they immediately hired Tomm. He wasn't at all sure to do with the money that they gave him, so he simply listened intently during their dinnertime conversations and found out what things they needed around the ranch. He found going into the shops of Ando to be about as frightening as trying to dodge Hugh and Georgia's matchmaking efforts. But, his efforts always seemed to pay off. The first time that Ka'te had placed a kiss on his brow, when he'd replaced her battered shawl, well, it was an even better feeling than eating her Bluefruit Kobbler. And, he hadn't known there was anything that could compare top _that_ experience.

It didn't take long for the tenacious Hugh to figure out where it was Tomm had been hiding out. And, his brother still insisted that Tomm needed to meet someone. Yes, alright, maybe there was some small part of him that sometimes curiously watched the comfortable relationship between Ian and Ka'te and wondered what it would be like to have that kind of closeness with somebody. But, that didn't stop the churning nausea when Hugh and Georgia came after him with their matchmaking efforts. So, no, he was just better off hiding out at the quiet, snowy ranch with the friendly, affectionate guapas. Leave the romance to his stubborn, annoying friend.

"Are you even listening to me?" Hugh snapped, into the comm.

Tomm blinked, and realized he'd been so caught in his recollections, that no, he hadn't been listening at all. "Uh… yes. Of course, Hugh. I'm listening to you." They reached the next corner, and he took the lead this time, smoothly angling his body around the corner. He checked the way, double-checking it was clear, and then signaled Hugh on. "Except for maybe that last little bit… Right, then… What were you saying?"

Hugh let out a noise of exasperation in the back of his throat, "_Tomm_." It was the voice he reserved for when he was annoyed with his closest brother. He shook his head, and then let it go. "I was just saying how when we get back, you should come on over to Georgia's place… she knows this girl…"

At that point, Tomm totally tuned Hugh back out again and lost himself in pleasant thoughts of guapas snuffling for bits of Zeka grass in the meadows of Ian and Ka'te's ranch.

# # #

The first Kaz'harians that the two snowtroopers encountered were dead ones.

As they rounded the final corner and headed toward the coordinates given by Captain Rex, both Tomm and Hugh startled slightly at the four hulking bodies lying by the door. When they'd first arrived at the fortress, there had been guards in the gate room, but the scout team had already tucked the bodies back out of the way by the time the Legion had come through.

As they drew closer to the dead simians, Tomm commented, "Gah. They weren't kidding. They're… ah…"

"As big as a wampa?" Hugh supplied as they drew up closer to the doorway of the weapons depot.

Tomm stared down at the corpses consideringly, "Well, uh, not quite that big. But, they're… ah… impressive. Wasn't expecting them to be so… ah…" He drew up alongside one and nudged it with his foot.

"Yeah," Hugh agreed, kneeling down, and studying one of the Kaz'harians curiously. It was the guard on the furthest right, who had died from both shrapnel injuries, and a single sniper shot from Sabre. The soldiers' eyes were wide open and staring glassily up at the ceiling. The snowtrooper straightened up, and stepped over the body looking toward the door. "Shall we?"

Tomm grabbed his arm, "Shouldn't we call Sergeant Hok, and let him know it's us?"

Hugh nodded, and made a hand gesture that said, 'Do it.'

"Sergeant Hok, this is Trooper Tomm. We're right outside."

The door instantly swished opened, and even with the advanced warning, the two snowtroopers found themselves face-to-face with four clone rifles shoved in their faces. The lead clone stepped out into the corridor, quickly checking behind them for any signs of trouble.

"Get in," he ordered gruffly, his eyes still scanning the hallway behind them. The two snow troopers immediately complied, and the door whooshed shut behind them.

Compared to the darkened lighting of the ancient corridors, the armory was brightly lit and well organized. Tomm and Hugh stood side-by-side just inside the door, blinking, just taking it all in.

The rest of the scout team rested their rifles in the crooks of their arms, with the exception of one who had an injured arm.

The six troopers looked back and forth, sizing each other up. The scouts always trained separately from the rest of the Legion, doing their own training missions, gone for days at a time. And, Hok had been out on the injured list until shortly before they left for Darkknell.

"So, Rex sent me a couple of snow troopers, eh?" Hok said, folding his arms across his chest, and looking Tomm and Hugh up and down.

One of the scouts stepped forward, "Look, they're carrying DLT-20As." His voice showed that he was impressed by this particular piece of hardware, "They only give those to the most elite snowtroopers."

The scout sergeant nodded his head, "Well, you must have done something to impress Rex in order for him to have picked you. Did he tell you what we'll be doing?"

Tomm and Hugh nodded in unison.

"Fine. Introduce yourselves, but make it quick," Hok checked his chrono, "the Captain has a little surprise he wants us to help plant in the dungeon. Timing is critical."

Hugh pointed, "Tomm. Hugh. Done. Let's go." He looked around, "What are we supposed to be carrying?"

# # #

The black carrying bags they'd found in the storage room had to be jury-rigged to fit the clones. They were all designed to fit the much larger frames of the Kaz'harians. However, this was remedied using some synth-cable from their utility belts. Anything could be fixed with clone ingenuity. It just took _time_.

"That was Captain Rex, _again_," Hok prompted, the stress evident in his voice, as Sabre helped Flex load a much lighter pack onto his back, careful not to put any stress on his injured arm. "Flex?"

"It's good," Flex insisted, "I could carry more." He looked around the room, "maybe we could grab some of those SE-14s-"

"No," Sabre and Hok said in unison.

"You're carrying enough," Hok said. "And, what we have… it _should _be enough for what we're trying to do."

There was a slight edge of uncertainty to his voice. But, his voice changed and brokered no argument as he said, "Come on, we need to move out. N_ow_."

"Sir?" Tomm questioned.

"You can call me, Hok," the scout leader corrected, "the rest of the team does."

Tomm exchanged a quick, uncertain glance with Hugh, uncertain about this lax informality. "Uh…" He decided to forgoe the name, and just continue on with his question, "How will we find the commando team if we don't know where they are?"

Hok paused at the door, and pulled up a map of the facility on his wrist link, "Last known point of contact with the team was here… just outside the morgue."

The 313th trooper suppressed the shiver of foreboding that trickled down his spine about the fact they'd lost contact with an entire team just outside of a morgue.

"According to Captain Rex," the scout sergeant continued, "they were always supposed to end up at the dungeon and rendezvous with the Legion there. We just need to find them somewhere between the morgue and the dungeons."

Tomm was just about to ask how it was that they would do that, when he remembered Captain Rex's words. Who better to send to find their missing commando team than a bunch of scouts?

"Jag, open the door." Hok took the lead, cautiously peering out, and then indicating the others should form up behind him. Since it was apparent that the scouts already had a set formation, Tomm and Hugh took up positions in the rear.

The gear was heavy, but not unmanageable. The hardest part was staying quiet and not chattering on incessantly about some of the incredible swag they'd seen in the room. Tomm was tempted to open a private comm to Hugh, and strike up a conversation. But, a good sergeant could spot something like that in a micro-second. Sometimes, when you were established with a team, stuff like that was totally OK. But, he and Hugh were total newbies with the team. Even the normally garrulous Hugh was keeping quiet. So, he followed his brother's lead and kept his thoughts to himself.

# # #

"Captain Rex, we're making good time. We're just transitioning from the lower level toward the – "

Hok never did get to say the word 'dungeon.'

It was Tomm who spotted the grenade first.

It came at them from behind out bouncing lightly down the corridor. It must have come down one of the forked corridors they'd just passed through a second before.

For an instant, Tomm considered reaching down and attempting to throw the explosive back at the enemy. He was the closest one to the ordinance, and all he had to do was just reach down and grab it…

But, in the next micro-second, he decided against it. He had no idea whether the enemy had 'cooked' the explosive before throwing it. If so, it would go off the moment he wrapped his fingers around it…

He suddenly had a most unpleasant flashback to the moment when Hugh had lost his hand, and he had no desire to relive _that_ experience. OK, not that he would probably survive if the grenade went off. But, still, those hours after the accident on Asuin had been some of the worst of his life. The blinding pain in his head… the terrible blurred vision… trying to stem the bleeding from Hugh's hand. Tomm never had fully regained his vision after that fateful day and it had been bad enough to get him driven from the ranks of the elite snowtrooper corps.

But, even if he did have the precious seconds to grab onto the grenade, he had to contend with the forked corridor behind them. If it ricocheted off the walls, it could just bounce right back at them making the situation even worse.

No, he did one the logical thing he could do in the situation.

He yelled and ran.

"GRENADE!" He bellowed out the word for all he was worth, feeling his throat ache from the effort of shouting so loudly.

Hugh, as usual, had to see for himself, and began swiveling his visored gaze around looking for the ordinance. Not giving him a chance to respond, Tomm grabbed onto his brother's armored shoulder, and began running for all he was worth down the corridor in the opposite direction of the grenade.

"Move! Move! Move!" he yelled to the other scouts, as they too began to run, following his lead. The good thing about scouts is that they are used to running and tend to be light on their feet.

When the explosion ripped through the stone corridor, the four scouts were actually slightly ahead of the two snow troopers.

Even with the terrible vision in his one eye, Tomm was easily able to detect the large chunk of ceiling coming down "Aw, kriff," he muttered, and threw himself into Hugh driving his brother out of the path of the falling rock. They both almost cleared the debris… almost.

"Gah," Tomm gasped as he felt a crushing weight come down on his foot. Bile rose to his throat. He heard rocks coming to come down around them, and threw his arms up over his head to instinctively protect his head. When it was finally over, the darkened corridor was pitch black. He couldn't see, and couldn't move. He reached out to the one person that he could always count on… "Hugh?"

There was silence.

Tomm felt his panic rising, and attempted to get up. A blinding pain ran through his foot and he cried out.

A headlamp suddenly flipped on, and Hugh crawled over to his side, covered in dust and definitely a lot more grey than white now.

"Tomm!" Hugh swept his brother's fallen form with his headlamp.

"Are you alright?" Tomm tried to push himself up to his elbows to get a better look at his brothers, but had no success.

"I'm fine, you di'kut. Hold still for kriff's sake." Hugh focused his headlamp on the chunk of rock pinning Tomm's foot.

Tomm glanced around, "Where are the others?"

Hugh shook his head, and pointed backwards in the darkness, "On the other side of _that_, I would imagine. I've been trying to comm them, but I can't get through."

Tomm squinted upwards and could just make out a massive pile of rubble blocking the corridor. He heaved out a long sigh. "We're cut off. The Captain mentioned that the Kaz'harians have been jamming our signals… cutting us off from one another."

Hugh nodded, and then studied the large piece of debris on Tomm's foot another moment, thoughtfully, "Alright, just relax. I'm going to get this thing off of you."

Tomm looked doubtful, "How are you going to do that? You have just one-"

His brother shot him an annoyed look, and then knelt down by the rock and pushed on it with his one hand and opposite shoulder. He grunted with the strain.

As the rock began to shift, Tomm cried out. With a roar, Hugh finished throwing the rock off.

"You, OK?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"Ugggh. Give me a minute," Tomm mumbled, his eyes squeezed shut. "Not feeling too good at the moment." He owlishly blinked his eyes open when he felt his brother tug his helmet off.

"Painkiller?" Hugh offered, holding up a syringe.

"You think I'm going to say no?" Tomm irritably replied, not in the mood for humor at the moment. He put a hand up to the back of his forehead and scrubbed at it, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. As the painkiller hit his system, he heaved out a long sigh, "You know, Hugh, somehow, this all kind of reminds me of Asuin."

Hugh shrugged, "Maybe. Except on Asuin it was you saving my shebs, vod." He briefly waved his missing hand, "Can't say I remember too much of anything after our CK-6 crashed. But, I do know that if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be alive. You saved my life that day."

Tomm snorted, "I'm the one who crashed the Freeco bike, Hugh."

Hugh rolled his eyes, "Considering we were being chased by a Separatist energy weapon, I'm not sure I can find fault with your driving. Those frakkin' snow speeders are so unreliable they seem to freeze up even when we're not pushing them to the limit in battle. If you hadn't grabbed me up off the ground when mine failed, I would've been killed for sure."

"You don't know that," Tomm objected, and then let out a long hiss of pain as Hugh began to ease off his heavily padded, armored snow boot.

"No? How many members of the 313th Legion made it out of there alive that day, vod?"

The injured trooper conceded the point, and then lapsed into tight-lipped silence as Hugh continued to remove his boot. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, and as his toes were jarred, he startled up and bellowed a protested: "Frak!"

Hugh set the padded all-terrain grip footwear aside, "Alright, we know you've got some broken toes, then…"

Tomm glared at the one-handed trooper, "You think?!"

Hugh began probing at Tomm's foot, prodding gently. He shrugged, "Not too bad. Other than your toes, which I think you're five for five on… I'm only finding one other fracture right across the top here…"

"Oh? That's it?" the sarcasm was clear in the injured trooper's voice.

"Hey, it could be worse," Hugh said, "When I saw that rock on your foot, I thought maybe you were looking at something like this…" He held up his stump of a hand.

Tomm bit his lip and felt slightly ashamed. His brother had permanently lost a part of himself, and he was complaining because of a few fractures. Considering how many fractures they'd had between the two of them over the course of the war, this did seem minor in comparison.

Hugh studied Tomm's foot with a critical eye, "I'm going to wrap it, but I really can't splint it or you won't be able to get your boot back on." He shook his head, "Don't think you'll be able to put any weight on it, regardless with all those broken toes. You're just going to have to lean on me, OK?"

Tomm gave his brother a surprised look, and glanced upward at the blocked passageway, "You still want to try to make it through to the commando team?"

"Of course. Captain Rex gave us an order." He gave Tomm a surprised look, "You don't want to turn back, do you?"

Tomm craned his neck backwards looked for his bag of gear, "The weapons come through the explosion OK?"

Hugh reached backwards and patted the large black pack sitting directly behind him, "Even better than us, it appears."

The injured clone nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, then. Guess we've always leaned on each other each before. Fine. Let's do this thing."

# # #

Huddled in the darkness of the corridor, the two clones pulled up the map of the interior of the fortress.

Trying to puzzle out an alternate route around the blocked corridor, the injured clone began to have doubts, "We're not scouts, Hugh," Tomm cautioned.

"But, we are elite snow troopers," Hugh said, proudly, "pride of the 313th."

"Until they shipped us to Kamino," Tomm grumbled.

"Hey!" Hugh objected, he crossed his arms and looked at his brother fiercely, "you know, after Darkknell, I think we should make a little stop at Kamino and have a little reckoning there. Show them a bit of justice for-"

Tomm put up his hands, "OK! OK! Sorry, I brought it up! Forget Kamino! Alright, we're looking for another way out of here. Ideas?"

Hugh pursed his lips thoughtfully, and stared into the blue highlighted map. The bright light from the map lit up his face unnaturally in the blackened corridor. "OK, alright, I have an idea," his voice sounded uncertain.

"Fine. Lead the way," Tomm went to push up on his one good leg.

"Uh, Tomm…" Hugh stayed put, pointing into the map again, "to get there, we're going to have to cross into all the most dangerous areas of the fortress… the ones the Captain specifically advised us we should avoid."

Tomm sank back down again beside his brother, "The areas that he said would likely be… ah… how did he put it… so thick with Kazzies you wouldn't… ah… piss without hitting a Kazzie?"

Hugh nodded, "The very same."

Tomm took a deep breath, "Any other alternatives?"

His brother shrugged, "Yes. Turning back."

Tomm was silent for a long moment, deep in thought. Finally, he grabbed his heavy gear bag off the ground and slung it over his shoulder. He determinedly pushed up off the ground onto his one good leg.

He slung his helmet over his head, and cocked his head to the side, "So, you coming? We have a commando team to find."

# # #

_Author's Notes: Next chapter: Cody and team!_


	102. Chapter 102 Rex Cody

_A/N: There are minor characters in this scene that haven't come up before. If you're reading, and suddenly your brain is like: "Hey! That name is unfamiliar!" Don't panic. It's just because this is the first time we're running into scenes dealing with the whole Legion. When writing these scenes, I was presented with this challenge… do I keep just saying "trooper," (which felt creepy and "Krell-ish") or assign these characters names? Couldn't do the Krell thing. So, they're named. (OK, thank you to my creative geniuses on the island of Wight for supplying the names and reading over this chapter.)_

_Don't worry about memorizing the names. If any of these guys are going to surface again, I'll remind you of their identity later. I'm good about that. So, just relax and enjoy the story. _

_Shadow and the heavy gunners are back. Just love those guys. And, there is a healthy dose of Mako in this chapter. This chapter is almost 30 pages long. Whoa._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 102**

When the fight with the Kaz'harians came, it was sudden and vicious. Rex had just been breathing a sigh of relief that he'd managed to get the Legion to the labs in one piece. And, in the next breath, the air was suddenly full with the retort of slugthrower projectiles.

"Take cover!" Rex yelled, throwing himself into the shadows of the wall. But, there was precious little cover to be in had in the narrow confines of the ancient corridors.

Immediately, the 501st Captain picked up the familiar battle sounds of brothers shouting out in pain as they were hit. The slugs impacted differently than blaster bolts, and phase one armor wasn't designed to absorb their piercing impact.

Before Rex had left the GAR, there'd been rumors of upgrades to the clone armor. At ArmyMed, they'd shown particular interest in his injuries. The clone-shredder ammo had been forcing the Republic's hand in developing improvements to their current plastoid.

But, the entire Andoan Legion had been decommissioned without the benefit of any such improvements or upgrades. As Rex saw his men fall under the onslaught of the slugthrowers, all he could think bitterly was that his men could use better kit. They _deserved_ better kit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mako spring into action, kneeling down next to Till, a combat engineer, who'd taken a slug to the stomach. The medic was desperately working to stem the bleeding, heedless of anything that was going on around him. He was completely exposed.

"Mako! Take cover!" Rex yelled into his comm, glancing away from his targets for a moment to glare at the one-handed medic.

The medic glanced around, searching for the Captain, and locked gazes with him even through their helmets. He gave a simple, stubborn shake of his head and returned his attention to the patient below him.

By the time Rex spotted the Kaz'harian about to shoot Mako, it was too late.

# # #

"Cody."

The 212th Commander didn't register the voice that was speaking to him, at first.

"Cody."

He turned his head and stared at Barriss, startled, unaware that she'd even walked up beside him.

"Are you OK?" her smooth tones washed over him.

"Fine," he answered, brusquely and automatically, refusing to slow down his pace or even look at the Jedi.

"_Cody_," this time there was censure in the way she'd said his name.

He scowled, and this time he did turn his head to regard her as they walked side-by-side.

"Yes, Commander?" he said, in clipped tones.

Barriss pushed out a long, patient breath between her teeth. "Look, regardless of what has happened between us, I'd like to think that we could still be friends-"

"Friends!" The word exploded out of Cody louded than he'd intended, and he glanced back at the others. But, wisely, all of his men had their gazes fixed straight ahead as if they'd heard nothing. Of course, after what they'd heard on the ship, this was …. ah, the clone gritted his teeth in frustration.

The Jedi reached a hand out to place it on Cody's armored arm, but he pulled himself back out of her reach. "We are many things, Barri-, Commander. But, let's get one thing straight. We are not… 'friends.'"

The hurt on Barriss' face was evident to see, and the 212th Commander immediately regretted his harsh words. But, he was too angry to take them back. There was a certain satisfaction in striking a blow when he'd been hurt so much.

They were staring at each other, trying to figure out what to say, when a strangled cry pierced the air.

Cody would've recognized the distinctive sound anywhere. It was his own voice.

"Stay here with the wounded," he ordered Barriss, curtly, even though he knew the Jedi technically outranked him. He drew his blaster, and motioned his men to follow him.

Moments later, the sound was repeated. Cody charged off in a full run.

# # #

The moment the Kaz'harian assaulted Appo in the maintenance closet, he began fighting back. Even in the dark, the 501st commander got in several good shots before he felt the large guard grab his arms.

_Oh, kriff…_

Suddenly, his arms were savagely yanked behind him with such force that he felt his right shoulder pull out of the socket.

He screamed from the sudden agony of the torn issue. As his other arm was bent back at an angle it was never meant to go, he felt the humerus snap and give way. The blinding pain of the two injuries was overwhelming and Appo the 501st shouted out in protest as he felt like his limbs were being in danger of being torn off.

But, he _was_ not going down without a fight.

Frak. He still had his legs.

Even though he was at a disadvantage, because his drawstring pants were tangled about his lower legs, Appo gathered his strength and snapped his feet up into a sharp, punishing kick.

He was rewarded a moment later by a grunt of pain from the Kaz'harian.

_Hah!_

Of course, that only made the large guard angrier.

A moment later, Appo felt a huge beefy fist connecting with his jaw and his vision began to blur.

_No fair,_ Appo grumbled, beginning to suspect that the Kazzies could see in the dark, _At least turn on a lumen while we fight..._

Appo was trying to decide whether to try to smash his head into the gut of the simian, or go for another kick, when suddenly he felt his injured limbs get grabbed roughly. He shouted out again from the renewed pain, and all rational thoughts fled. A pair of binders was clipped to his wrists and he was tied up high to something… a storage shelf maybe? Appo continued to kick and scream, shouting at the top of his lungs, not even certain if he was screaming in Basic or Mando'a. In the back of his mind, he was reminded of Barlex's description of when he first arrived in the lab. Brothers when they reached the end of time… they screamed. Horrible screams. Part of him wanted to stop screaming. If only for the sake of Barlex. But, he couldn't. There was just so much pain right now. Hopefully, when Barlex's time came, he would understand.

_Sorry, Barlex._

Appo bit down on his tongue, and tasted blood. At this point, he was torn between wanting the end to come quickly, and just wishing he could've pummeled the hairy ape a few more times before he died.

# # #

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Rex tried to angle his body to take out the Kaz'harian gunning for the vulnerable medic. But, he was in entirely the wrong place to make the shot. As his mind worked out all of the calculations, he knew he'd never be able to get his body to the _right_ place in time.

Suddenly, a wall of white armor appeared in front of Mako. Rex immediately recognized the heavy-gunner, Shadow, and the rest of his squad. They formed an impenetrable line in front of the medic.

Rex saw Shadow personally take out the simian that had been gunning for Mako. The Kaz'harian flew back from the impact of the heavy gunfire, arms spread wide in surprise, a huge gaping hole in his lower torso. He thudded backwards into several of his brethren. The heavy gunners continued to fire relentlessly, heedless of any fire coming directly at them.

It was either the bravest thing Rex had ever seen, or the stupidest. But, seeing those heavy gunners protect a downed brother touched something deep down inside of the 501st Captain.

# # #

Mako heard the Captain shout a warning, and his eyes whipped up just in time to see he was about to be shot. There was no time to grab his blaster. He'd set it aside when he'd donned a sterile glove to stem the bleeding on Till's chest.

Besides, if he let up pressure now, the combat engineer would still fatally bleed out. Just a few seconds more, and he would have the bleeding under control. Mako thought the trooper from the 38th Armored Division just might live, as long as infection didn't set in.

He continued to work, even as he stared directly at the Kaz'harian taking aim at him. Mako's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and he hissed out an aggravated breath.

He didn't mind dying. He figured he'd already gotten kind of lucky with escaping death after the whole losing his hand thing. If he'd had any fears of death, he wouldn't have gone into defusing bombs.

No, the only thing truly irking the medic was he hadn't yet finished treating Till.

_Gah. Less than two minutes and I'd been done. Of all the rotten timing.  
_  
But, he refused to move his hand. He continued to stare down the Kaz'harian.

His view was suddenly completely obstructed by four burly forms sliding smoothly into directly in front of him. In one beautifully synchronized move, all four men dropped to an armored knee, and hefted their oversized weapons to their shoulders. The medic heard the reassuring sound of heavy gun fire. A _lot_ of heavy gun fire. Mako never did see what happened to the enemy who'd been so determined to take him out.

But, a second later, the gunner directly in front of him craned his neck back so he could address Mako.

"You, OK, vod'ika?"

Mako barked out a harsh laugh of relief as he recognized the deep rumbly tones of Shadow. He looked across the defensive line providing him a human wall and could clearly see it was the squad of gunners led by the outgoing trooper.

Mako nodded quickly, and immediately returned his attention back to the seriously wounded combat engineer. The bleeding had finally stopped, and he could now get the wound disinfected and bandaged.

He bit his lip in concentration, as he focused on everything he and Lance had reviewed aboard the ship on the topic of slugthrower wounds. By the time he'd glanced up again, Shadow was once again firing intently on the line of enemies down the corridor.

Mako peeled off the bloodied glove and stuffed it into the lined pouch of the side of his medpack. He allowed himself just a moment to admire the speed and grace with which the heavy gunners worked together as a team. He knew they'd all just met on Ando, but one would think they'd been training together since their Kamino days. Safe behind his 'wall' of protection, he retreated back and looked for the next wounded brother to treat.

# # #

He was just stemming the bleeding on Clank, who was clutching his hand over a leg wound, when he saw one of the heavy gunners go down. It was inevitable, Mako supposed, since they were holding the front line and completely exposed. He saw Shadow pivot to get a better look at his fallen brother and then rear back sharply as something bit into his shoulder armor.

"Shadow!"

The gunner looked over at Mako and shook his head, then called to him over the comm. "I'm fine, Mako."

"You're hit."

Shadow glanced down at his shoulder, and then back at Mako, "Just a scratch. Armor absorbed most of it…" He inclined his helmeted head toward his fallen brother, "Tuck could use your help, though."

"Be right there," Mako promised.

"Medic!"

That one single word, shouted out with just a slight hint of battle-fueled panic, smashed into Mako's brain. He whipped his head around and saw that Scythe, one of the snipers, had just fallen.

He felt torn, wishing he could be in two places at once. He raised up his bloodied hand, quickly acknowledging he'd heard the call.

"OK, Clank, I'm done. If you feel you can weight bear, go ahead. Otherwise, try to stay clear of the fighting. We'll get you back to the ship as soon as we can."

Clank nodded as he listened to the instructions. Mako knew that like all stubborn clones, Clank, would hobble and fight until his leg gave out. But, since there was no easy way back to the ship at this point, it was also the most logical course of action for a trooper. He wasn't sure when or how they'd get a chance to move the seriously wounded back to the ship. They'd set up a medbay, but with only two medics, and no hoverstretchers, there really was no way to evacuate the wounded. If only they had more medics… He'd have to talk to the two Captains about training more medics. Two for an entire Legion was definitely _not_ enough.

He crawled over to Tuck, and quickly began removing chest armor so he could examine the unmoving heavy gunner. The other three gunners immediately shifted their positions, providing the medic with more protection. Tuck had taken a shot high up on the left side of the chest. It was a lucky shot. Any further to the right and it would have punctured his lungs, and any lower it would have pierced his kidneys. As it was, he could feel the gunner had several cracked ribs. He felt around double-checking for an exit wound ensuring there were no bits of metal to worry about still lurking around inside. Tuck groaned and came to as Mako pressed on the exit wound on the outside of his rib cage on his back. His brown eyes looked up and met the medics, immediately asking without words about the severity of his injury.

"You're lucky," Mako said, reassuringly, "slug passed right through. I'm going to get some bacta on it, and wrap your ribs. Then, we just need to keep an eye out for infection, OK? But, it's not bad."

The gunner smiled in relief. "Thanks, Mako." He reached up a hand on his uninjured side, and gave the medic's arm a friendly squeeze, "You're alright, vod."

Mako wasn't sure why such simple praise and acceptance from the squad of heavy gunners meant so much to him.

But, after he finished tending to Tuck, he found himself moving with new confidence as he quickly worked to tend the battle wounded.

# # #

Light suddenly flooded the darkened maintenance closet.

Appo blinked against the sudden brightness, trying to understand what was happening.

The guard turned and drew his weapon. Before he could even fire off any shots, blue blasterfire lit up the confined space. It was such an intense flurry of fire and so intense that Appo had to close his eyes against the onslaught of light.

And, then the stench of burnt simian flesh and fur was so overwhelming that he began coughing uncontrollably.

"Get him down from there."

He felt tugging on his hands, and he couldn't help but cry out from the pain on his injured and abused joints.

"Easy! He's injured!"

He dimly heard some discussion about the binders, and 'finding the key.' Some part of his pain-filled brain began to register that there were a number of armored bodies suddenly crammed into the small space. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen armor in a long time. Everything was overly bright lights and dark shadows.

"Appo?"

The battered 501st commander stared confusedly ahead into the headlamp blinding him.

"It's me, Appo, Cody... Somebody find the lights for this room."

A moment later, lights came on, and Appo found himself staring in the familiar scarred visage of his counterpart from the 212th.

"Kriff, Appo, you're a mess."

"Hmmph," was all Appo managed in reply, refusing to concede that particular point to Cody. Besides, both thinking and talking were particularly difficult at the moment.

Cody gazed down at the commander's unclothed state, and then reached a hand down and quickly jerked Appo's pants back up to his waist again. He tied the string with brisk, clone efficiency.

"Tsanks," Appo managed, appreciative for the small gesture of dignity, although he hated to have to be indebted to Cody, or anyone else for that matter, for anything.

Cody simply nodded, "Where's the rest of your men, Appo?"

"Some… in the labs…" Appo managed around his injured lips. "Rest in the dungeons."

"Found the key!" Hardcase shouted victoriously, from where he'd been searching the dead simian. "Whew! That's _not_ a good smell."

Cody reached a hand back for the key, and Hardcase slapped it into his gloved hand. "Be careful of the gooey bits, sir."

The 212th Commander frowned, and wiped the key off carefully using a piece of rag out of his belt pouch. Then, he released Appo from his restraints, catching him as he collapsed forward.

"Kix!" Cody bellowed.

The medic had already moved forward to stand by his side, as had Barriss. Both healers had automatically moved themselves into a position, ready to assist.

Appo's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the Jedi. "The Republic… they've finally come, then?" he gasped out, hoarsely.

Cody cast a glance over at Kix and the two exchanged a meaningful glance. The medic quickly opened his pack and selected a syringe. Seconds later, the 501st Commander was unconscious.

# # #

Rex fired off a volley of shots from his twin blasters and then retreated back into the shadows of the corridor just as an answering splat of slugthrower fire sprayed into the wall by his head. He checked the charges on his blasters, glanced around at the position of his men, and quickly ducked back out to fire again.

_This is not good. We're losing men, and we haven't even reached the labs. We're totally pinned down here._

He gritted his teeth in frustration. This was the point at which as a GAR officer he'd call in reinforcements. But, they were alone here on Darkknell. The only other forces he had at his disposal were the commando team, and at this time they were presumed lost. _No, not lost_, Rex berated himself, smarting a bit and shifting his weight as a slug ricocheted off his right shoulder plate. _We've just lost contact. Travis and Catcher are fine._

He moved back into the shadows and his sweeping glance took in the Legion, his eyes falling upon Mako. Beneath his helmet, Rex allowed himself just the barest hint of a smile. The medic moved with confident efficiency as he went about his duties. If he were still in the GAR, he would've asked Mako to join the 501st. The young medic had just the right blend of brains and courage.

He sighted up on his next target and squeezed off several more shots. There seemed to be a never-ending supply of Kaz'harians coming at them. Well, they knew the odds were stacked against them when they'd started this venture…

But, kriff, this was bad…

He saw Mako crawl over to check the first trooper that had fallen in the battle. Till. Rex remembered the young clone's enthusiasm and positive attitude during practice.

Suddenly, Mako threw off his helmet and began frantic chest compressions against the combat engineer's chest. Between firing, Rex kept glancing back down at the medic and his efforts to save Till.

The next time Rex glanced back, Mako's single hand was completely bloodied and his head was hung down. He slowly stripped off the glove, and then gently closed Till's sightless eyes.

# # #

Mako was snapped out of his sorrow from a cry immediately to his right. The gunner in position next to Shadow was curled over, cradling his arm to chest.

"Hopper! Fall back!" Shadow ordered his squad mate. The injured gunner nodded and slid behind his squadmates, who immediately closed up the gap between them.

Mako worked his way over to Hopper, tugging off his wrist gauntlet.

"Can you fix it?" the gunner's deep voice almost held a note of pleading, as he glanced back over his shoulder at his other two brothers who were still holding the line.

Mako was quickly coming to despise slugthrowers.

"The slug's still in there, Hopper," Mako said, gravely studying the injured hand.

"Yeah, but you can't take it out now anyway, right?" the gunner argued, glancing back again to ensure his brothers were OK. "Just wrap it. We'll deal with it later. I only use this hand for balancing, not firing."

"Hopper," There was censure in Mako's voice. All sorts of worst-case scenarios started going through the medic's head as he pictured sepsis setting in.

"Come on, Mako," the gunner plea-bargained, "just until we get back to the ship, alright? Then, you can do whatever. I_ promise_." He glanced again back at his brothers, still holding the line.

Knowing Hopper was actually _right_, he didn't have time to remove the slug now, the medic nodded. He fervently hoped this decision wasn't going to result in the death of another good brother later.

He quickly injected Hopper with the strongest antibiotics he had available in his makeshift kit, along with a generous dose of painkillers. He quickly splinted and wrapped the gunner's hand all the way to the tips of the fingers to prevent any jarring or movement of the slug.

"Just until the ship," Mako reminded Hopper sternly, tying off the splint.

"Right. Thanks, Mako," he hefted his heavy gun back onto his burly shoulder, and gave the medic a playful shove with his elbow on in his uninjured side, "I can see why Shadow is always going on about you."

Without another word, he smoothly rolled back into position between his brothers and resumed firing.

# # #

Rex frowned as he checked the charges on his blasters. Something had to change. They still had make their way through the labs and into the dungeons.

Should he risk pulling out some dets?

He glanced up at the stone above him, wondering if he could risk an explosion in this contained space. It might slow down the Kaz'harian attack, but could also take out even more of the Legion.

He swore inwardly as he saw another of the heavy gunners fall, and began double-checking the charges he had in his belt pouch.

They were so close to the labs.

If he threw a det here, would it damage the labs? Would he end up inadvertently killing the very prisoners he'd come to rescue?

_Ahsoka…_

He forced himself not to think of the Jedi padawan because whenever he did his chest squeezed painfully and he couldn't breathe. The thought of anything happening to her, especially when he was so _close_, made it impossibly hard to breathe.

But, what choice did he have?

At this rate, he was going to lose half the Legion…

He pulled out a concussion grenade from his belt, stepped out from his sheltered alcove and prepared to lob it toward the Kaz'harians.

Just as he was about to release the powerful explosive and cry out a warning toward his men to take cover, a sudden flash of light caught his eye.

He gripped the explosive back into his fingers, and hit the safety lock again.

No. It couldn't be.

He zoomed in with the high-intensity optics of his HUD. The focus of the Kaz'harians was shattered. Their attention was now definitely divided between Rex's forces in front, and whomever it was who was so effectively attacking them from behind.

Yes, there it was again…

Rex spotted the distinctive bright blue flash of a lightsaber cutting and slashing. It was not Skywalker's distinctive form, or the graceful backhanded moves he'd come to associate with Ahsoka. Rex had fought enough beside both Jedi to recognize the telltale dips and flashes of lights even amongst the blasterfire and confusion of battle.

Somewhere amongst all this chaos was a Jedi. The Kaz'harians started to fall at a much faster rate. There was a hail of blue blaster fire cutting into the Kaz'harians from behind. Rex could distinctly see clone armor behind the Jedi. He zoomed in again trying to get a better visual.

Blue and white clone armor.

He froze in place and almost dropped the concussive grenade as he saw armor that exactly matched his own. And, intermixed with the bold stripes of blue, a smattering of the distinctive cerulean that proudly marked the 212th. And, any doubts he had that they were indeed members of the Attack Battalion were dispelled when he caught sight of a distinctive helmet that he would have recognized anywhere.

# # #

As the last Kaz'harian fell, Jedi Barriss Offee stepped forward gracefully over the line of fallen simians. Commander Cody strode tall and straight by her side, DC-15A blaster rifle resting in his arms.

Rex immediately moved out from his position and strode forward to meet the pair. They intercepted each other in the center of the corridor.

The two officers stared at each other for a long moment, not sure what to say.

Rex then tugged off his helmet, as if he need to see his brother with his own eyes. "Cody," he said, in his rich, deep baritone.

The 212th Commander also removed his helmet, and stared at Rex for a long searching moment.

"Rex," he replied simply, both of them regarding each calmly.

Rex broke first and to the surprise of his commanding officer grabbed him in a brief, manly, rib-crushing hello.

After the 501st Captain let go, Cody poked Rex harshly in the chest, his voice gruffer than usual. "They told us you were dead."

"Almost, Cody."

"What happened, Rex? Where have you been?"

Rex shook his head, "Another time, OK?" He studied the 212th Commander, "Am I to assume we're here for the same reason?" He hooked a thumb backwards in the direction of the labs.

Cody nodded, setting his jaw in a determined line. "I'm here to get General Kenobi out. Republic was getting nowhere in rescuing our men, Rex."

The 501st Captain nodded gravely, "I know."

Cody looked puzzled, "How could you possibly-"

"It would take a long time to explain it all. Look, I've drawn up a battle plan. How about you?"

The 212th Commander shook his head, "We've been uh…" he hesitated.

Rex's lips quirked in amusement, "Making it up as you go along?" His eyes lit up as he used the familiar Skywalker phrase.

Cody frowned.

Rex chuckled at the 212th's Commander's consternation. He wasn't used to seeing Cody flustered. This was completely out of character for the commanding officer.

Cody's scowl deepened, "Yes, well, it seems to be working just fine. We've been picking up strays that seem to belong to _you_ ever since we got here. That's _two_ you owe me now, Rex."

He stepped back and made a curt gesture with his hand, waving forward the rest of his team.

Rex's eyes widened, as he took in the battered, unconscious form hanging over Hardcase's shoulder.

"Appo?! Is that Commander Appo? Where'd you find him?"

Cody shook his helmeted head. "We'd better get into _that_ one when we do our debrief later. He's… uh… down for the count. Seems they're… ah… a bit rough on the prisoners here."

Rex's face darkened into a fierce scowl, and his expression looked murderous for a moment. Then, he composed himself, as he took in the members of his commando team interspersed amongst Cody's men. Lance looked to be in no shape to speak as he was currently being carried across the shoulders of _Jesse_. Rex felt a tide spring of emotion as he stared at the familiar clone.

"Captain," the tattooed clone, inclined his head respectfully, feeling Rex's stare on him.

"Jesse," Rex said, wishing he had time to say so much more. He turned his head to the clone next to him. "Kix!" Rex's face creased in a pleased smile as he greeted the familiar site of the 501st medic.

"Captain," Kix grinned back, he quickly assessed the Captain head to toe, his medic's eye noting the knee brace that had been painted to blend in with his armor. "You're looking a lot better than when I saw you last."

Rex nodded, wishing he had more time for catching up with the 501st. Seeing them again suddenly made him feel a whole lot lighter and relieved a knot he hadn't realized he'd been carrying around. But, he had a mission to complete, and the mission always came first.

Unlike the injured medic, the second member of the commando team was at least still standing.

"Blaze! Report!"

The injured commando came forward, assisted by Denal. Blaze no longer had his helmet, and the majority of his injuries were to his face and neck.

"The Kaz'harians… they have flamethrowers, Captain," Blaze rasped out, his voice hoarse. The Republic Commando winced as he punched up a diagram on his gauntlet. He pointed to a spot on the map, "We made it as far as here before we encountered heavy resistance. Torch and Travis were just in the process of setting down another of their special IEDs when Travis went down."

Blaze noticed Rex's jaw tightened at the mention of his close brother's injury but he listened patiently to the report.

"He got hit by a flamethrower, Captain," Rex's jaw tightened even further, but he didn't interrupt Blaze as he was speaking.

The commando continued to point out positions on his map, "Torch…. he carried him on his back all the way back up to our original position. The Lieutenant sustained burns…" the commando pointed to his abdomen and chest area. "Lance was just treating him when they threw the IED back at us." He hung his head down and his voice dropped low, "We lost Viper, sir." He nodded his head toward the injured medic. "And, Lance is critical."

Rex blew out a long, hissing breath.

From behind Rex, Mako suddenly appeared, quickly tugging off a bloodstained glove as he just finished up with another member of the Legion.

He cast a worried glance at Lance, "Captain Rex, sir, requesting permission to take Lance back to the ship-"

Rex shook his head, "Negative, Mako. I need you with me."

"But, _sir_-"

"Mako," Rex's deep command voice brokered no argument, "I need you here. You're my medic."

Rex's gaze was fixed on Mako, and he missed the flicker of emotions that passed over Kix's face as he listened to this conversation.

Then, the 501st medic stepped forward, "I can take care of him, Captain." He gazed behind Rex at the aftermath of the battle. "I also help with your other wounded." He looked toward Commander Cody for permission, who nodded. "You have a medbay on your ship?"

Rex pointed toward Mako, who pulled Kix aside into a quick intense conversation on what to expect back on board their ship. At Mako's request, Lance was laid gently down so that the young medic could take a look at him. The two medics worked side-by-side, medscanners in hand, as they discussed treatment options.

"Sir, I'd like to return to my team," Blaze said, standing up straight and cocking his weapon for emphasis.

Rex looked at him in surprise, taking in his injured state. He scowled as he noted the commando's missing helmet. "Mako? Kix? What do you think?"

The two medics beckoned Blaze over, giving him a quick assessment, then conferred quietly in low tones.

Kix gave the first part of their analysis; "We both agree he can return, Captain, if he feels up to it."

Mako gave the Republic commando a stern look, "However, any problems, dizziness, blurred vision, difficulty breathing, you're to head back to the ship, immediately. Understood?"

Blaze nodded curtly in acknowledgement. He stood up and went to stand beside the Captain and Commander again.

Rex gave the RC a critical look, "How will you join up with your team? We've lost radio contact."

His voice held grim determination, "I know where they're headed. That's enough. I'll find them."

"Alright," Rex said, gently putting a comforting hand on the commando's thick, scuffed arm armor, "Good luck, Blaze."

The RC nodded, before pivoting on his heel and moving away at a fast clip away from the others, heading out at a fast clip, away from the labs. His armored boots made a slight echoing sound down the hallway as he ran. Rex watched him go for a moment, hoping it wasn't the last time he'd ever see the commando.

# # #

"Quinn!" Rex barked, calling forth one of his troopers out of the ranks, "escort Kix back to our ship. Show him where we parked our fine little raider. Take good care of him."

"Yes, sir," Quinn said, nodding to the medic, "can I help with the wounded?"

Rex went through the Legion, selecting some of his most 'able-bodied' men to help carry the wounded back to the ship. He hated the thought of being down several more troopers, but after the trauma his men had already been through prior to Ando, he wasn't going to 'discard' any man now.

He scowled down at Till. The battle dead would have to wait until later. But, he remembered seeing the cheerful young combat engineer walking around Ando with a girl. She was always been waiting for him after practices, and Till's face just lit up the moment he saw her.

Rex blew out a long sigh. One way or another, all the brothers would make it back.

# # #

"Rex," Cody's voice drew his attention back to the 212th Commander, "who are all these men? What's this new 'Legion' of yours?"

Rex's hesitation immediately drew Cody's attention, and the Commander's lips tightened.

"What's going on, _Captain_?" Cody emphasized the rank, something he rarely did.

"I'm not in the GAR anymore, Cody," Rex reminded the 212th Commander, stubbornly folding his arms across his chest, "I was decommissioned, right before they sent me to _Kamino_."

The one emphasized word told Cody all he needed to know, "These were the men that were on that ship with you!"

Rex dipped his into a nod.

"But, we were told your ship was destroyed," Cody said, setting his lips in a grim line.

Rex snorted in grim amusement. "Hmmm… there's GAR intel for you... We crashed, Cody." He decided to leave out a few of the extra details, such as the planet full of women.

"Where?" Cody immediately asked.

Rex shook his head, "We have a battle to fight, Cody. We can discuss the... ah... specifics at some other time."

"Fine." Cody conceded, he glanced behind him at the entrance of the lab, "what's the plan?"

Rex pulled up a schematic off his gauntlet. "We were just about to attempt entry into the lab when we encountered resistance. Only entryway we know of is here. We're not sure what is back here, but there's some unaccounted area here on the map. We believe some of our prisoners are being held here in the labs, and the rest are down in the dungeons." He pointed a hand into the diagram.

Cody nodded, "Alright, we'll get the door, and cover the front of the lab, if you want to send some men to investigate the back of the labs. Once we secure the labs, we'll head down to the dungeons together."

Rex nodded in agreement, and placed a hand on the 212th Commander's shoulder, "Cody, it's good to see you again."

Cody gave a warm, genuine smile, "Yeah, you, too, Rex."

# # #

Cody ordered his men from the 212th to work on opening the door, allowing Rex a brief moment alone with his men from the 501st.

He turned and faced Hardcase, Denal and Jesse.

Rex shook his head once and smiled, "Can't believe you guys are here."

Hardcase grinned, "Yeah. Wait until you hear what we did to get here. Although, much of that was Echo and Fives' doing."

Rex's jaw dropped, "Echo and Fives?"

Cody overheard the comment and stepped back, "Oh yes. Your two ARCs are here, Rex. What an interesting duo they've turned out to be… Although, Hardcase is correct. They were instrumental in our busting out of Ord Cestus."

The 501st Captain realized his mouth was suddenly hanging open, and he snapped it shut. "Cody, you're _AWOL_?"

The 212th Commander shrugged, although a quick shadow of worry flitting across his features belied the casual gesture. "Yes, Rex, the Republic doesn't know we're here. We left the station without permission. I take full responsibility for the actions of the men who came with me."

Hardcase opened his mouth to object, but Cody cut him off, "All of you, 501st and 212th alike, Hardcase. You're under my command. My responsibility."

"Cody," Rex said, with a worried note of caution in his voice, "If the Army-"

The 212th Commander cut him off. "I'm not discussing this now, Rex." He scowled, "You're a fine one to talk."

Rex put up his arms defensively, "Technically, I'm not in the GAR, Cody."

"Yet, you're still wearing Republic armor, and leading around a legion of Republic troopers?" Cody hooked a thumb at the troopers taking a rest a respectful distance behind them, recovering from the battle.

"Cody," Rex heaved out a frustrated growl, and thrust a hand through his sweat streaked blonde hair. His hair was longer than he normally kept it when he'd been in the GAR. It was sticking up in spikes now that his brow was wet.

The 212th Commander decided to let the argument go, "Your ARCs."

"Huh?" Rex scrubbed at the back of his head, trying to ease a knot of tension that had formed there over the course of the long day.

"I came over to deliver a message to you from one of your ARCs. I know comms are being jammed. But, when you can get a message out, it would mean a lot to Echo if you would contact him."

Rex stared at Cody, seemingly oddly touched by the gesture, "I'll do that. Thanks."

Having delivered his message, Cody stepped back away to give Rex another precious moment alone with his 501 guys. He glanced over to check on Barriss. After Kix had left, the Mirilian Jedi had immediately put herself to work tending to the rest of the battle wounded. There were a number of troopers who were injured, but not so severely that they needed to be carried back to the ship. The Jedi healer was working side-by-side with the medic Rex had referred to as 'Mako.'

Cody noted the varying reactions the Jedi evoked in the men she was treating. Some stared at her with reserved awe, the way they'd all been taught back on Kamino. Others simply flushed red and looked away, unable to meet Barriss' eyes. Cody smiled to himself, remembering he'd felt exactly the same way the first time he'd met the attractive Jedi.

But, there were a few troopers who stared at her with suspicion, as if the Jedi were not to be trusted. Cody stood back and watched all of this, long blaster rifle cradled in his arms.

The Jedi looked up, intuitively knowing Cody's attention was on her.

_Well, at least she is willing to still acknowledge me._

He returned her look.

She sent a message through their link, _Everything OK, Cody?_

Hearing her voice again in his mind was… startling. He hadn't realized how much he had missed their simple little interactions until she'd kept pushing away.

He wanted to prolong his reply, keep her in his mind as long as possible so that she wouldn't leave. But, as per his training, he could only automatically come up with the most efficient reply possible, _Yes_.

She gazed at him a moment longer, then withdrew from his mind, and was gone.

He cursed inwardly, instantly wanting her back, craving her presence. He forced himself to turn away and stared instead at the progress his men were making in cracking the code on the lab door.

"Hah!" Gearshift gave a victorious shout, and then immediately jumped back out as the doors sprang open. He dove out of the way as slugthrower fire ricocheted out from inside the lab.

Rex signaled the men forward, and the fight for the lab began.

# # #

Lance groaned, and struggled to open his eyes. Everything was blurry. The last thing he remembered was taking care of Travis. The Marine had second-degree burns on his chest.

_Burns can get easily infected. Need to check on Travis._

_Ugggh. Why is it so hard to move?_

With a pained grunt, Lance tried to force himself up.

"Whoa. Take it easy, or I'm going to have to restrain you. And, I'm not currently carrying binders…. Fives might have some, though."

_Huh?_

Lance knew the voices of every single brother in the Andoan Legion, and this _wa_s not one of them.

"You've got severe internal injuries and a number of fractures. What is it they say about medic's making the worst patients?" this brother's voice was kindly, and laced with humor.

Lance could feel that the hands working on him were practiced and experienced. He recognized the touch right away.

"You're a medic," Lance murmured, although he wished his voice was stronger and clearer when he said it. His words came out more like: "Yuuur a memmmic."

"Yes," the medic nodded, "oh, and Mako sends his regards."

"Mako!" Lance tried to sit up and immediately groaned, clutching his middle.

Kix scowled, and gave him a stern look. "One more move like that, and I'm sedating you. Got it? What part of 'internal injuries' don't you understand?"

Lance lay back, panting, eyes closed. "Owwww… … that… hurt…" he mumbled.

The medic snorted, "Not surprised. Your insides are totally scrambled." He shook his head, but there was worry evident in his voice.

"Mako… he… alright?" the injured medic managed to inquire.

Kix nodded, measuring out an injection, and jabbed something into the Andoan's medic's side, "Fine. Worried about you. He wanted to be here, but Captain Rex insisted he stay."

Something flashed across the medic's face then. He shook his head dismissively, but Lance caught it. He stared at the medic's armor again, as if working out a puzzle, "You…. Yuuur…. five… oh… first…"

The medic quirked up an eyebrow in amusement, but made no reply.

Lance made the connection, "You know Cap'n Rex."

Kix nodded and continued to work, "Yes, you could say I know the Captain."

Lance squinted up at the man working above him, curiously, "Were… you… his medic?"

Kix scowled fiercely at him, insulted, "_Were_? I _am_ his medic!"

The injured trooper looked crestfallen, "Sorry…. meant… no offense…" He looked away toward the wall, and then winced as Kix began probing his legs for fractures. "Don't know… your name?"

The medic paused in his work, and blew out a long sigh. He ran a hand through his dark hair, "I'm Kix."

He finally met the eyes of the other medic, and admitted to himself that he was truly bothered the Captain had automatically asked for this 'Mako,' and not him.

Was the Captain somehow not pleased with his job performance? Had he done something wrong? Or, was he angry at everyone in the 501st after… what had happened? Did he think they all just gave up on him?

He blew out another long irritable sigh.

"Wasss … wrong?" Lance asked.

"Nothing," Kix hissed out, much too quickly. "Where do you keep your bone knitters?"

Lance gave the medic a long, compassionate look, and then pointed toward one of the cabinets in the medbay. When he moved his arm, he yelped in pain.

"Don't use that arm," Kix said crossly, as he went to the indicated cabinet. "It's broken."

"Thanks… for... tip," Lance gasped out.

Kix turned back to him, "Basically, your whole right side is shattered. _Don't_ use it. How'd you manage that, anyway?"

"Gren... ade... big... grennn... adde...," Lance mumbled.

"Funny. Well, wise guy, you're not feeling the full force of the pain yet because your spine is bruised. Once that wears off, you're going to feel it. You don't really have the facilities here to treat your kind of injuries. You _need_ to be back in a Republic medical facility."

"_NO_," Lance said, immediately and emphatically.

Kix stared at him in surprise, "What do you mean, no?"

Lance wanted to shake his head, but he hurt too much to manage the movement. "Havvve... to... stay... here."

Kix stared at him, "You don't have a bacta tank on this ship. Without it, your chances of recovering fully-"

"Take… my... chances," Lance said firmly.

"You have internal injuries. And, I'm no surgeon," Kix said.

"Have a doc on-" Lance stopped short of saying the word 'Ando' in front of the 501st trooper. "If I make it... I'll see... her."

"You could be dead by then!"

Lance stared at Kix resolutely, "No worse… than what the… Republic did, Kix…"

"What about your other wounded?" He poked a thumb at the other injured lying around the medical bay.

Lance wished he had the injury to lift his head and see who was injured and how badly. Instead, all he could do was murmur, "Talk to 'em… if you wish. But, z'all say… same zing." The injured trooper's words were getting badly slurred.

The 501st medic gaped at him again, "Just where the kriff are you guys living?"

Lance found himself getting exhausted, "Wish … could… tell you, Kix." He felt his eyes slipping shut. "Maybe….zomeday…. you come zer too…" he mumbled, indistinctly slipping off into unconsciousness.

He was blissfully unaware as the 501st medic began tugging bones back into place. But, hours later, when he woke again, he found that Kix was correct. His brief period of being relatively pain-free was over.

The numbness from his spine had worn off and he was suddenly aware of all the damage his close proximity to the grenade had done. The moment he opened his eyes, he gritted his teeth in agony.

Kix had finished with the other patients in the small medbay, and was holding a vigil by Lance, who was the most critically injured.

"Painkiller?" Kix asked, holding up the injection.

Lance couldn't even speak at all anymore, so he just glanced at the medic, hoping he could read the look in his eyes.

Kix nodded with understanding, "Yeah, I know that look." He swiftly administered the injection.

A moment later, Lance felt the pain ease and he sighed in relief. He wanted to ask how the battle was going. He wanted to look around the medbay to ask about the other wounded, but he couldn't move, nor could he think beyond his own pain and making it through the next few minutes.

It had never occurred to him when he started the battle that he amongst the first own to use the new medbay.

"You _need_ to be in a bacta tank," Kix said firmly.

"No," Lance managed to whisper out the small objection.

Kix looked around the small medbay, and scowled darkly, "You _need_-"

"_Can't..._ go back," Lance hissed through gritted teeth, "_none_ of us can."

Kix just stared at the medic, and the two locked gazes.

"They'll… recondition all… of us," Lance breathed out.

Kix sighed, and reached into his medpack, "Look, I can give you a second painkiller to help with the pain. We just have to be careful and watch for-"

"I'm… aware of…. the risks," Lance murmured.

"You're a terrible patient, know that?" Kix said, shaking his head. He carefully checked the dosing on the syringe, and injected the injured trooper in the neck.

Lance closed his eyes, as the second painkiller hit his system.

"You were on that ship with Captain Rex," Kix said, quietly, to himself as if trying to work the pieces of a puzzle.

But, Lance heard him anyway and opened his eyes, "Yes."

"And, that's why there are so many of you," Kix said, gazing at Lance with a renewed sense of wonder.

"Surprise," the injured trooper mumbled, a slight mischievous glint in his pain-filled eyes.

"Very funny."

"And, all of you are…" Kix gazed at Lance with a new sense of wonder.

"Not dead?" the Andoan medic supplied with a small twist of his lips.

"Funny," the 501st trooper shook his head. "You're a funny one when you're all pumped full of painkillers, aren't you?"

"Hey Kix," Lance muttered fuzzily.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna' sleep now…"

"That's a good idea. Rest."

He watched the injured trooper's eyes flutter shut and his breathing evening out. He was asleep within seconds.

Kix moved quietly around the medbay, checking on the other patients. Bits and pieces of his conversation with Lance kept nagging at him.

Finally, he ended up sitting back down by the injured medic's side and staring down at him again. What kind of life was he living that he so obviously wanted to get back to? A place worth suffering through bone knitters and other primitive conditions from the sounds of it. Yet, when the injured medic had whispered out: "I hope you can join me there someday." before passing out, it made Kix wonder if he'd discovered some kind of paradise.

# # #


	103. Chapter 103 Battle in the Labs

_A/N: Many thanks to the real-life heroes who inspire me. Love you all. Stay safe._

_A final scene with Appo here which will be the last time he'll be seen in "Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?" He won't appear again until the sequel. If you happen to like Appo, he actually gets a pivotal role in the sequel that is very... true to character._

_Same rules as last chapter if you see a new clone name pop up. We're just seeing more of the Legion due to the sheer volume of battle scenes we're going through right now. Clever readers will spot the name, 'Griff.' No need to keep track of these names. (Tires the brain.) I'll keep track of all of them, and remind you who they are if they come up again. (I have an electronic program just for that purpose.) Your job is to just enjoy the story._

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

**_Chapter 103_**

"Tomm, Hugh, this is Sergeant Hok, come in."

He watched the progress of the other three scouts as they tried to shift some of the fallen rock. Then, he leaned in, straining to help once again. He frowned, checking his chrono.

"These things aren't moving without dets," Sabre grumbled.

Hok briefly considered the idea, desperate to get his missing team members back, plus the essential gear they were carrying. He needed every member of his team and couldn't afford two losses.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, as he pulled out a det and lightly palmed it as he studied the heavy blast damage already around them. He gazed overhead critically, and then down at the ground before slipping the det back into his pouch.

"No," he said with steely conviction, "another blast and this place could come down—either on us, or the prisoners below us."

Hok toggled his comm again, "Tomm, Hugh, come in." He rested a hand against the side of his helmet, intensely focused on listening. Xyra had told him he could compensate against his remaining hearing loss if he just focused on drowning out other noises. She'd spent hours researching the subject. She always assured him even if the rest of his hearing didn't return fully he would always be the man she'd fallen in love the day she'd pulled him from the grips of the Oppee. (And, wrestled him from the grips of her sister and cousin.)

His hearing was so much better than the full deafness he'd once had, but sometimes one ear would just 'cut out' making everything sound all 'muddied.' Like now.

_Stang!_ He just wanted to be able to hear clearly when it counted.

He blew out a breath, hearing Xyra's voice in his head, reminding him to be patient and work through it. He felt a sense of calm, and continued to focus on his missing team members.

Jagger looked up from where he was straining to move a large rock. He grunted as he worked, "Tomm and Hugh...those two were just beginning to grow on me….good guys, you know?"

Sabre reached over to help him move the stone, "Aw, cheer up, Jaggy. Your new friends might be OK, yet."

Jagger paused to catch his breath, before grabbing onto another piece of debris to move, "This optimism? Coming from you? Unbelievable. Now, if we just had a Jedi to move the rest of this rock, we'd be in good shape."

Flex stood back guarding the others but shifting his weight from foot to foot restlessly as he watched his brothers work. Hok knew that look. Frustration at being injured when you wanted to be working with the others. He gave Flex a steadying nod of reassurance.

He checked his chrono again. It was past time to get going. He also knew when it was time to make a command decision.

"We're done here."

The team took a moment to pay a respectful moment of silence toward the pile of collapsed rock blocking the corridor.

And, then, they moved on.

# # #

"We're making good time," Hugh called up the map of the facility on his gauntlet. "I'm just surprised we haven't run into any Kazzies yet."

"Kriff, don't say that."

"Why?"

"That's just about the surest way to make them appear out of nowhere."

The two snowtroopers were taking a break in a darkened alcove shadowed in one of the ancient corridors.

Hugh scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. How's the foot?"

"Broken. Definitely broken."

"Technically, you more like _crushed_ it."

The 313th Legion trooper shot his brother a glare, "Not helping, Hugh. Really not helping."

"_Alrighty_ then, moving on," Hugh shifted the heavy gear bag full of weapons. He flexed his shoulders, trying to ease the strain.

Tomm waited, scowling as he watched. He had one arm looped around his brother's neck, as he carefully kept all the weight off his damaged foot.

"Hugh, you shouldn't have taken on some of my gear. I could've still carried the whole lot of it, you know."

He released his brother, and hobbled back awkwardly a step. The snowtrooper leaned back against the rough darkened granite and crossed his arms. He watched Hugh struggle with a strap. He blew out an exasperated sigh and shuffled forward a step. Using two hands, he quickly had the heavy load adjusted and settled comfortably onto Hugh's shoulders. "There… you stubborn chak'aar. Better now?

Hugh nodded, "Yup." He gestured with his one hand toward his brother's damaged foot, "You can't carry so much weight. Not with _that_."

Tomm made an irritated growl in the back of his throat, "For kriff's sake, Hugh. It's my foot. _Not_ my back."

Through the visor of his polarized helmet, the two battled it out with glares.

Hugh shook his head stubbornly, not backing down.

"Aaaargh," Tomm threw up his hands in frustration. Then, still annoyed with his brother, pointed to the dust and debris-covered state of Hugh's armor, "You're a total mess." He knew the mark would strike home, considering the pride he always took in his gear.

Hugh scoffed, refusing to rise to the bait, "You know, you're not exactly regulation white anymore either, snowtrooper."

Tomm straightened his broad shoulders before sparing a glance down at the beating his gear had taken during the explosion. He adjusted his own pack, double-checked the charge on his weapon and then said, "Yes, well, on the bright side, now, we're better camouflaged this way. Starting to thinking the Kazzies prefer the dark."

"Noticed that, eh?"

"How hard would it be for them to actually put in a few lights-"

Tomm suddenly cut off mid-sentence, his body tensed into a heightened alert state. His body language was an instant signal to Hugh.

Without a word exchanged between them, Hugh silently slid them deeper into the shadows.

The two snow troopers listened intently, breathing quietly as they focused out with their keen clone hearing. Perfectly in sync, the two brothers even breathed as one as they waited. Just seconds later, heavy footsteps sounded.

Both troopers drew their DLT-20As and exchanged just the barest of nods. Suddenly from around the corner, a patrol of four Kaz'harians appeared.

Tomm and Hugh exploded into action, rifles blazing.

Taken by surprise, all four simians went down quickly, their deep guttural cries echoing in the narrow confines of the corridor.

And, as quickly as it had begun, everything was silent again.

# # #

Hugh glanced over at his brother and could tell from his body language that he was in pain.

"Hold up."

"Why are we stopping?" Tomm's voice signaled his annoyance at the delay.

"Just take off your bucket, you di'kut." He fished around in his medpac for a painkiller. "Don't say you don't need one. I can always tell when you're in pain, because you stop your yammering."

"I do not yammer." Tomm protested, then winced slightly as his brother quickly jammed him in the neck with the syringe. "That's your department."

"True," Hugh admitted, tucking the empty syringe away into another pouch on his belt. "I am a stunning conversationalist. Georgia said it was one of the things that attracted her to me."

Tomm groaned, and muttered under his breath, "Oh, not this again."

Hugh pulled on his brother to continue them on their way, "But, you're not completely _hopeless_."

"Oh, well, thank you for that," muttered Tomm sarcastically.

"There are women out there who just _love_ that strong silent type," Hugh said, cheerfully.

"I should just shoot you right now," grumbled Tomm.

# # #

"So, basically you've been running around the fortress here planting dets and wreaking havoc?" Fives asked, carefully matching his steps to the stiff-legged gait of the man next to him.

Catcher gave a low chuckle, "Pretty much." He turned to regard his fellow ARC, "Although…" his tone turned regretful, "things turned ugly out there by the morgue." He sized Fives up as they walked, "And, I expect them to likely get worse from here on out."

Fives glanced over at Echo, who was walking by his side, and then back at Catcher, "Alright. Tell us what to expect."

"We need to work our way down to the dungeons and get in position for what we hope will be the final battle. Our job is to act as a _distraction_ while Captain Rex and the Legion works on freeing the prisoners."

Fives smirked at Echo, and straightened up with pride, "A distraction, eh? We did a bit of that busting our way out of Ord Cestus." He looked back at the Captain, "So, what did you have in mind?"

Walking slightly behind them, Travis snorted, "Well, that's the part of the plan we haven't exactly worked out yet."

Fives and Echo both looked back toward the Marine Lieutenant.

He met their gazes and elaborated, "We just had it marked down on the plan as 'create a distraction.'" He patted his belt where he stored his dets, "We kind of just figured we'd have to work it out when we got there."

Catcher drew the attention of the two ARCs back to him as he spoke, "We have no idea what to actually expect in the dungeon with the prisoners. Getting our brothers out alive is our highest priority. Otherwise, this whole mission will have been for nothing." His voice turned grim and determined. "We didn't come here to kill Kaz'harians. We came here to rescue brothers."

Fives turned to Echo, "Well, if there's something we learned working with General Skywalker, it was _improvising_. Not sure if there was ever a plan that didn't actually end up falling to Plan B."

"Or... C," added in Echo, taking on his usual thoughtful gaze.

Catcher nodded with approval, "Commander Cody did well in adding you two to our team. You'll be a great help to us, Fives, Echo."

Fives glanced over at Echo to see if he caught the wording '_our_ team.' Echo gave a slight dip of his head. Yeah, he'd heard it. If it was possible for him to straighten up _even_ taller, Fives did it. He was practically walking with a swagger now, kama and all, as he led the commando team with Echo, walking right beside the ARC Captain.

# # #

"Hugh, let's grab their gat. I have room in my bag."

"Tomm-"

"_Hugh_." The snowtrooper's tone brokered no argument.

The two knelt down and began examining the weapons from the slain Kaz'harians. "Hey, Tomm, check these things out. These are assault rifles."

The second snowtrooper picked up the slugthrower and examined it critically, then cross-referenced it against his HUD. "Thought so. It's a Kel Mark II. Heavy Assault rifle. Not surprised this is the weapon of choice for the Kazzies. These things are designed for Dralians. They've got heavy grav on that world, so the inhabitants there are huge, too." He picked up one of the weapons, raised it to his shoulder, and sighted down it. "This might be too unwieldy for one of our vode to use. The recoil on one of these things is tremendous."

Hugh picked one up and hefted it in his arms, examining the weight critically, "And, that beats being unarmed? Adrenaline is a powerful motivator, especially when you're going up against the guys that have been keeping you locked up for the past two months."

Tomm eased the gearbag off his shoulders, "Alright. Let's get these packed up, then. Just be aware they're going to pack a heck of a bruise if we actually end up using them."

# # #

Appo blinked once, but it didn't help clear his vision at all. He felt his body start trembling. The last thing he remembered was the Kaz'harian coming at him in the maintenance closet. He felt a hand grip his shoulder, and the area ached fiercely with a deep burning pain.

He tried reaching up with his other arm, but found he couldn't move it.

_Fek. You kriffin' Kazzie. I've spent my whole life learning how to fight. And, I will fight you until I'm dead, you shabla-_

Appo's thoughts dissolved in a muddied series of curses as he fiercely kicked his legs up. He was rewarded a moment later by feeling his bare feet connect with something solid. He heard a crash, followed by a long series of cursing that sounded suspiciously like an exact echo of his own voice.

_What the hell?_

His brain started to try to catch up with his addled thoughts. The feel underneath his bare feet… when he'd kicked out… it hadn't been Kaz'harian fur. No. He'd know that feel anywhere… it was as familiar to him as his own skin... and maybe even more so... it was the slick plastoid feel of clone armor.

"If anybody is able, I could use some help over here with Commander Appo," he heard a voice groan out.

"I'm on it," a moment later, he heard what sounded like someone hopping on one leg, and then felt arms pressing down on him restraining him. He cried out when he felt pressure on his injured shoulder.

"Watch it!" said the first voice sharply, "he's got a dislocated shoulder on the one side, and a distal fracture on the other."

The pressure on him immediately eased, and he felt somebody leaning down across his chest. Appo finally succeeded in prying his eyes open, and stared right up into the face of a brother.

"Sorry, Commander," said the clone. Appo stared up at him, not recognizing this particular trooper.

The clone restraining him, glanced backwards, "You OK, there Kix?"

Appo's eyes widened as the familiar form of the 501st medic came into view. "Yeah." His slightly doubled over posture said otherwise.

"You sure? Need me to call somebody or something? You look a bit pale."

Kix snorted, and shook his head, "No, thanks. Not that the first time I've been struck by one of my patients, and I'm sure it won't be the last." He rubbed at his chest and straightened up wincing, "Although, I'm sure I'll have some impressive bruises come tomorrow." He looked down at Appo, "Welcome back, Commander."

"K-" Appo tried to get out the word 'Kix,' but no sound came out. He swallowed and cleared his throat and tried again, "Kix?"

The medic nodded to the clone restraining him, "Let him up, Griff. Thanks for the help."

"Sure thing."

Appo glanced over at the retreating clone, and noticed his entire leg was bandaged and splinted from the hip on down.

"I'd ask how you were feeling," Kix said, sounding slightly winded, "but since you were just worked over by a Kaz'harian, I think we can probably skip all that."

Appo glanced up, still blinking hard as his vision de-focused for a moment. "Yeah, that would be... appreciated."

"Uh huh. And, while we're dispensing with pleasantries..." The medic paused, and winced rubbing at his chest as if it work out a particularly sore spot.

Appo flushed with guilt, "About that, Kix, I'm sorry-"

The medic put up a hand, forestalling any further apology. "Don't. I've dealt with more post-traumatic battle stress in the past year and a half than…" his words trailed off, and he got a slightly haunted look in his eyes. He shook his head, as if chasing away his own bad memories, "What I wanted to say is it seems to me that Darkknell has taken it's toll on you. " He waved a hand toward toward Appo's injuries, "Not just talking about all of this. This stuff is going to heal quickly."

Appo looked away, refusing to meet Kix's eyes. There was no kind of mental help for clones. To admit to dealing with any kind of anxiety or stress was seen as a weakness. "I'll… uh… deal with it," Appo grumbled, then quickly changed the subject. "I need water."

Kix scowled, then opened up side cabinets until he located a bulb of water. He popped the top of off, and supported Appo as he drank. He spoke low and quiet in the Commander's ear, "If you need to talk, I'm here. No one needs to know. Anything you say to me, stays with me."

The 501st Commander glanced up at Kix as he finished the water about to protest again.

The medic cut him off, still speaking extremely quietly. "There's nothing you could say to me that I haven't heard before. Trust me. And, I don't tend to sleep very much. So, if you happen to want to talk at 0200, it's all good."

Appo gazed up at the sincere look in his brother's eyes, and nodded. He had few friends among the other clones, and even less since he'd been promoted. Even though he knew that the medic was just doing his job, he was still strangely touched. "Thanks, Kix."

For the first time since he'd been he'd been shot, experimented on and abused, he felt some of the weight in his chest ease a little.

"Alright, I need to set your shoulder back. This isn't going to be pleasant."

Appo snorted, "It didn't feel great coming out, either."

Kix gave a mild twist of his lips, "Just don't kick me again, alright? You've got a hell out of a kick."

Knowing the medic wasn't looking for another apology, Appo quipped, "Yes, I… well… I managed to take down a Kaz'harian with that kick."

His humor was rewarded with a smile from the medic, "Well done, Commander. Frankly, I'm not surprised. However, I think you can do better. I'm thinking you could try taking down a gorok next time with that kick. You two would be more evenly matched."

"A gorok?" Appo found himself smiling at Kix's humor.

Kix smiled ruefully, and rubbed his chest again. "Poor creature would be whimpering."

"I'll try to be merciful."

Kix just shrugged, "Just glad you're on our side, Commander." His brown eyes turned thoughtful as he did a calculation, "Alright, I already gave you a painkiller when you were starting to come around. I could give you another-"

"I'll be fine. Just get it done."

Kix gave him a doubtful look. "You ever thrown a shoulder before?"

Appo shook his head, "But, I've been shot and beaten on a regular basis since coming to this cursed planet. I don't need pampering."

"Oh, pampering, is it?" Kix said, skeptically with a raised eyebrow. "Fine. We'll do this on three-"

"_Kix_," the Commander's voice clearly said just 'get on with it.'

"Right then. So, shoulder dislocation always puts pressure on the brachial artery here," the medic began in his deceptively calm medic voice," his fingers slid onto Appo's shoulder as if he was just pointing out the site of the artery. The commander relaxed and glanced over curiously, "Are you experiencing numbness in this area, Commander? Does it get worse or better when I move your arm like this?"

He bent Appo's arm back at a 90 degree angle, then rotated his arm and shoulder upward making an 'L' shape as he did so.

"Yes, it's numb," Appo started answering the medic's questions as he felt Kix probing the area, "The whole arm feels like it's…. yowwwww!" He howled in pain as the medic gave his arm a decisive rotation outward and the shoulder joint slid back into place with a 'pop.'

He gasped, panting heavily, and glared up at the medic.

Kix glanced down at him, "So, how about now? How's that numbness?"

"Medics," grumbled Appo. "It's gone. Completely. So's the pain. Thank you." He stretched his arm out experimentally, noticing he could move it again. "Well done," he conceded.

Kix gave a slight nod. "Still will be sore for a while. We'll still need to wrap it with some bacta. You've got some tearing around the rotator cuff. But, that should feeling _much _better. Alright, let's see about fixing this other one." He gave the fractured left arm an assessing look.

"Bad?" Appo asked, trying to gauge the medic's expression.

"Ah…. I've seen worse. But, the bone is displaced." He took a step back, his armor creaking slightly as he did so, and folded his arms sternly across his chest. Kix gave Appo a stern look that brokered no argument, "You are _not_ going to want to be awake when I put this back into place."

Appo looked affronted. "I can-"

"You can stop arguing with me, Commander. This is not an easy fix like the other."

Appo raised up an eyebrow in consideration of the medic's words, "That… was easy?"

"Comparatively? Yes." His confident tone held the wisdom of too many battles for one so young.

Appo's face showed his displeasure at the current situation, and he stared down at his injuries as if his body had somehow betrayed him. "But, then, after you're done, you'll clear me right? So, I can head back out there? The battle… it's still going on? Commander Tano? Is she OK?"

The slight quaver in Appo's voice when he spoke, and the way his eyes met Kix's told him volumes. He hated being out of touch and feeling like he didn't know what was going on. He was a commander, and used to being in control.

"Yes," the medic allowed, "the battle is still going on. No, I don't know the status of Commander Tano. And, no. Absolutely not. You're not going back out there."

He rifled through his medpac, preparing a syringe. Appo put up his somewhat healed right arm, stilling Kix's action. "Wait. I want an explanation. And, a status report."

The medic paused, refusing to put the syringe down, "_You _are in absolutely no state to fight. Besides for the fact that you couldn't even raise up either of your arms properly to fire, you have a whole host of other injuries that haven't healed yet." Without backing down at all, Kix tapped the medic insignia on his sleeve, "I don't need to remind you that _I _outrank you here."

Appo was about to object again. Kix put up a hand, forestalling any further argument.

"However, just so you can rest easy, let me assure that Commander Cody and Captain Rex have the entire situation-"

"Rex!" the 501st Commander shot up off the medbay bunk so quickly he began tumbling off the side.

Kix reacted with lightning-fast reflexes and caught him carefully around the torso, expertly avoiding his injured areas. He firmly pushed Appo back into the bunk. "_Stay._"

The other clones looked over in alarm as the commander nearly fell. Several looked over, asking with their eyes if Kix needed assistance. He put his hand up and closed his fingers into a fist—which was Rex's favorite gesture to signal that everything was under control.

The medic turned his attention back to Appo, thinking about Rex. He blew out a regretful gust of air, and murmured, "Yeah. I probably should have left _that_ bit of news until later."

"_Rex_ is alive?!" Appo pushed himself to a seated position, cradling his fractured arm tightly to his chest.

Kix slid his hand behind his back, transferring the syringe to his other hand, "Yes, I know. It was quite a shock for all of us."

"He was sent to Kamino! Clones just don't suddenly _come back_ once when they're _reconditioned_," Appo's voice was beginning to sound irate.

Every eye in medbay had turned on the commander at this point. Several of the Andoan Legion clones were openly glaring at the 501st Commander.

"Mmmmm….. you'd be surprised," the medic soothed calmly, "But, we'll discuss later. Maybe over caf and a sandwich once that arm of yours is set, hmmm? Sound good?"

Kix's voice flowed like water, washing over Appo with reassurance.

But, the increasingly agitated commander would have none of it.

"No!" Appo straightened up, and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "_I'm _the Commander of the 501st. Now, you're suddenly saying that Rex is back? Where has he been? Does he have an explanation for his absence of the past two months." Not giving Kix a chance to reply, the Commander went to stand up, "I must address this immediately. He's _AWOL_-"

"Of course you will, Commander. As soon as we set your arm, OK?" Kix assured, as he placed a comforting hand on his brother's good shoulder with one hand. With his other hand, unseen, he reached around and jabbed Appo in the neck with the syringe. As the commander slumped, boneless, Kix expertly caught him and lifted him up onto the medbay bunk.

Glancing over from where he'd been watching the whole thing on his bed, Lance commented weakly, "Nice. You're a master medic, Kix."

"You should be sleeping, Lance."

"And miss all this entertainment?"

The other clones in the medbay chuckled.

"He's going to be ticked when he wakes up," commented Griff, looking over. He was sitting up in his bunk, his leg comfortably propped up on a pillow.

"Wakes up?" Kix said, innocently. "Mmmm….. I'll have to consult with my fellow medic on this one. Lance? Are you well enough to offer me up your opinion?"

Lance looked over and smiled, "Hey, I might be totally busted up, but my brain is working, vod."

Kix nodded, "Seems to me that the commander here is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress due to a wide degree of injuries incurred in the line of duty on Darkknell."

"Yes. Absolutely," Lance concurred, "your patient needs rest, as much as he can get." He pointed with his left arm to an overhead storage cabinet. "I stocked up on sedatives before we left. All you need are right up there. Help yourself."

The 501st tapped his chin thoughtfully, as he studied his patient, "Best thing we can do for the commander is just let him rest and heal."

There were a few low chuckles, and several murmurs of approvals from the patients around the medbay. One of the Andoan Legion murmured, "Not sure I like that guy… Appo."

Another muttered, "He's no Captain Rex."

Lance and Kix just exchanged a glance between them.

Kix shrugged, letting the men talk quietly amongst themselves, but refrained from saying anything himself. He worked quietly, and just focused on his duties as a medic.

# # #

"Move! Move! Move!" Cody's 'team' was the first through the door.

Hardcase barrel-rolled as he took heavy fire from the Kaz'harians guarding the lab from within. He was immediately backed up by Wooley, Boil, Waxer and Denal smoothly rolling their bodies and coming up firing. Blaster fire mixed with the heavier splat of slugthrower retort.

Chips of granite flew off the walls as slugs missed their human targets and created jagged pieces of high-impact stony shrapnel. Several clones cursed as stony bits managed to find vulnerable places between their armor.

But, pain could be a powerful motivator. The clones surged forward into the labs.

"Mind the prisoners!" Rex barked, swiveling his helmeted head around quickly as he scanned the tables in the lab. Most were empty.

There was a brother strapped down to one in the far corner watching the battle with almost detached resignation. His expression showed no fear, like the thought of getting caught in the crossfire by a stray blasterbolt or slug just didn't matter anymore. Rex saw Boil and Waxer quickly work their way over to protect the bound clone. He saw the prisoner suddenly perk up with surprise at the sight of Boil and Waxer.

Rex realized this clone must be from the 212th. Boil quickly reached down and freed his brother, and helped him off the table. The trooper sagged with relief against Boil, nearly collapsing as soon as he was freed. Waxer and Boil each threw an arm around the trooper and escorted him out to the relative safety of the hallway. As they passed by, Rex got a better glimpse at him. He was one of Cody's sergeants, Second Airborne, if he wasn't mistaken. Rex wanted to question him, but they were already out of the door.

He continued to scan the lab.

_Kriff! Where's Ahsoka? _

_And, General Skywalker? And, General Kenobi?_

He knew there were prisoners still in the dungeons, but he was sure Ahsoka was still in the labs.

Cody drew up alongside him. "We've almost got this here."

Rex scanned the room. Cody was right. The sheer number of clones was overwhelming the Kaz'harian forces.

"Hardcase found a back doorway," Cody continued in a low confident tone, "Looks like it might lead to that second lab you were talking about. Hardcase is waiting for you…." He turned and pointed, indicating where the 501st soldier was waiting, "…there. Take some additional men. Go check it out. I'll finish up here."

Rex nodded, "Thanks, Cody."

Cody gave a slight nod in return, but behind it Rex could feel something more. An emotion. He was feeling it, too. This felt good. Right. There was something good and right about working together with Cody again.

Rex knew he didn't have time to sort through these difficult emotions right now. Fek. Emotions were difficult things to sort through under the best of circumstances.

He turned his mind back to the mission. He was much better at that.

The second lab.

_Ahsoka._

# # #

_Author's Notes: Barlex is finally free. But, what is waiting for them in that large mysterious second lab? And, it seems to me the Kaz'harians have been a bit quiet lately. Almost too quiet. Maybe they're up to something…_


	104. Chapter 104 Surprise in the Labs & Ando

_A/N:Spikala just caught an error in this chapter. Awesome. I love it when readers are totally on the ball and catch stuff that I missed. In the uncorrected version of this chapter, I had Hodges introducing himself as being from the "Andoan Legion" in front of Cody and Barriss. The problem with this? The location of Ando was supposed to remain a secret. Spikala wins a month's supply of homemade Andoan fish stew. Chance and Odds will be by your house to drop it off, just as soon as they finish up with a bit of unfinished business on Darkknell.  
_

_We had a request this week from Firelyte for an update on what was going on back in Ando. Thanks so much to Reulte for contributing the Ando-based portion of this chapter. This is just the first in a multi-part series taking place back on Ando. I only included a small portion of it here since there was a lot going on in Darkknell. However, there will be many more "back on Ando" updates, thanks to the fabulous Reulte. For a true literary treat, be sure to check out Reulte's "Scars" series featuring Chopper, Rex and the 501st. Oh, and I use the phrase "Muutpile" in here. That's a play on the expression "dogpile." (Developed a fondness for Muuts after writing: "Commander Fox Gets a Day Off.")_

"_**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 104**_

Ahsoka could feel her body fading. It would be so easy to _give in_ to the feeling of helplessness.

She was just so nauseatingly weary.

The Force suppressing field had drained everything from her—not just her ability to contact the power that she relied upon for so much, but right now it felt like it had sapped her motivation to live.

Dimly, she managed to glance over at the limp, hanging forms on either side of her, and wondered how it was possible that they were even still alive. The two Jedi Masters had been trapped in this awful place for Force knows how long.

Kreff. They both looked awful. Master's face was completely sunken and had an ashen tone to it. Hanging limp and unmoving next to him, Master Kenobi had flecks of dried blood in his trademark beard, which was now outgrown and unkempt. He looked more like a simple Blue Milk Farmer than an esteemed Jedi Master.

Yet, both Jedi must have the most stalwart determination to _live _to have survived these conditions for so long. This thought inspired her to hang on just a little bit longer as the field continued to sap away at her...

# # #

"Through here, Captain!"

Rex stepped over two fallen Kaz'harian guards to get through the doorway Hardcase indicated.

"Sorry 'bout those. We'll get the place cleaned up," Hardcase said, pointing to the fallen simians.

Rex shook his head, indicating it was fine. Battlefields were messy places at best, and this one was no different. Although, a part of him had been doing a mental count. And, despite the ferocity of the initial battle outside of the labs, it seemed the initial resistance within had been too light. If this entire facility was dedicated to captured prisoners and then cloning them, Rex would have expected more of a fierce fight to protect the lab facilities. Something was _**off**_ here.

A chilling thought suddenly struck Rex and he whirled around and activated his comm, struggling to get a visual sight on Cody as he did so. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the few remaining Kaz'harians in the room, running toward the exits, not even trying to fire.

Kaz'harians don't run.

Unless…

"Cody!" Rex bellowed into the comm. He realized his voice was so loud that his friend's dampeners had probably automatically kicked in, but adrenaline was suddenly flooding through his body at a furious rate. "Get everyone out! NOW!"

Rex immediately heard Cody shouting orders, and every remaining trooper mopping up the battle under his command was hurtling themselves toward the stone corridor.

Rex grabbed the troopers nearest him and since he was too far away to get to the entrance of the first lab, he had no choice but to pull them into the second lab. He had no idea if it would be any safer, but his gut was just screaming at him that he was out of time.

Seconds later, an explosion ripped through the first lab. Just as the last of Cody's men threw themselves out the doorway and back into the stone corridor, the lab erupted into a fireball.

# # #

Rex grabbed Hardcase into the second lab, and jammed a fist against the door controls. Even so, the recoil from the explosion was tremendous.

He and Hardcase were blown backwards in a pile of armor and limbs, their final fall cushioned by smashing into Kinks. The sniper landed on the bottom of the pile of tangled clones. Rex lay on the floor of the lab, aching and trying not to even move or breathe for a moment.

"Ow," he heard Hardcase grunt, "OK, that _hurt_."

"You OK, Hardcase?"

"Says the person who is currently lying on my head," Hardcase pointed out.

Rex forced his head to move, even though his vision was swimming from the hard landing. He tried to figure out who else had landed in their Muutpile. He studied the armor for a moment in puzzlement, then finally realized it was a member of the sniper team. "Kinks? How about you?"

The sniper just thrust out a thumbs up sign from his position on the bottom of the pile of clones.

Even though everything ached, Rex forced his limbs to move and began disentangling himself from the other two.

"Captain, hold still a second while I check you over," Mako suddenly appeared by his side, with his medscanner in hand.

"Make it fast," Hardcase complained, "the Captain is _heavy_."

"Almost done... Despite the fact that three of you made it halfway across this section of the lab, which was most impressive, by the way, everything looks fine," The medic declared, "let me give you a hand."

Rex actually guffawed at this, "Was that a joke, Mako?"

"Yes. And, the best one I have, actually." He pulled the Captain to his feet. Mako helped untangle Rex from the others, but motioned to Hardcase and Kinks to stay still so he could check them over.

"I vote that we _don't_ do it again," groaned Hardcase, rubbing at his helmeted head.

"Won't get an argument out of me," grumbled the sniper, as he waited for Mako to finish.

Rex toggled his comm, "Cody, come in."

The response was immediate, "Good to hear your voice, Rex. With the size of that explosion, we weren't sure if you had time to make it out of there."

"It was close, but we made it out to the back lab. What's your status? Did everyone make it out?"

"As near as I can tell, everyone is accounted for. Thanks for the warning. How did you know?"

Rex paused, considering, "Not sure. I suppose I'm gaining an appreciation for how these Kaz'harians think. They're clever, no doubt."

"Lucky for us you're just that much smarter. Starting to think if you'd been the Battle at Kaz'haria, the outcome might've been different." Cody's voice dipped a bit when referring to that fateful battle. It reminded Rex that eventually he wanted to sit down with his friend and discuss what happened that fateful day. But, his next words caught the Captain slightly off-guard, "Well done, Rex."

Cody didn't bestow praise lightly.

Rex struggled for a moment with a response.

_Kriff_. Emotions again.

If everything was normal, he could simply reply with a crisp 'yes, sir.' But, nothing _was _normal anymore. He wasn't in the GAR anymore. Cody technically wasn't his commanding officer anymore either.

Yet, there was something that did feel so good and right about being back together again, the 501st and the 212th. Rex swallowed against a sudden lump that had formed in his throat.

Rex kept an eye on Mako's activities as he checked over Hardcase and Kinks. He applied a bacta patch to a lump on Hardcase's temple, and Rex winced in sympathy.

He forced out a response to Cody, "Uh…. Right." _OK, worst response ever. You can do better than that, Rex. _He quickly amended it with, "Thank you, Cody." The Captain folded his arms across his chest, feeling a weird sense of being disjointed as he watched his Andoan Legion medic interacting with a member of the 501st Legion.

Rex watched as the one-handed medic finished up his ministrations, and overheard him say, "I'm Mako, by the way."

"Hardcase."

The two clones clasped hands, Mando'a style, and then Hardcase eyed the medic's missing hand with a curious look. Not cruel, simply inquisitive. He met Mako's eyes. The medic nodded in understanding, and tugged apart the fastener holding together the end of his bodysuit. He held up the recently healed appendage so his fellow clone could study it closely.

Hardcase grinned in gratitude, staring at the stump with a sort of awe. "Whoa." He clasped Mako on the back affectionately, "You're alright, vod."

"Captain," Tank's voice sounded from behind Rex, "there's something you need to see."

"Acknowledged," Rex said, with a crisp nod to Tank.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rex noticed Hardcase take in Tank's missing leg with open-mouthed gaping. He looked at Mako again, "You get used to it," the medic commented.

Rex toggled his comm again, "Cody, looks like we've found something."

"Do you need back-up?"

Rex stared toward the door which they'd thrown themselves through as the first lab exploded. The heavy metal door had held, but was buckled in the center and still glowing faintly red from the fierce heat behind it. He swept his gaze around the enormous lab, which actually consisted of several rooms, looking for a way out. At the moment, all he saw were more empty lab tables and abandoned equipment.

"I don't think you can get to us. We'll find our way back out to you. Then, we'll hit the dungeons together."

"Acknowledged. Cody out."

He turned to Hardcase, "Take a couple of men, and find us another way out of here."

Hardcase signaled to Hawkeye, Gearshift and Denal and they immediately set off.

Rex nodded to Tank, and followed the Andoan trooper deeper into the heart of the lab.

# # #

Blaze ran.

He ran through the corridors of the Kaz'harian fortress.

Stealth was not on his mind. It would have been different if he was with the commando team. But alone, safety was not a concern. His tactics were different now.

In a flash of a grenade, everything had changed.

Remembrances of Viper caused Blaze to see a haze of red. The Republic Commando gripped his rifle tighter, suddenly eager to engage the Kaz'harians. He would avenge his fallen brother.

Blaze didn't stop running until he reached the interior entrance to morgue. He pushed through the ruined structure, noting that the Kaz'harians had cleared out all of their dead. He wondered what they were doing with their fallen if their morgue was destroyed.

The clone admitted to himself he was impressed with their efficiency, and their loyalty to one another. Even in the heat of battle, the Kaz'harians were managing to take care of their dead. He felt a bitter pang as his mind flashed back to how they'd simply walked away and left Viper behind.

He kept on pushing through the morgue, and through the blast hole on the other side, and leapt the stream in a single efficient bound. In another moment, he was back behind the wall where it all had happened.

Viper was still lying exactly where he'd fallen. Blaze stood above him and just studied him for a long moment. He was covered with muck and mire from the second explosion. Blaze was struck with a fierce urge to clean his brother's armor.

_He would've hated his armor being in such a state._

He forcibly resisted the urge.

Viper was gone.

Blaze didn't let the grief swallow him up. He tapped it down and buried it deep inside. He allowed the sorrow to morph and feed into his blazing anger.

Then, he turned his attention to the reason he had returned.

The commando lifted up the helmet sitting sentinel next to his brother's unmoving body. For a moment, Blaze held it in front of him and stared into the visor. This was the "face" he had stared into for so long for guidance, reassurance and friendship.

But, now, this "face" would become his own. Blaze picked up the helmet, feeling a long scrape on the side of the helmet. This was new. He ran his fingers into the groove. Damage from the explosion. But, otherwise, it seemed intact. It had certainly survived the explosion in better condition than his own helmet.

He slid the helmet on, and sealed it to his suit. It felt different from his own helmet, despite the fact that he and Viper had been issued identical equipment. It even smelled different, too. Not _bad_, necessarily. Just not like his old helmet. He took a deep breath, as he ran a quick diagnostic, trying to get used to the strange feel of it all.

As the diagnostic ran, he began pulling clips and dets off of Viper's belt. There was a soft beep of confirmation as the testing finished, and he quickly scanned the results.

Despite the gouging and the mud, the helmet was functional.

He nodded with satisfaction. He was done here. "Thank you, vod." He said quietly to Viper. And, then took a bracing breath.

It was time to go.

He owed some payback to the Kaz'harians.

Blaze put a hand to Viper's shoulder, and bowed his head, "_Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum."_

Then, he straightened up and took off toward the hangars, DC-17M in hand, without looking back.

# # #

"Move, move, move!"

The frantic seconds between the time when Cody yelled for everyone to clear the room and the rapid-fire evacuation to the relative safety of the stone corridor seemed to happen in slow-motion.

Barriss grabbed up the nearest trooper who was struggling to rise after taking a slug to the chest. She noted he already had a previous leg injury which caused him to limp badly. She practically ended up carrying the trooper as they ran frantically out of the lab.

Once she was out in the corridor, still carrying the injured clone, she whirled around looking for Cody, trying to make sure he made it safely out. Trooper after trooper ran out, but none of them were _her_ Cody. Her Force sense was screaming at her that there was imminent danger. Despite this, she was just preparing to run back in after Cody when he came rushing out dragging a wounded clone of his own.

"That's it! Trapper! Door!" Cody shouted.

The 212th trooper was at the door instantly, grabbing the hot wired controls and forcing the metallic entryway to slide shut.

Just as Barriss' Force sense screamed, there was a roaring explosion which shook the entire corridor causing rock to shake loose from above.

Barriss felt somebody tackle her down, shielding both her and the Andoan Legion trooper from the debris pelting down from above. Once it was all over, she looked up into a familiar helmeted face.

"Cody."

"You, OK?"

"Yes, fine, thank you."

"I'm alright, too, Commanders. Thanks for asking," muttered the Andoan Legion trooper pinned next to them.

Barriss could feel a slight stab of irritation flare off of Cody at the interruption. But, always professional, he didn't let it show. "Sorry, trooper. Didn't catch your name."

"I'm Hodges. At your service." He tried to salute the two commanders, but then grimaced from the pull of his wound.

Cody frowned, "You're wounded."

Hodges shrugged, even though the action caused him to grimace again. "You know, you'd be surprised. We get a lot of that." He chuckled slightly at his own joke, although the Jedi just looked uncertain how to react to the comment.

Cody glanced at the bleeding wound, and shook his head, "Medic!" He sat back on his haunches, and leaned back to check on the second trooper, the one he had rescued from the lab.

Boil came and crouched down next to Cody. "We have no medics left. Kix went back with the wounded, and that other medic ended up with Captain Rex."

Cody frowned at this unwelcome information.

"I can help," Barriss offered immediately. Cody nodded, and Barriss immediately set to work, self-conscious that she was being watched as she did so. She raised up an eyebrow and gave Cody a _look_, which he simply returned, stubbornly not moving.

He remained behind her hovering protectively.

She turned to him, and brought up the issue that was most on her mind. "Cody?"

He gave her a hopeful look, eyebrow raised, indicating she should continue.

"Master Unduli? Do you think we'll find her soon?" Barriss tried to keep her voice neutral, and keep the tremble out of it, to not convey how worried she was about her Master.

A whole host of emotions suddenly flickered across Cody's face, and she saw his jaw tighten in anger before his face smoothed back into a carefully, flat neutral 'clone face' again. "Not sure," he said, impassively. "Rex thinks the Jedi are being held in the labs." Without saying anything else, he spun on his heel and turned to go be with his brothers. The warmth she'd felt from him a moment before was gone, and in it's place was a 'wall' again between them.

Barriss sighed and shook her head sadly. She did what she could for Hodges, and then moved from trooper to trooper, checking for injuries. Thankfully, there were much fewer than before, the battle in the lab having gone easier than the fiercer fight outside in the hallway. She saw Cody cock his head to the side, in the peculiar way that he did when he was deep in conversation with someone.

"Listen up," Cody said to the group at large a moment large, his deep command tone immediately bringing everyone to attention, "that was Captain Rex. They're all safe."

Barriss felt a collective ripple of relief go through the troopers assembled around her.

"We're going to hold our position here until they rejoin us. Then, we're headed down to the dungeons. You all know what that means. So, stand down, and get a bit of rest."

Cody took the precaution of assigning ample guards at either end of the corridor, and decided to assign himself to that duty as he was too keyed up to rest. He stationed himself as far away from Barriss as he could, although as he paced he never let the Jedi out of sight.

# # #

Razor glanced outside briefly as Ando's sun slid behind a threatening look bank of clouds. The paralyzed pilot glanced down at his chron and shifted restlessly. He stared outside again, noticing how the absence of sun had cast the entire town into a hazy grey gloom. It seemed appropriate somehow, reflective of the mood of the people. From Karyn's clinic he could see all the way down to the sea. The water was choppy and turbulent today, as if it seethed with a restless angry temper. There was a sense of edgy anticipation that followed everyone and everything these days. The joking laughter of his brothers' voices that used to ring through the town had changed to hushed conversations always focused on _when_ and _if_ they were going to return.

Karyn returned to the room, graphs in hand, from the exam she'd just completed of his spine. She pulled up a rolling chair next to the padded clinic bed where he was comfortably seated, leaning back against several pillows. He put down the datapad of work that he'd brought along to occupy any extra idle time. He'd been too preoccupied and hadn't actually gotten anything useful done.

He turned his attention to the Andoan doctor, studying her as she looked over his test results. She was older than Sink's woman, Auset, but Razor had no problems figuring out why Travis liked her. The doctor had a type of classical beauty, and behind her eyes lurked this fierce sense of intelligence. Razor envied the Lieutenant for his good fortune.

"Bear with me," Karyn murmured, as she flipped through the flimsi printouts. She chewed on her lower lip as she focused intently.

Razor remained silent, knowing any inane comments would just distract the healer's train of thought. He was nervous, though. His whole future lay in the results she held in her hands. Part of him held out hope that there was good news.

But, a deeper part of him was too realistic to let his hopes build up. And, he could tell from how serious her expression was – clones were so good at reading the most minute facial expressions – that he knew his news was not going to be good.

He was surprised by the reaction that flared through his gut. It was more than just disappointment. His stomach suddenly filled with acid as he realized he was actually _jealous_ of Sabre, who was now walking again. He ruthlessly suppressed this emotion, and focused on keeping his true emotions off his face.

"So," Razor tried to head off the news, thinking it would be easier to take if he just got it over with as soon as possible. He kept his voice perfectly calm and even, "There's no hope for me? I can't expect a big surprise coming up like what happened with Sabre?"

The doctor leaned back in her chair, and the springs gave a protesting squeak from her movements. She rubbed at her eyes tiredly. Razor noted that she looked exhausted; his brothers' eyes looked like that after battles, complete and utter fatigue. Or, when the nightmares prevented restful sleep from coming night after night after night….

Her voice was hoarse and a little scratchy when she spoke. Razor wished he could get up and get her a glass of water. But, such a simple kindness was a major undertaking for him.

"I'm sorry, Razor," the doctor was saying, "I wish I had better news, but according to this…" she held up the stack of flimsis in her hand, "… you have a complete C-7 break. Your spinal cord is separated…"

The clone put up a hand cutting her off, "I understand the terminology. They took me through all this at ArmyMed before I got my discharge papers. But, then why did Sabre…"

The doctor drew a finger across Razor's flimsi and made an imaginary line, "Sabre had an incomplete injury with no separation. His was also a shrapnel injury but, in his case, it only managed to slice through half the diameter of his spinal cord. So, some nerve impulses are still managing to travel through the functional portion of his spinal cord."

Razor absorbed this news and let it sink in, as his brain swirled it around and manipulated the information in many different ways trying to figure out some way it could still work to his benefit, some way it would come out as a different outcome for him. Some way it could mean that he could walk again like Sabre. He held out his hands for the flimsis and the doctor obligingly handed them over. She helped him look through them. The pages were slick and coated and difficult for him to handle with the limited movements he had in his hands. He nodded his gratitude after he finished his careful examination of the final one.

_Aw, fek. This is not good.  
_

The doctor gave him a concerned look, "Are you OK?"

The pilot – ex-pilot he thought to himself as his last hope died away – took a deep bracing breath, "Yes, I suppose I didn't expect much different. It's just after Sabre…" his voice trailed off, as he suddenly felt foolish for having ever gotten his hopes up.

Karyn gave him a kindly smile, "I understand."

Razor gazed at her, wondering if she ever truly could understand. But, he let it go. He knew she was working very hard to help all the clones.

Her glance strayed down to the datapad still gripped in one of his hands. "Do you mind if I ask what you're working on?"

Razor took a deep breath, "The Captain and Lieutenant assigned jobs to most of the rest of the Legion, but not to Tag, Sabre, Sink and me."

Karyn looked shocked, and was about to open her mouth to say something.

Razor put up his hand, so he could continue, "It's not that they forgot about us. We're just… more complicated. They're left it up to us to decide what we want to do. I worked on the ship helping getting it ready before my brothers left. But, I've also been working on some other projects that I think could truly benefit Ando."

He tapped his datapad, "I've been drawing plans that would centralize the services of Ando, improve the system down at the docks, improve the way the town is defended by integrating the Andoan Legion with your band of fighters, and a number of other ideas. I'd like to meet with both you and Lieutenant Travis to go over these ideas, when he returns. Before he left, I started showing him my ideas, and he said they were good."

The mention of the missing command clone drew a flash of pain across the doctor's face.

Razor gave her a sympathetic look, but kept talking. "Right now I have an even more important project I want to talk to you about. Something that I want to get done even before the others come back."

The doctor's brows furrowed in curiosity and puzzlement, "What do you mean?"

Razor changed the display on his datapad, and brought up a new graphic showing a map, "When we first crash-landed on Ando, we ended up here on the region you call West-Shore. The ship is too damaged to maneuver. But, I'd like to see if we could tow it here into Ando Town so we can salvage the remainder of the ship for the rest of the useful tech that's onboard. We're certainly short on everything around here in Ando. There are things on that ship we could use."

Karyn readjusted her position in her chair, as she considered the request, and the chair bellowed out another protesting squeak, "I thought everything had already been salvaged off the ship?"

Razor shook his head. "No. The pirate raider was actually not in that bad shape. They pulled parts off of it, but there's more on the ship that's still salvageable, useful, worthwhile. A troop transport, even a medical one, is a sizable ship."

Karyn frowned; lines furrowing her forehead, as she began shaking her head slowly from side to side, thinking of the logistics of moving the transport she'd seen.

"That's just the problem, Razor. It's _big_, Razor. I don't think we have anything powerful to pull it."

The pilot sucked in his breath, trying to contain his excitement as he realized Karyn was actually considering the idea, "That style of ship has anti-gravity repulsors. Just get me inside of the ship and I can set it up so you can hook it up to a speeder and drag it right back here into town."

He slid his finger along the datapad and scrolled to a new screen, "The only challenge I foresee is that they took one of the thrusters to repair damage on the other ship. We won't be able to maneuver properly without it, the reason it can't fly. But, I have some ideas to work around that… And, here are the parts I think we can salvage… like this here… the transmitter receiver… just think, we can set it up for local communications and to act as a listening post for when they come back, Karyn."

He cast a quick glance at her face, and could see she liked the idea, so he continued on. "Think of it this way, if we can contact the Legion just when they are coming back into the system, we can get an idea in advance of who might be wounded. We'll know in advance what kind of surgery you'll need to be prepared for. And where are they going to land? They might land the ship back where they originally took off. We can tell them to land on Fisherman's Field, near the clinic. We can also then prepare Fisherman's Hall for their arrival, get it all set up with meals. They're all likely going to be absolutely exhausted, and starving when they return. We never get a chance to eat anything beyond ration bars when we're fighting and with our enhanced metabolisms…"

Karyn finally smiled, a genuine one, "I know all about your enhanced metabolisms, Razor. With both Travis and Rex living with me, I've seen how much two hungry clones can eat. Your ideas are very good." She came to a decision quickly, "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll take you up to the ship, and we'll look it over."

Razor let out a small whoop of victory, eliciting another smile out of Karyn.

"Killtric will go with me," Razor said, and then blushed, "He's… ah… a bit protective of me." At the same time he looked a bit embarrassed when he spoke of the way his adoptive family fussed over him, there was a hint of pride in his words as well. "And Sabre will want to join in as well."

Karyn nodded, "Fine. I'll come by after I finish my morning rounds. Let's see about salvaging that ship."

# # #

Ahsoka felt her strength completely flag. It would be so easy to just let go. She was so _tired._

Suddenly, she heard the shout of voices. _Clone_ voices.

She tried to lift her head, but her neck muscles wouldn't obey her body's commands.

"I found General Skywalker! "

She heard more shouts about 'General Kenobi' and possibly maybe her name as well. There was some technical discussion about the field that held them imprisoned in place. A moment later, there was a little 'bltzt' sound and suddenly the awful feeling of suppression was _gone_.

But, the absence of the field brought no relief. If anything, Ahsoka felt even more tired and sick and drained than before. Her body was so depleted that even though she could feel that she now was able to access the Force again, it was as if her body had lost the will to do so. Her overwhelming fatigue was just so complete.

"General Skywalker is alive, but he's not doing well," she heard someone shout. "We need the medic!"

At her Master's name, she tried to force her head up. But, her neck still felt as if it were attached to somebody else's body. She was able to at least move her eyes, and by sliding them sideways she could see that clone troopers were working on freeing the two Jedi Masters from their restraints. Why hadn't anybody cut her down yet? What were they waiting for?

"Right here, Captain," she heard a voice say, and then heard a gasp of breath as if inhaled in shock.

A pair of gloved hands were suddenly working at her restraints. She stared down at them. Gauntleted hands.

Clone hands.

Blue and white armor.

A familiar t-shaped visor appeared in front of Ahsoka's face.

"Did you miss me, little'un?"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Ahsoka was unable to speak. Tears began rolling out of her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Finally, she was able to gasp out a single syllable, "Rex."

Then, she was free of her restraints, and gathered up into Rex's embrace. She had no strength at all so she collapsed against his chest. He swept one strong arms under her legs and lifted her into his arms completely.

She just stared into his visor. Despite the couple of times they'd had brief mental contacts; her mind was still having great difficulties accepting that he was actually here. "It really is you." She stared at Rex in awe, "They told me you were dead."

Rex sucked in a deep breath, and then adjusted her in his grip so he could hold her one-handed. With his other hand, he tugged off his helmet and in a practiced move that came from doing it time and time again, clipped the headgear to his belt in one smooth movement. He also needed to look upon Ahsoka with his own eyes.

"No, not dead," he reached one hand and wiped away the tears that had trailed down her face.

Ahsoka reached both hands up and cradled both sides of his face, "It's really, you, Rexie? I didn't die in that lab, and I'm imaging all this?"

Rex shuddered under her touch, and realized then how traumatized Ahsoka was by everything she'd just gone through. He needed to reassure her he was real, though.

He glanced behind him, and was suddenly aware of many pairs of curious clone eyes watching them. His eyes quickly scanned the lab, and he tugged Ahsoka securely against him and carried her to the most secluded corner he could find, affording them a bit of privacy.

He lightly brushed his lips against hers, with just the barest touch. He groaned at just the feel of her again, struggling to reign in the firestorm of emotions that even that brief touch had ignited, and in a low, harsh voice uttered, "Ahsoka, it's me."

"I was ready to give up, Rex," Ahsoka's voice wavered, and she tucked her head down for a moment into the crook of his neck. "When they'd told me you were gone… I didn't want to go on. Not without you."

Rex blinked rapidly.

Clone captains do NOT cry.

Ahsoka reached her hands up, tracing the outline of his lips.

Control.

Ah, fek. Who was he kidding? If he didn't kiss her again, he _was_ going to die.

Rex growled low in his throat. He bent his head and covered Ahsoka's lips possessively with his. He started out gentle, aware of her weakened state. Just a small, tiny kiss.

But, Ahsoka immediately responded back.

Kriff. It was always so good between them. And, he'd missed her so much.

The kiss immediately heated up. He kissed her hungrily, as if he'd been starving all his life for this one moment – this one kiss. Ahsoka wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She sank into the kiss with a long, contended sigh. He wasn't sure how long they remained like that, because he completely lost himself in the kiss. It felt so good to be kissing Ahsoka again. If only they weren't wearing so much clothing-

"Rex, this is Travis, come in."

_Huh? Travis who?_

"Rex, this is Travis-"

Belatedly, Rex's brain cut through the deep haze of passion, and he tore his mouth free from Ahsoka's and brought his wrist commlink up to his mouth.

"Travis," was all Rex managed to grind out, aware that his voice sounded harsh and raspy.

"Yes," Travis paused, "everything alright there, Rex? Your voice sounds off."

"Travis, report," Rex said, curtly, his eyes flicking over to glance at Ahsoka who was flushing furiously now, but also giving him an amused look as she tried to follow his comm conversation.

"Echo figured out a way to circumvent their jamming. Catcher asked me to call in and give you a status update. He's engaged at the moment doing some planning with Fives."

The mention of the familiar names cut through the rest of Rex's passion and focused him back into the moment.

"Understood," Rex rubbed at his kiss swollen lips with the back of his thumb, and gazed ruefully at Ahsoka who smiled at him shyly and then smiled. "It's good to hear from you again, Travis," he continued. "Lance is already on back on the ship. Blaze has been treated and is headed back your way to rejoin the team."

"Excellent," Travis responded, "We're making good time now, and we're back on schedule for heading down the dungeons."

"That's good to hear. We've sent some goodies back your way, courtesy of Hok, the scouts, Tomm and Hugh. Thought you'd appreciate some bonus firepower to distribute once you get down to the dungeons."

"Outstanding. We'll see that they get distributed. Seems like things are going in our favor, now, eh, Rex?"

Rex stared down at Ahsoka in his arms, and smiled reassuringly at her, but despite all this, his danger sense was warning him that all of this was just a little bit _too_ easy.

"Seems that way, Travis. But, keep your guard up. I just have this _feeling_…"

"Your feelings have a way of being uncannily accurate. I'll pass the warning on to Captain Catcher. Anything else?"

There was a part of Rex that wanted to share the good news—even shout out to his brother that he'd been reunited with Ahsoka. But, with any luck, soon, he'd be able to introduce his closest vod and Ahsoka in person.

That is, if his bad feeling didn't come to pass…

# # #

_A/N: So, Rex and Ahsoka have been reunited! And, the Kaz'harians left a nasty little surprise in the labs. But, seems to me that the Kaz'harians aren't done yet… A special thank you to the reviewer who wrote in and pointed out an error in Chapter 63. Always appreciate things like that so I can make corrections. And, a million thanks to those who contributed notes and ideas for this chapter. I know you have busy lives, and the fact that you still take time to assist on this story is greatly appreciated. This story is truly a collaborative effort. And, thank you again to Reulte for her genius and imagination._


	105. Chapter 105 Of Bombs and Vats

_Author's Notes: Many thanks to Spikala who caught an error in Chapter 104. I'm very appreciative for corrections and comments like that so if you catch something, please let me know. I'm probably a quirky person, but I actually enjoy it when readers catch stuff like that. Shows me that you guys are a bunch of kriffin' geniuses and I love that._

In answer to a question submitted by an anonymous reviewer, yes, there are two characters with almost identical names. _There is a scout name Sab_**_re_**_ who is part of Hok's team. And, one of the paralyzed men in the bio-beds is __Sab_**er**_**.**__ No. I did not do this intentionally. Is this confusing? Heck, yes! Hey, it happens when you write a story with 100+ chapters.  
_

_I had a request a while back for an update on General Unduli and her team of commandos, so they make an awesome appearance in this chapter._

**"_Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 105_**

"Hang on, Tomm. I need a break," Hugh spied an alcove and pulled his brother in, both troopers resting against the wall. He tugged off his helmet and wiped a band of sweat from his brow. "I think I'm going to need a nap after we're done with this whole bit. How 'bout you?"

Tomm just shook his head, figuring that was a rhetorical question. Half the time, Hugh seemed to talk to hear his own voice.

"Yes, as soon as we get back to Ando I plan on getting back in bed with Georgia and not coming out for days. I'm serious about finding a girl to set you up with, Tomm."

"And I was serious about shooting you, Hugh."

"Fine. Your loss," the snowtrooper shrugged, pulling two rations bars from his belt. He tossed one to his brother who caught it easily and dipped his head slightly, giving a nod of thanks for the rations.

The two chewed in companionable silence, washing down the standard fare with water to stave off the dehydration that inevitably came with battle fatigue. Once he finished, Tomm pulled up a map on his gauntlet, and pointed a finger into it, "We've managed to get ourselves here, blasting and sneaking our way through Kaz'harian territory. Where do you think Captain Catcher and the others are now?"

Hugh studied the map thoughtfully, looking at it from different angles as if it could reveal its secrets. After a moment, he threw up a hand, "Honestly, Tomm, I can't tell you. And, at this point, it doesn't matter." He stabbed his gauntleted finger into the glowing map and pointed to the bottom, "Our final objective is the dungeons."

Tomm stared at the highlighted sections of the map. "So, what happens if we end getting there first?"

"You mean, just the two of us facing off against a whole mess of Kazzies?" Hugh withdrew his hand from within the map, considering this for a moment. He stared at his fist, opening and closing it a few times, as he considered his words. He finally gave a nonchalant shrug, "Well, we've faced worse odds, certainly."

Tomm scowled, "Oh, really? When?"

Hugh shot his brother an annoyed look, "First off, we don't know how many of them will be down in the dungeons. Maybe things won't be so bad, you know?"

Tomm moved his hand to indicate the area of the map where Captain Rex and Captain Catcher believed the 501st and 212th were being held. "The prisoners are down there! Of course they'll be waiting for us. It's probably why things have been getting so quiet up here."

Hugh's face became uncharacteristically serious, and his tone darkened. "You think they're amassing down there?"

Tomm rolled his eyes feeling like he was finally getting through to his stubborn brother, "Yes! Isn't that what you would do if things weren't going well in the upper levels-and there was something in the lower levels that your enemy_ really_ wanted?"

Hugh stuffed his rations wrapped into his beltpack, and shoved his helmet back on as if he didn't want to answer the question. He grabbed onto Tomm, none too gently, tugging him back onto his shoulder. "Break time is over," the snowtrooper said in a gruff voice, "Let's move out."

# # #

Mako knelt down between the prone forms of Generals Skywalker and Kenobi who had been lain on the floor of the lab. As he ran his medscanner over each of them, he began muttering to himself, scowling and shaking his head. He looked most displeased.

Ahsoka and Rex stood nearby, standing close to each other, but not touching, as they waited for the results. The Jedi padawan still look weakened and shaky, but was standing on her own power.

Mako looked up to the captain, "Frankly, sir, I don't know how they've survived this long. If they were anyone but Jedi, I'd say they'd be long dead by now."

Ahsoka leaned closer to Rex, as if subconsciously just drawing strength from the nearness of his presence.

"No offense, Commander Tano," Mako quickly amended glancing at the Jedi padawan face as it paled even more. He glanced back to Rex, "We need to get them back to the ship as soon as possible. They both need to get to a medical treatment facility ASAP. Full bacta tanks - the works." He stopped himself as if remembering something, "Or, whatever Jedi do. But they're both critical. There's not much I can do. Maybe Kix has some ideas."

He looked up at Ahsoka again then met Rex's eyes. The two exchanged a glance, and the Captain nodded. Mako stood from where he'd been kneeling over the two Jedi, and started running a medscanner over Ahsoka.

"I'm fine, really," Ahsoka protested but the falter in her tone said otherwise.

"You're in much better shape than the other two, certainly," Mako agreed, "but you should also be seen by Kix. He has more experience and better facilities back on the ship than what I have here."

Ahsoka was about to protest again but they were interrupted by the arrival of Hardcase. The energetic trooper stopped short, taken aback by the sight of the Jedi on the floor and Ahsoka standing next to Rex. He quickly regained composure and delivered his report. "Denal found the way out." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder indicating the direction where the exit was. "Have to tell you, sir, this place is_ huge_; dwarfs that front lab by comparison. Most of the doors are still sealed, so we still don't know if any of our people are inside there. We're trying to get the doors open now. Orders, sir?" He started fidgeting from foot-to-foot, looking at Ahsoka.

Rex snorted, "For starters, you could come over here and say a proper hello to your commander."

"Permission to be informal, sir?" asked Hardcase, his voice taking on its characteristic cheeky tone.

"Granted, trooper," Ahsoka smiled.

Hardcase tugged off his helmet and, with a huge grin on his face, threw his arms around Ahsoka. Even though enthusiastic, it was a gentle hug; from her appearance she'd been through a lot. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, obviously pleased to be reunited with her old friend from the 501st.

When they held on just a moment too long, Rex cleared his throat loudly. Hardcase immediately let go and dropped his arms, "Sorry, sir." He stood up straight, patiently awaiting further orders. But, he was still grinning, pleased to see his commander and obviously not the least bit sorry.

"I want you to take Denal, Hawkeye and Gearshift and bring the Jedi back to the ship." Rex's voice dropped to a low growl, "Keep her safe, Hardcase."

The usually jovial clone looked at Ahsoka and then Rex, "You can count on me. I'll give my life before I'd let anything happen to the Commander."

Rex gave a deep nod back to Hardcase, acknowledging his words.

Hardcase donned his helmet, and tilted his head slightly to the side, in the way clones did when they were speaking to someone on their comms. Moments later, Hawkeye, Gearshift and Denal converged on his position and stood by his side. The three of them stared at the downed Jedi with identical looks of puzzlement, as if trying to comprehend how it was that that their Generals could possibly have ended up in such a sorry state.

Rex let Hardcase take over the task of briefing his brothers. He lifted his comlink to his lips. "Shadow, you and your squad report to me immediately."

He watched as Ahsoka greeted Hawkeye, Gearshift and Denal; receiving warm hugs from all of them. Rex suppressed a twinge of irritation. He was glad that Ahsoka had earned the loyalty and affection of all of the troopers. She had certainly proven herself to them time and again, putting herself on the line in battle to save a brother in trouble, which had endeared her to both the 501st and the 212th.

But right now, as he watched Ahsoka's arms wrap around everyone else but him, Rex couldn't help but feel annoyed. He wanted the battle to be over and everyone else out of here. He just wanted to be alone with Ahsoka. How long had it been since it had been just the two of them alone?

Rex forcibly tore his mind away from images of the cave and the feel of Ahsoka's hands on his bare skin. He couldn't afford to get distracted right now.

Shadow and his squad of heavy gunners appeared, "Reporting as ordered, captain."

Ahsoka turned from where she'd been having a conversation with Denal and looked over at the squad of gunners with a questioning look on her face. "Uh… Rex?"

"Ahsoka, meet Shadow's Squad. I'm sending a bit of firepower to protect you on the way back to the ship. Shadow and his squad have a special_ way_ with the Kaz'harians."

"We can be most persuasive, at times, Captain," Shadow quipped.

Ahsoka made a small gesture with her to the side, "Rex, can I have a word with you?"

Rex knew_ that_ tone of voice. He gently pulled Ahsoka by the elbow and steered her away so that they could speak privately. "What is it?"

The Jedi padawan glanced back at the huge weapons hoisted by the four gunners, "Rex, I really don't think all this is necessary. SkyGuy and Master Kenobi need to go back, certainly. But, I can still fight."

"No."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to object.

Rex shielded her with his body so they could speak somewhat privately from the others. Mako realized this wasn't something he wanted to get in the middle of and he immediately turned his attention back to examining the Jedi. A quick hand signal from Shadow and his squad formed up shoulder and they set about examining their guns and checking their charges thereby not-so-subtly blocking the Captain and the Commander from the view of the others.

Oblivious to what was going on behind him, Rex continued his conversation with Ahsoka. He spoke softly, focused on the Jedi in front of him, "I don't doubt your abilities, Ahsoka. But, you're exhausted. You're injured, and you're unarmed." He gazed into her eyes, seeking her understanding, "I mean only to protect you as is my duty."

"I should be with you. We're a team, Rex."

Ahsoka's words stabbed at Rex, but he remained firm in his resolve. He gently took her chin in his gloved hand, "Ahsoka. Trust me on this. I'm going to finish this battle, and then we will be together again. I need to know that you will be someplace safe."

"What about you?" Ahsoka asked, her voice cracking on the word 'you.'

"I'll be fine, lil'un." He forced a reassuring smile to his face, although he was worried it came out as more of a grimace. A sudden flashback to his dream aboard the ship came rushing into his mind unbidden and unwelcome and he saw himself falling in the final battle in the dungeons as a slug pierced its way into his chest.

Ahsoka must have picked up on at least part of his thoughts because her brow suddenly furrowed in consternation, "What is it, Rex?"

It took all of Rex's willpower to not lean forward and kiss her brow as he wanted to in a final farewell. But, he was surrounded by more than just men of the Andoan Legion now. Men from Ando understood about relationships and women. But he was very conscious of the presence of Denal, Hawkeye, Gearshift and Hardcase patiently waiting behind him. He didn't trust himself to say anything more. Ahsoka gave him a hurt look.

He dropped his hand from her face and took a step backwards, almost running into a wall of heavy gunners directly behind him. He looked at Shadow's Squad in puzzlement.

"Just checking our charges, Captain," Shadow said in his deep voice, hefting his gun back onto his shoulder.

Rex nodded, and studied the gunners for a moment. The gunners had taken a beating in the first battle, but they had insisted on staying in the fight. Commander Offee had worked on healing Tuck, the most seriously injured, who'd taken a shot to the chest. Hopper had just one working hand as his other was wrapped and splinted all the way down to the fingertips. Rex's own experiences had made him very sensitive to the fact his entire Legion were already dealing pre-existing injuries and there was only so far he could push them.

"What are your orders, Captain?" Shadow asked, in his deep voice.

But, Rex also knew that troopers like Shadow would keep pushing themselves in battle, even beyond the breaking point. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Escort the Jedi back to the ship. I don't want anyone coming near them. Is that clear?" He gave each member of the squad a long, piercing look letting them know he was entrusting them with a critically important responsibility.

"No one will get past us, sir," Shadow spoke with deadly serious conviction, and gave his large weapon a confident pat.

"Alright, then, that's settled. We now have enough firepower to blow up a few small villages," Hardcase said in his cheeky and cheerful way, "Nothing's too good for our Jedi, mind you." He glanced down at the unconscious Jedi at his feet as he looked over Denal, Hawkeye and Gearshift, "So, which of us lucky troopers gets to carry the Generals?"

Rex watched Ahsoka leave with her full clone escort. When she was halfway across the room, her legs buckled. Rex's instincts were to gather her small form up into his arms and carry her himself all the way back to their ship.

But, he did no such thing. He forced himself to hold his ground. Hardcase was immediately by Ahsoka's side, sliding an arm under her shoulders and supporting her, murmuring words of support. He shot a look back at Rex and gave another firm nod, assuring the Captain he had everything under control.

Rex knew that for all of Hardcase's high energy quirks, the trooper was solid and reliable. He took a deep breath to steady himself, and nodded back at Hardcase. They disappeared around a corner, and down a corridor, out of sight.

Ahsoka was gone.

Again.

Rex swallowed down the bitter pang that came in being separated so soon from her again, and turned his attention back to securing the labs. They still had other missing personnel to find, and then the dungeons.

"Captain, you need to look at this!" Tank's voice rang out from within Rex's helmet comm; the urgency in his tone was unmistakable.

"Alright," Rex immediately responded, concerned about the urgent tone with which he'd been summoned, "I'm on my way."

He glanced up at his HUD, blinking a few times as he scrolled through screens, and then pinpointed the trooper's position with ease amidst all of the other information continuously streaming across the display. He immediately headed deeper into the lab complex pinpointing the room Tank and his team had been investigating.

The one-legged trooper was waiting for him at the doorway. Tank gave a gesture of his head and said: "This way, Captain."

Rex halted in the entryway and just stared. "Kriff, Tank. Are those…" His voice trailed away and he didn't complete the sentence. There was no need. There could be no doubt about what he was currently seeing.

Clones.

Mini-clones, to be exact.

Kinks and Price were investigating the cloning vats carefully, but the rest of the troopers present had their attention fixated on the dozen creatures lying in neat individualized glass cells. It looked as if oxygen was being pumped in, and each had a feeding tube attached. They moved; their small arms and legs flailing about.

Tank, his big gun slung over his shoulder, gestured with his gauntleted hand, "They appear to be clones, Captain." After a moment, when Rex just continued to stare in horror at the infants as if they were some kind of monstrosity, Tank cleared his throat and clarified, "Clones… of clones, sir."

Rex shot Tank a look, "Yes, Tank, I can_ see_ that." His mind quickly flashed back to everything he'd seen so far—Barlex lying strapped down to the table in the first lab, the brief glimpse he'd gotten of Appo's appearance and Catcher's report of what he'd seen as an ARC originally investigating Darkknell while under Commander Bly.

"It's true then," his voice was a harsh whisper as he stared around at the little dark haired infants, "they're trying to create their own army." He shook his head disgust as he regarded the vats. "Droids are not enough. They want to us to fight against_ clones_."

"What are your orders, sir?" Tank asked, shifting his weight slightly on his crutch to keep his balance better.

Rex stared at the vats and envisioned what the Kaz'harians/Separatists had in mind with this plan. _Clones fighting against clones. _Rex suddenly saw an entire army of clones grown in this lab here on Darkknell, trained to kill his brothers. He could imagine no greater sorrow than brothers killing brothers. The very thought filled him with a horror like no other, especially in light of the brotherhood they had established within the Andoan Legion. _Clones must never be forced to fight other clones._

Rex shook his head bitterly, "Destroy the lab, and everything in it." He pulled out all of the charges on his belt, and handed them to Tank.

He turned away and walked out of the lab; a turmoil of emotions he couldn't identify whirling in his mind.

# # #

Leon was tired of being a prisoner.

He was a commando, for kriff's sake. He had been tied up here like a trussed up nuna for so many days now he'd lost count.

At some point, they'd separated him and General Unduli from the rest of his squad. They must have sensed his fellow commandos could be trouble, because as Leon watched, all three of his brothers were knocked out with some kind of sedative before they carted them away. He'd been left conscious which was when he realized that he was being separated from his team. How many days ago had that been? Normally he had a perfect sense of time but the days and nights were beginning to blur together into one endless monotony.

The only advantage of lying here was he'd had a chance to pick up some of the Kaz'harian language. Languages were Leon's specialty. In the 18 months since the war started the commando squad had been sent on missions to Ord Mantell, Fest, Garqi, Murkhana, Tirahnn, and Yorn Skot. During this time, he'd discovered he had talents that differed from his brothers. He'd be trained as a command clone and a sniper. But, it was more than that. He just seemed to have this innate ability to pick up the native languages of the places they were assigned. His squad mates teased him once it became apparent he had something that made him different from them, joking that the Kaminoans must have tampered with his genes in the vat. Leon didn't find this funny. (So, they accused him of not having a sense of humor, and seemed to delight in coming up with inane jokes and stunts to pull on him.) Yet, it was his ability for languages that had saved their skins on more than occasion. And, Kaz'harian wasn't particularly difficult once you developed a feel for the rhythm of the language. Many of the words seemed to have a common root to some of the other languages he'd heard spoken in other Outer Rim systems. He heard the guards talking of other Jedi and had surmised this meant they were being held nearby. He'd also gathered from the guards' conversations that his team was now being held in the same place as the rest of the Republic prisoners.

At the moment, his focus was on getting the general freed. He just needed the right opportunity. And, that opportunity suddenly presented itself as the lights overhead blinked and an explosion rocked the facility from somewhere nearby. He'd noticed that the guards' normal routine had been interrupted, and they had literally_ run_ from the room shortly before the explosion, as if they'd known it was coming.

Loose bits of ceiling tile and dust rained down on him, and he coughed in annoyance but he was otherwise unharmed by the explosion.

"Captain Leon? Did you hear that?"

_Of course, I heard that. I'm not deaf, for kriff's sake._

He gave a few more coughs as more dust settled around him.

"Yes," his voice croaked and was barely audible, so he cleared his throat and tried again, deciding to answer politely and respectfully. "Yes, General. I did." His captors seemed to be providing him nutrients through some kind of tube jammed into one of his arms but it did little for his burning thirst.

He glanced toward the door. Nope. The guards had not returned. Never before in the entire time since they had been here had they ever been left unguarded before. Leon immediately began working at freeing himself from his bonds.

_Hello opportunity._

One wrist came free. _Yes!_ And, then, even though he lost some skin in the process, the other came free as well. He rubbed at his sore wrists, ignoring the blood streaming down one of his hands from his efforts at freeing himself. Leon quickly sat up.

_Whoa. Dizzy._

He promptly fell back down again against the bed where he'd been imprisoned for many days.

_OK, let's try that again a little slower…_

Frustrated that he couldn't do things as fast as he liked, he propped himself up on one elbow, allowed the room to stop spinning, and then pushed himself a little further. He noticed he'd left a bloody handprint on his pillow, and he swiped at the cut on his wrist in annoyance using the thin case over the pillow.

He sat up and began stretching out his muscles, cracking joints that had been tied up and held imprisoned for far too long. When he tried to stand, he groaned and collapsed back against the bed again as blood started to suddenly rush back into limbs that been numb for far too long. He double-over clutching at his legs, rapidly massaging the limbs as he tried to get feeling restored into them faster. He gritted his teeth to avoid crying out at the agony as feeling returned.

Leon tested out his limbs and was pleased to discover he could move freely now without pain. He carefully eased off the lab bed where he'd been kept strapped down for days and moved over to his General's side. She was shackled down with metal restraints and her eyes blindfolded. They were taking no chances with their Jedi prisoner. He wondered if he should be insulted that they hadn't bothered to blindfold him.

Leon studied the bindings with an expert eye and noted they were the type that required an electronic key. And, the guards likely had the keys on them when they ran off to avoid the explosion.

_Right. Of course._

He shrugged, and began grabbing whatever tools he could off the lab tables plus a lab stool so he could sit comfortably as he worked. He hummed quietly under his breath as he began dismantling the cuffs. Like all commandos, his training had included hours of specialty training in dealing with wiring and electronics to plan for any contingency. Leon enjoyed work like this. He found it relaxing in its own way.

"Captain Leon? What's going on?"

General Unduli's voice startled the clone, and annoyed him at the same time. He'd almost forgotten about the Jedi, strange as that seemed, as he was so focused on his task. He paused in what he was doing, took a deep breath, and rested the tool he was using against the blue drawstring pants the Kaz'harians had dressed him in.

His kit. He needed to find his kit. He was not leaving this rock without getting his commando gear back.

"Captain Leon?" General Unduli prompted.

_Gah. Did all Jedi talk so much?_

"Right. Yes, General. I'm working on getting you free. The guards have left for the moment. I'm not sure why."

_Now, if you'll just stop talking so much, I could concentrate and get my job done._

The Jedi must have either sensed his emotions or was satisfied with his reply because she remained quiet while he worked to deactivate the various e-locks keyed to her bindings. It occurred to Leon later that he could have removed the General's blindfold right away, but somehow it was easier to work without someone watching his every move.

The last lock released with a tiny electronic bwaap and the bindings fell away. Leon reached up and pulled the blindfold off.

"Thank you, Captain, well done," the Jedi said as Leon helped her slowly sit up. She rubbed at her limbs to restore circulation into them, grimacing as she did so.

"Give your blood some time to recirculate," Leon advised.

The Jedi nodded, still rubbing at her limbs, "So, what's the plan, Captain?" She looked toward the clone expectantly.

Leon blinked in surprise.

_Well, this beat being ordered around. _

He hadn't worked with General Unduli very long. He and his squad had been assigned to her specifically for the assignment of tracking down leads on the two missing Legions, the 501st and the 212th. They had just started making progress on tracking down those leads when they'd been captured themselves. Not one of their finer moments as a squad.

"I believe the rest of our team, along with the 501st and 212th personnel that we are looking for, are all being held directly below us," Leon advised. "The guards seem distracted right now. I say we find ourselves some weapons and go check it out." He decided not to mention what he knew of the possibility of there being other Jedi in the labs. From what he'd seen, Jedi could take care of themselves. His squad was down in the dungeons. His loyalty lay with his brothers.

"Very well, then," the Jedi said. Leon quirked up a skeptical eyebrow and scowled. He had no idea exactly how to get to these dungeons, other than "down." They'd all been knocked out after their capture. He had no memories between the time when the Kaz'harians had captured their ship, and waking up in the lab. But, how hard could it be to go running about an enemy fortress, when he was weaponless, bare foot and in just a pair of sleep pants?

"This way, General," he said, padding swiftly toward the exit of the lab. On the way, he gathered up a few lab tools that looked like they'd make good projectiles when thrown with enough force, or jabbed into a throat at the right angle.

They might be Kaz'harians, but he was a commando. They didn't stand a chance.

# # #

Cody was leaning up against the rough rock wall in the corridor, waiting. So much of battle was often tedious waiting. He toggled his comm, "Rex, what's your status?"

"We..." there was a pause, which Cody found a bit odd, as Rex was not normally hesitant when reporting, "we discovered their cloning facilities. We're taking out those labs. Just setting the explosives now. We also found the Jedi-"

Barriss stepped forward, and indicated she wanted to speak to Rex. Cody obligingly held up his wristlink for the Jedi. Although, he knew Rex wouldn't like being interrupted in the middle of giving his report.

"Did you find Master Unduli?" Barriss demanded.

Cody heard Rex pause, and he forced back a quirk of amusement, as he knew his brother was scowling right now, "Uh, no, Commander Offee. Sorry. We found Generals Skywalker and Kenobi, and Commander Tano. We've sent all of them back to our ship to see our medic. They were all injured, the Generals had severe injuries."

Cody's amusement instantly faded. Rex's words hit him like a fist to the gut. The image of the General being several injured tore at him, and he felt the weight and responsibility of it all at once. He should have left Ord Cestus station sooner and come after Kenobi faster. He'd been too slow healing from his injuries, and as a result, the General had suffered. He knew Rex was waiting for some kind of response from him.

"That's… unfortunate," Cody managed, not able to come up with much else.

"Our medic thinks they'll survive if we get them to proper medical facilities in a timely manner. But they were not... treated well." This particular pause in Rex's voice spoke volumes.

Cody closed his eyes briefly and dropped his chin to his chest. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and opened his eyes to see Barriss looking at him.

"I could help." Barriss said softly. Then, in a louder voice, into his comlink she said, "Captain Rex, can you have them sent to our shuttle so I can work with them privately? I don't need specialty equipment to do Jedi healing."

"Rex, did you get that?" Cody relayed into his comm.

"Yes," there was a pause that indicated Rex was thinking it over, "alright, fine, I'll contact Hardcase and tell him to head back to your ship instead. Commander Offee… thank you for your offer of assistance."

Barriss gave a little bow, a totally Jedi gesture, and Cody rolled his eyes. Rex couldn't see the bow, since it was a comlink call. Sometimes she was just... such a Jedi. At the same time though, his lips quirked up with amusement behind his helmet... it was rather endearing in its own way.

"Cody?"

He suddenly realized Rex was speaking to him, and tore his thoughts away from thoughts of Barriss.

_Kriff! She was distracting. It was a good thing she was headed back to the ship. _

Cody focused back on the conversation with Rex, "How much longer are you going to be? We're ready for the next phase of the plan."

"Just finishing our final sweep. We'll join you shortly."

"Understood, Cody out."

As Cody brought his wristlink down, finishing off the call with Rex, he glanced over at Barriss. She shook her head, "They didn't find Master Unduli."

He wanted to comfort her, and assure her that they would find her master. But, he knew all of that had ended when their relationship had ended.

So, instead he barked some orders and arranged for an escort to take her back to the ship. He nodded a curt farewell as she was leaving, knowing it was best that he put some distance between them. A distraction. She was too much of a distraction. He kept reminding himself that she didn't want him. He went back to issuing orders, preparing the men for the upcoming battle in the dungeons.

# # #

"Captain, a word with you."

As soon as Rex finished his call, he heard himself being summoned to the lab where he'd ordered the charges set.

He turned to find the lab entrance filled with clones- all from the Andoan Legion. And inside the lab were more troopers. It looked like everyone had stopped what they were doing and had assembled into the lab which held the vats and glass tanks.

_Why would they all be inside a lab that was about to explode?_

Rex had a bad feeling about this.

He folded his arms across his chest. "Tank, what's going on? What's this?"

Tank gestured with his free hand, and indicated that the Captain was to come inside the lab. Rex noticed that since he had sent Hardcase, Denal and the others back with the Jedi, the only clones that were left now were all Andoan Legion.

"We've discussed it," Tank said, stepping forward and facing off with Rex squarely. He pointed to one of the wriggling forms in a glass tank. "These are our brothers. And, we won't destroy them."

Rex's jaw dropped. He wasn't sure he'd heard Tank correctly. He wanted to save these things? "What?!"

_These lab experiments were weapons of war! Of course they had to be destroyed! They were designed with the sole purpose of killing clones…_

"Mako," Tank summoned the medic.

Rex shook his head, thinking he should call a stop to all of this right now before it went any further. The medic stepped forward and began lifting the lid off one of the tanks.

"Mako, don't," Rex ordered in a firm command tone.

The medic hesitated, making eye contact with Rex. He paused, frozen with indecision, and then stared down at the tiny form in the tank who made a small sound. The rest of the Legion held still as they waited to see how this would play out.

Mako started pushing at the lid again, grumbling, "I could use help getting this kriffin' thing off."

Several brothers all stepped forward at once to all help him get the top off.

Mako kept eye contact with Rex. Oh, yes, he was making it clear that he knew he was disobeying a direct order. Then, he reached down into the tank, and scooped up the little form into his arms, careful not to tear free the feeding tube. He cradled the miniature version of himself one-handed, resting him in the nook of his arm, then faced him outward, giving everyone a clear view.

"This is_ our_ brother, Rex," Mako said, firmly. As if hearing his words, the little form moved again, curling slightly tighter and towards the armor of Mako's chest.

Rex tensed his fists in frustration, feeling an inner agony. Cody was his brother. The 501st were his brothers. The 212th were his brothers. The wounded troopers of the Andoan Legion were his brothers. He had many brothers but these were _not_ his brothers. He had to protect them. He was doing this because he wanted to protect his brothers.

"We won't destroy our own brothers," Tank said looking down into another vat.

"We don't have_ time_ for this," Rex shook his head, "the rest of your_ brothers_ are waiting for you outside. Your brothers are waiting to be rescued down in the dungeons." He blew out a long stabbing breath feeling like he was being torn in two. "These things were meant as weapons of war. You realize that don't you? They were created to destroy you and me!"

"_We _were created as weapons of war!" Tank fired back boldly, "how does that make them any difference from us?"

"What are you proposing we do with these?" He stabbed a gauntleted finger in the direction of the tiny clones.

"They go back to Ando with us," Tank declared.

"No. Absolutely not. Too dangerous."

These things would place Ando at risk of being discovered by the Republic, or worse, by the Kaz'harians/Separatists. Rex had a horrible vision of the entire town being wiped out in a single day.

"Dangerous?" Mako scoffed, holding up his stump of a hand. "Captain, before coming to Ando, I used to defuse bombs every day. I don't think this little one," he looked down with amusement at the little form in his arms who had curled toward his chest and fallen asleep, "measures as dangerous compares to what we normally do in our day jobs."

Rex looked around at his men of the Legion, meeting their eyes and seeing how important this was to them. Then he stepped forward to Mako and finally, reluctantly, took a close look at the little clone in Mako's arms. Eyes the exact same color as his stared back at him and Rex was mesmerized for a moment.

He stared at the little life form and as he gazed down he began to see something other than a weapon of war. He was brought back to the moment when he had dinner with Cut Lawquane and his family. He remembered that sense of longing for something _more_. He knew it was highly unlikely that he'd ever be lucky enough to have a family, but it was a possibility for some of the other men within the Legion. He looked down and saw possible futures.

"Alright then," he conceded, "Just_ how_ would you propose getting these_ things_ back to the ship?"

Tank grinned under his helmet as he realized the Captain was considering the idea. "We found a few anti-grav lifts in one of the other rooms. A couple of us could transport the whole lot of them while the rest of you go and rendezvous with Commander Cody. Then we'll just slip back in and join up with the rest of you again, no one the wiser that we were missing for a wee little bit of time."

Rex looked skeptically, "You want to bring_ all_ of them?"

"There's not that many," Tank said defensively. "There's the 12 here already out of the vats, and we count another 18 behind them still vatted. Mako said they looked like they're probably ready to come out... although we might just leave them as they are for transporting."

"Do you want to hold him?" Mako asked.

Rex stepped back quickly as if the medic had just asked him to hold a rabid Trill beast. "No."

He stepped back, cleared his throat, and then addressed the Legion, "Alright, load them on the ship." An immediate rumble of approval went through the men of the Legion. Enough!" Rex grumbled to the troopers. "Get back to work. All of you. Mako!" The medic immediately came to his side. "We need all 501st and 212th personnel off the ship before any of these..." he stared at the tiny clones and couldn't come up with the right terminology for them. They were not brothers. "these… vats come onboard. Finish up here and then switch places with Kix. If there's any other men on that ship that aren't Andoan Legion, you get them certified back battle-ready or send them straight back to Commander Cody's ship. Commander Offee is over there now doing some of her Jedi healing so they can pay her a courtesy call. I don't care how you do it. But get their asses off our ship. What we're doing now is a Legion secret and must always remain that way. As far as_ anyone_ from the Republic knows, we blew up this Lab and_ everything_ in it. Is that clear?"

The medic grinned, "Perfectly, sir."

Rex shook his head, "You are enjoying this way too much, Mako. Never knew you had such a knack for subterfuge."

"I was on the bomb squad, sir," Mako said, still grinning.

"Good. Well, then, as soon as you clear all of these… things… out of here, you and Tank better the haran make sure this lab goes away. I want this entire back lab section to go away, but this lab in particular needs to have no trace at all left. Is that clear?"

Mako nodded, "Perfectly. There will be nothing to left to find. It will be a brilliant explosion. Rest assured, sir."

"Yes, well, just keep in mind we still have to rescue prisoners one floor below."

"Of course, sir," Mako replaced the infant back into his glass tank, but gave him a long parting look before turning back to the Captain.

Rex nodded, "Alright. I'm headed out to join Commander Cody. I expect to hear a big boom very soon, Mako."

# # #

"There you are, Rex. Finally," Cody picked himself up from where he'd be reclining against one of the walls of the stone corridor. "I was about to call you again to see what the hold-up was. Everything alright?"

Rex nodded, hating having to keep anything from Cody whom he considered his closest friend. "Fine, Cody. Just took longer than we expected. We're blowing the labs now."

As if to give credence to his words, suddenly there was a muffled 'thoom' of a nearby explosion and some debris and dust shook loose from the ceiling. Rex nodded with satisfaction and then idly brushed the loose dirt off of his white armor. "That would be the lab, then. Let's get going. My men who set the charges will catch up on the way."

# # #

"Run the secondary nav diagnostic again," Chance ordered as he studied a readout on his screen from his place at the pilot's station.

Odds' yawned and shot Chance a look, "Aw, come on, Chance. We already ran that diagnostic_ three _times. What could we possibly discover that we didn't already find the other two times we ran it? The nav system is working perfectly."

He took his blaster off his belt and spun it around once in a neatly synchronized move before jamming it back in its holster. "I don't see why we pilots are stuck here. We know how to fight as well as anybody else. We should be out_ there." He_ gestured out vaguely toward the viewscreen which showed the Darkknell jungle beyond, "with the rest of the Legion. We're missing all the action."

Chance ignored all of his comments, still focused on his readouts.

Odds yawned again hugely, and stood up and stretched. "Hey, I'm going to get some caf. Kix said he was making some as soon as he got Lance comfortable. You want some?"

"We need the diagnostic. Gears can't see, but he knows engines and says the interface between this ship and the salvaged parts need adjusting or they'll come apart." Chance glanced up from his seat at Odds. "Not something we want to happen during hyperspace, Odds."

"Gears and Tek took care of it, Chance. Soon as we landed they were out there working on it." He gestured at the readout in Chance's hand. "Two perfect diagnostic readouts and one at 99%. It's fixed."

Chance sighed. "GAR standards are three perfect diagnostic runs, Odds."

Odds rolled his eyes, then pointed to his stump of an arm, "We're not _in_ the GAR, but fine. I'll get us caf, and then when I get back, we can run the secondary nav diagnostic,_ again_." Right before he turned to leave the cockpit his eyes strayed out to the jungle again. "Whoa! What was that?"

"Where?" Chance suddenly looked up from the diagnostic readout and into the jungle beyond.

"I just saw something moving out there."

"I don't see anything."

"I swear I saw something," Odds said uneasily, staring out into the jungle, where all appeared normal again. "You were checking the readout."

Chance shook his head, "Go get your caf. Probably just some animal. These jungles are filled with all manner of creatures. The sooner you get back here, the sooner we can get back to our diagnostics and let Tek know everything is good."

Odds snorted and left the cockpit muttering a few choice words under his breath. Chance took the time to stretch for a moment, carefully flexing and extending his bad leg. It always stiffened up when he sat too long.

Odds returned with the caf and the two fell into an easy rhythm, starting to run the diagnostic. They were suddenly interrupted when alarms suddenly started blaring all over the ship.

The unexpectedness of the sound startled Odds and his drink jerked in his hand, spilling hot caf. He was grateful for the protection of his leg armor and bodysuit. The moment he heard blaster shots fired_ within the ship_, he realized he had much more serious problems than a caf spill.

"What the kriff?" Chance was immediately out of his seat, blaster in hand. He walked with a limp, but could still move quickly.

"Wait, Chance..." Odds said, about to suggest that they barricade the cockpit, much in the same way as they had been inadvertently sealed in after the crash. He had a very bad feeling about what had just occurred.

But it was too late. Chance had already opened the hatch. And, suddenly he was stumbling backwards, clutching his chest.

"Chance!" Odds yelled, staring down in shock at his brother and the gaping bleeding wound that hadn't been there seconds before.

He looked up to see several of what he assumed to be Kaz'harians about to overrun the cockpit. With one mighty slam of his fist, he hit the controls to seal and lock the hatch. He heard several blast shots as they tried to get into the cockpit. But the pirates had thankfully reinforced the metal several times over just for this type of contingency. Bless their long dead paranoid little hearts. Odds turned his attention away from the cockpit hatch, and the sounds of blaster fire against it, and back to the unmoving form of his brother against the floor.

_Kriff! Chance, why did you have to go play hero?! _

Odds felt tears pricking at the back of his eyes, and he was suddenly furious with his fellow pilot. Then, he shook off the emotion realizing it would do his brother no good right now. He reached up and grabbed the cockpit medical kit and began pulling out supplies then dumped it on the deck in frustration at having only one hand.

He could still hear blaster shots in the rest of the ship, and he wondered how the others in the ship were faring. He wanted to go and help, knowing Tek, Gears, that kindly 501st medic whose name he'd already forgotten, and the rest of the battle injured were all still back there. He wanted to help. This was the 'action' he'd just been moaning about missing. But he couldn't leave Chance, not now.

# # #

Chance came to with a groan, clutching at his chest and immediately tried to sit up. He cried out with pain and fell back.

"Kriff, Chance, hold still!" Odds grumbled, as he tried to stem the bleeding on Chance's chest with his single hand then let go to rip open another packaging large pressure bandage. "I've only got one arm. You're not making any of this any easier!"

"Odds… Kaz'harians…there are Kaz'harians...onboard the ship!" Chance groaned out.

"Yes, yes, thanks for the holonews notice, brother, but, I noticed that already," Odds soothed then was silent as he resorting to ripping the bandage packaging open with his teeth. He cocked his head to the side and suddenly noticed that the blasterfire had stopped. He wondered if that was a really bad sign.

He got a sinking feeling in his gut, wondering if Tek and all the others were now dead.

He stared up at the cockpit door, wondering how long it would hold.

# # #

_Author's Note: Well, I told you the Kaz'harians still had a few nasty surprises in store. They've stormed the ship. And, of course, Mako is on his way back to that same ship…_

_And, the dungeons? Oh, they've had all kinds of time to plan for Cody and Rex's arrival in the dungeons..._


	106. Chapter 106 Meanwhile on Ando

_From LongLivetheClones:  
Hello All! This chapter is guest-written by Reulte, who has written several Ando-based chapters for this story and is working extensively with me on the sequel.  
_

_Reulte is the author of the fabulous "Scars" series with Chopper. If you've haven't experienced it, be sure to give it a read. Scars gives you all new understanding of clones.  
_

_This chapter is all Ando-based. Chapter 107 returns to Darkknell.  
_

_From Reulte:  
This is a fairly long chapter but once we know that the Andoans and their brothers back on Ando are preparing for their return, we can concentrate on Darkknell. It's just an intermission; just some candy while LLtC works diligently on her exciting next chapter of Rex, Travis and the rest of the clones taking on the Khazzies in their quest to free their brothers from captivity, imprisonment and torture. Two new citizens of Ando introduced in this chapter.  
_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"  
**

**Chapter 106**

Razor's eyes swept over the ship from a half kilometer away. He could easily see the damage from where the air lock had torn free in the initial battle with the pirates. One thruster was missing; that had gone to Darkknell with his brothers. The ship had been damaged in the crash more than he'd realized, and he was amazed that there'd been so few injuries from their rough landing. But, as he evaluated the entire structure with a critical eye Razor saw nothing that would prevent him from doing what he needed to do.

"Thanks again, Karyn. I really appreciate your help on this project."

"Don't thank me yet, Razor. I'm still not convinced we can pull this off."

Razor shrugged; a move that had become easier now that he was getting better control of his upper body with practice. It was amazing how much practice in moving you could actually do in one day when you had no other tasks. Razor glanced back at the white-haired, white-bearded wiry farmer. They'd been good to him, Killtric and his Tiruna. He'd had a nightmare last night, probably from the anticipation.

Killtric had come into his room, sitting next to him and simply been there. Razor had covered his face with his hands. "I dreamed," he said slowly and painfully, "that I woke up in the barracks and this was the nightmare."

The older Andoan must have seen the pain in his face because he reached forward and touched the paralyzed pilot lightly on his shoulder. Razor gave him a quick smile and a nod that said _I'm alright_. Killtric leaned back and gazed toward the trees and trail as he lifted his old but functional carbine into view. The clone noted the Andoan had the body movement of a competent fighter with no wasted motion.

After a moment, Razor turned his attention back to watching the snow-covered landscape. In some places, the snow had melted, and frozen mud was poking through. It wasn't yet the 'cold' season in Ando, although Killtric had warned him it would come and that storms were known to last for days at a time.

He turned back to Karyn and the topic of the ship. "I haven't been out to the crash site since…"

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing too late that mentioning the abrupt departure of Travis and the rest of his brothers was probably not the best way to stay on Karyn's good side. But the doctor picked up the thread of conversation and continued it, while still concentrating on driving the speeder. She had a carefully neutral expression on her face and Razor knew the thought of Travis not being there hurt to the core of her being.

"I have to tell you there's been further damage to your ship since you've last been out here. I probably should have told you when it happened. I apologize for that. Some outlaws scavenged metal off of the ship's exterior," Karyn's mouth twisted when she spoke of these outlaws and it showed very clearly what she thought of them**.** She continued on, "They steal but don't contribute and metal is a valuable commodity," Razor was suddenly glad he'd shown her his plans; that he did contribute.

"Shayla, our metalsmith, volunteered to guard your ship as long as necessary. She is there now with her apprentice."

"Why would she guard the ship?" Saber's brow furrowed in confusion, "She's not hosting anyone so there's no connection."

"People just help…" Karyn stopped and reworded with terminology she heard Travis usually use, "This is the normal pattern of behavior for civilians here in Ando. We provide assistance to one another because we know that someday we'll need assistance as well." She smiled, remembering Shayla's conversation.

"_Maybe I'll charge them for my trouble when they return," said the large, muscular woman with a shrug that told Karyn she'd do no such thing._

"_They don't have credits," Karyn had tried to explain, "No money to pay you."_

_Shayla had snorted. "They have a ship and I'll take my pay in bronzium, duranium or even steel and iron. Or, maybe I'll take my pay in labor." Then she had laughed at Karyn's shocked expression. "Not that kind of labor," Shayla had said regretfully with an embarrassed laugh, "as much as I'd enjoy it; as long as it's been." Then her face was worried, "We're running out of metal, Karyn. I've scavenged as many abandon speeders as I could and checked abandoned buildings but we … as a town, need metal and this is the most recent metal 'import' on Ando in almost a decade."  
_

After the clones had first arrived, the blacksmith had been the one to suggest that the hosting lottery should be per _individual_ instead of per household – thus doubling the chances that she'd end up with one of the troopers in her home. It hadn't worked; she hadn't drawn a winning lottery number. So, neither Shayla nor her apprentice had been chosen to host one of the clones.

Karyn continued their conversation about the town blacksmith, "She believes the metal content of the ship is valuable to Ando. If any men have the free time, they could help dismantle the ship, she'd welcome the assistance."

Both Razor and Saber's eyes lit up with interest, and then the ex-pilot's face fell with disappointment and resignation. He couldn't envision himself stripping a ship seated in his mech chair. Saber glanced over at his brother, his eyes filled with understanding.

"It's alright, brother," Razor murmured quietly to Saber in Mando'a. His voice was soft and both Karyn and Killtric found some reason to turn their faces, giving both men privacy in the small quarters of the speeder. Razor reached and touched Saber on the arm, "you need to carry on, you know. Get back to doing these things, if you can. I'll… manage."

Saber stared at him, not sure what to say. Razor turned away and went back to staring out at the mud and snow.

"Shayla or Miri should be here," Karyn was biting her lip as she slowed the speeder to maneuver around the remains of the transport, absently measuring the transport itself. It was more than ten or eleven times the length of her speeder. Surely her speeder couldn't move that entire ship.

Outlaws." Killtric's voice was a low, hoarse whisper and he looked warily around as he gestured to an area of disturbed snow**.**

Karyn's hands were on the speeder controls so it was Razor who reached for blaster on the seat between them. Killtric had said raiders and outlaws were few, but vicious. The doctor had heard reports that a few of the outlaws were men as well as women, but no one knew for sure.

Razor carefully lifted up Karyn's rifle with his hands. He glanced around, but nobody made a move to take the weapon away from him. He gave a small grunt of satisfaction. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure how accurately he could fire, but he appreciated everyone's confidence in him. Learning to shoot again was high on his list of priorities.

Razor heard Saber make a noise of discontent. He quickly met his brother's eyes. Saber was weaponless. When they'd originally been sent to Kamino, the other troopers onboard the transport all had their bags with their full kit stashed right by their feet; even Catcher's gear had tossed into one of the galley cabinets when he'd been hurriedly loaded last. But, they with their biobeds had been treated differently and were without their gear.

Razor quickly turned his attention back to the landscape, and decided if there were any outlaws that one way or another, he'd mae sure they ended up dead. He might not have use of his legs, but he would always be a clone trooper.

"Shayla's inside," A young woman's voice came from a stand of trees where snow had melted and refrozen into glittering ice crystals interspersed with mud from the spring thaws that froze nightly.

"Hello Miri," the doctor greeted warmly.

The apprentice stepped out from the trees and nodded to Karyn, "There was a small band of raiders last night. No one hurt. This group scared off easily enough."

Razor gave an amused grunt to hear the disappointment in her voice, like a shiny deprived of battle.

Karyn turned to Razor, "What now?"

The ex-pilot felt his pulse quicken with excitement as he realized he was in charge now, for better or for worse. He directed Karyn to let off Saber and Killtric at the ramp to the ship.

Saber was slow, his crutches perilous on the ice-topped snow that covered the ramp. Killtric slung his carbine over his shoulder and immediately offered his arm. The ground trooper went slowly, occasionally grabbing onto the older Andoan for balance as he battled his way up the steep, slick ramp. Razor watched for a moment from the speeder, keeping a careful eye on his brother's progress, then turned his attention back to Karyn.

"Closer here, Karyn," Razor directed. "See the cable guides?" He pointed out a double set of parenthesis in some dark metal at one end of the transport. "After you let me off at the ramp, get the rear of the speeder about equal to one set of guides. As close as you can, the cables are heavy."

Saber cautiously leaned on his crutches and grinned as he watched Razor come aboard the transport in the mech chair. The former pilot couldn't help but return the expression, feeling the same excitement to be working again. "Saber, will you give the main cabins a once over? I'm headed to the cockpit."

"Sir, yes, sir," Saber cheekily replied and saw Razor's face break into an easy smile, not having any difficulties assuming the role of commanding officer for their current mission.

Razor turned his mech chair toward the cockpit. "Killtric, Karyn, can't imagine it will be easy getting into the 'pit with this chair. I could use your help."

Saber, hesitantly clumsy on the crutches, turned toward the rear of the ship.

"It's a heathen mess back there," said the large woman who had stood by the ramp entrance with her carbine at ready when he and Killtric came aboard. "I'll accompany you," the woman offered.

"Thank you, Shayla," Karyn called back from where she was working her way forward with Razor.

Saber shyly gave the woman a quick smile, before inspecting the steel decking of the ship, slick with small puddles of melted snow. Karyn gave Saber a stern look, warning him not to overdo it. He merely gave her an innocent look back then winked. She pressed her lips tightly together and looked away quickly so as not to laugh, focusing her attention back to Razor.

The 41st Elite clone adjusted his grip on his crutches, loosening his stronger hand so it wouldn't cramp and tightening as best he could his weaker hand so that it wouldn't slip and send him tumbling. "Once, I would have been insulted," he said, "but now I know better." He turned his brown eyes toward the Andoan woman and smiled. "I'd enjoy the company, Shayla. I'm Saber."

They moved out of the entryway and the blacksmith kicked aside a piece of metal from in front of him. "Someone lost their patience with a droid. I've already scavenged the valuable metals from it."

"Ah, that someone would be our captain," Saber smiled, "Chance, our pilot, said the captain apparently didn't want to bother with the off switch." He wanted to whack the remains of the droid with his crutch but decided not to put his balance on trial. "Can't say I blame him. None of us are too fond of tinnies. You're welcome to dismantle the thing."

The cabin door halted Saber in his tracks as he tried to figure out how to navigate it. Getting over the lip of the door requiring a high step up and the clone stared at it thoughtfully, biting his lip. He could lean his back to the wall and lift one leg at a time with his hands…

Shayla held out her hand and, after a moment's consideration of the grey-eyed woman with streaks of silver in her hair, Saber nodded. She cupped his arm at the elbow, holding much of his weight, while he leaned on a crutch close to the wall and carefully lifted first one foot then the other over the metal seal for the door. He tried to lift his feet high; even so the tip of one borrowed boot dragged and caught on the edge. Without her strength, he would have overbalanced and fallen.

"Thank you," he smiled and she seemed to start to smile back. "You're very strong." Her tentative smile vanished and her lips tightened.

"I'm the town metalsmith. Every day I'm hefting things for repair." She spoke deprecatingly, as though everyone was capable of such things.

Saber shook his head. To him, capability was a gift, and everyday things were a struggle and a battle. He glanced at her as he moved forward, and there was humor in his voice, "Well, if you ever want to heft me for repair, feel free."

She turned her head toward him, a questioning look in her grey eyes, uncertain about him.

Saber noticed her expression, and struggled for something to say, "Tell me more about blacksmithing."

"I repair existing item water collectors, solar purifiers, some speeder repairs though I'm not really mechanically inclined. I'm starting to work with glass. It's interesting."

They were moving down the main cabin, where most of the men had been waiting until the arrival at Kamino. "Not much here worthwhile," he said looking around as he slowly moved forward.

"There's plenty," disagreed Shayla. "The seats can be salvaged as they are and the deck runner is waterproof."

He shook his head, "I wasn't referring to salvage. I'm looking for specific items."

She gave him a quizzical look, "Like what?"

"Find me a blaster or a comm unit, and I'll be one happy clone."

She was quiet as they moved further to the back of the transport. Saber paused where their biobeds had been set up then he moved toward the storage area.

Strong memories flooded him. He paused and glanced upward as he remembered lying there for three days staring helplessly upwards. So much had changed in the time he'd been on Ando. Not just for him, but for all of them.

Then he looked toward the back of the ship, damaged from the shorn airlock, where his brothers had originally made a stand against the pirates. From that moment they had started taking their destiny in their own hands. All because of Captain Rex.

Saber tucked his chin down to his chest, feeling the pain of being separated from his brothers. He hadn't realized just how much he missed them. Being isolated and away from them on the farm with Rosetta, he had felt not quite a part of the main group of brothers. He'd begun to think he'd never fit in again due to being confined to the biobed. Saber adjusted his grip on his crutches again.

Except… he was no longer in the biobed. He could go to town with Rosetta now and see what there was to see. More than that, he could meet women. Yet it didn't seem right somehow, that he should be able to get around - even if only on crutches - and Tag was confined to a biobed.

Tag had laughed at his concern. _"Go, Saber," Tag had said only that morning. "Help Razor do whatever he's planned and have a good time. You don't have to feel guilty because luck favored you."_

But he did feel guilty. Suddenly Saber's eyes flew over to the place where Catcher's biobed had resided for the duration of the trip.

Saber's eyes flew over to the place where Catcher's biobed had resided for the duration of the trip.

_Kriff! Catcher was in a biobed. And, now he is leading the frakkin' legion with Rex and Travis. I was in a biobed and now I'm upright and moving. Sink is still in a biobed but has a beautiful woman and new purpose. Razor was confined to a mech chair and he was getting ready to float a 100-man transport. _

Saber adjusted his hands again on his crutches with new resolve. When his brothers returned, he vowed to himself, things were going to be different. He was no longer going to keep himself isolated from the pack and he'd encourage the same of Tag. Maybe he couldn't drill with his brothers anymore, but he had an excellent head for strategy. He knew he and Tag still had a great deal to offer the Legion. He wasn't useless; he had his knowledge, his mind, and his love for his brothers. Saber could feel something he'd lost when he'd been injured – something intangible but essential – begin to heal.

"Can you use a blaster?" Her voice caught Saber off-guard, still thinking of the biobeds and how much things had changed. He stopped and looked down at his hands, crooked on the hand-bars of his crutches, his weight mostly on the heels of his thumbs because he couldn't control his fingers very well. He really couldn't grab or grasp strongly with his hands and that was the reason he had to move so carefully. It was a matter of balance.

_Use a blaster?_

Saber had seen how effortlessly and smoothly both Captain Rex and Catcher moved on their crutches, how quickly Tank moved with only the single leg. Clones were naturally graceful by nature, and Saber was learning to accept his new clumsiness.

"It's unlikely," he heaved a regretful sigh as he turned toward a bench he saw in an adjacent storage room. "But I'd feel better if I at least had one holstered."

"Why?"

"Because my entire life I've had one and now I'm not only missing feeling and function, I'm missing my _kriffing_ blaster." His voice was sharp but he regretted his words even as he spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have…"

"Shouldn't have what? Asked a reasonable question? It isn't your fault." Saber replied with a sigh as he carefully pushed himself forward with his crutches. "And I shouldn't have been… snappish. This is actually the first day I've been out." He stopped at the bench and tried to turn. He swayed a bit unsteadily on his feet.

Saber snorted. And, even that was started to sound unsteady.

Shayla was at his side offering her strong hands and he nodded his thanks for her assistance. He liked the way she offered instead of grabbing his arm. Blowing out a breath, he sat and moved his hands from the crutch handholds. "It's more exhausting than I was counting on."

Shayla sat next to him though not touching him, though he noticed she was sitting slightly closer to him than before. "You don't know me well enough to dislike me personally. Apology accepted."

Saber turned his head to look into her eyes. _No, just well enough to like you personally._ He smiled, she hadn't responded to his earlier attempts at flirting but Sink had shown them all the reward was worth the risk of continuing to try. "I don't think anyone could dislike _you_."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," the blacksmith retorted then turned her face to him and gave a tentative smile. Saber smiled back.

The two shared a small laugh. It was a good start. Saber felt a thrill of hope as he gave her a small grin. She responded back and gave him a small nudge with her elbow.

Looking slightly embarrassed, the blacksmith looked around the room, "So, this is the biggest mess in the ship except for the…" she gestured toward the back.

"The airlocks," Saber supplied.

"Outlaws have taken the metal parts torn off outside but before they left the others sealed up the ship." She shook her head. "It looks like there was a battle there. Part of it was simply torn off; maybe where it scraped against stone. Metal fatigue may account…."

"There _was_ a battle before we landed. They were attempting to board us and we disagreed with the plan." Saber was pleased at her momentary startlement. Then he dropped his head staring at the steel deck before him. "I wasn't part of it. I couldn't walk then."

Shayla touched the back of his hand. He really didn't feel much of her touch, but he saw the motion. "You would have been, wouldn't you? If you could have."

Saber nodded, silent.

"You… none of you should be in battles anymore," she whispered fiercely as she rested her hand on his for a long moment.

"I think my battle is just starting," Saber spoke quietly then, before they could get any more maudlin, he gestured toward a bank of overturned gear lockers leaning against storage lockers and transport crates. "It's a pity they flipped downward. I'd like to know what – if anything – they hold."

"Then let's see if there's a way in." Shayla nodded as she stood; turning and offering her hand to him. If her grey eyes were a little bright and a little moist, Saber didn't mind and he gave her his hand, curled around the temporary brace Razor had fashioned. He liked the look of her hand wrapped lightly around his and had the passing thought that her strength was just what he needed.

# # #

"I can't get in any further, I'm too large." That had always been her problem. Lying on her back Shayla pressed the palms of her hands against the locker preventing further movement into the rubble. _Too large. Too big. Too strong_. "We'll have to get Miri or maybe Karyn or Killtric."

"No, you can make it," Saber encouraged and she heard him move around on his crutches then felt human warmth against the side of her leg as he fell into sitting beside her. "You just need to suck it in…"

"Suck it in? Everything is as sucked in as it…," she muttered then fell silent as a large male hand palmed one of her ample breasts.

"...here," he finished.

Hot tears and floods of memories rushed unbidden through Shayla's mind. Memories of when she'd been younger; never pretty, but younger and large – everywhere. Memories of when men would find reasons to talk at her but never to her face; when men would converse with the creamy pale skin of her chest and never know the color of her eyes. Her favorite lover had been short, a man who glorified in dancing close to her, looking up into her face. with his face tucked between… She turned her head to wipe a tear from her eyes with the side of her arm. He had married someone dainty enough to proudly escort in public and invited her to be his lover in private. In spite she had married Firuk, partially because he had asked and partly because, as someone who worked metals, he was one of the few men bigger than her. They'd had a good marriage for what it was; friends and occasional lovers, but mostly friends, before he had died of blood fever a decade earlier than the rest of the men of Ando.

Shayla felt Saber press his hand against her breast a second time and she snarled to herself. Never mind his crutches and his flirting and the way he smiled like everything was a gift.

"Shayla," his voice asked even as his hand didn't move. "Are you ok? I guess this part doesn't suck in." He removed his hand then tugged gently at her leg. "You come on out and I'll give it a try. If that doesn't work," he sighed. "We'll get someone smaller than either of us." He gave a laugh. "That's anyone except Razor."

While he'd been speaking, Shayla had wriggled herself free. As she sat up she was about to deliver a stinging slap to what she imagined would be a smirking face but Saber had already lain on his back. One hand rested on the edge of the fallen bank of lockers as he prepared to slide into the small opening she was vacating. He was looking up at her with concern on his face. "Are you ok, Shayla? You look…" his brows furrowed, "red and blotchy."

She turned her face away, clenching her jaw in angry hurt and stood, ready to go get Miri or someone else – anyone else.

He spoke before she left the room. "Please don't go, Shayla. I'll need some help getting in; my hands aren't really strong enough to pull me and I'm not sure my legs can push very well either."

Angrily, she sat next to him. "Suck it in," she mimicked his voice as she watched him. He must have heard her because he did, or at least tried. He struggled with the movements of his legs, but they did push him a bit. She helped by holding his hips and steadily providing assistance with each push of his legs. He got slightly further in the small opening than she had.

"Aw,_ kriff_," she heard him mutter and his movement stopped. "I can feel the problem you had," he said. "That one locker is off-kilter even further than the rest of them. I don't think there's any getting past this way. I can see they're not empty, there are some items but I can't make out…" He twisted his body to one side as he looked around in the small cave of gear and storage lockers; looking for the best way to get to the contents, trying to determine what they might be.

With his twisting motion, his hips turned and her hand, touching the narrowness of his hip, moved of its own accord to cup his groin as his hand had cupped her breast. Tit for tat…

There was silence in the room, the only noise their breathing.

"Shayla, my paralyzed brothers can't feel below their waists but I can." He sounded more embarrassed than anything else. "With the exception of Sink, we're not really sure we can…" his voice dropped to nothing.

_Stupid, stupid,_ she thought. Now he'd think she'd done so because she had enjoyed his hand on her breast; his words seemed to confirm his regret that he wasn't sure. She removed her hand as if he was the flame of her forge.

Saber sighed deeply. "I think I kind of liked that, but I'm guessing it's not normal to put your hand there when the man is wriggling under banks of upturned lockers."

"No more normal than it is to grab a woman's breast when she'd doing the same thing." Shayla's voice was deeply bitter.

Another bout of silence hit the room then he spoke. "I'm sorry, Shayla, I thought it was muscle tissue and you could tighten it. I didn't realize it was fat tissue."

Shayla sourly stared at his waist, his perfectly defined muscles, and then quickly glanced away. "Yes, fat tissue. Of course it's fat tissue."

There was another moment of silence.

"Shayla," his voice echoed out from under the lockers, "I get the feeling I'm missing something in this conversation."

"At last you're that perceptive," she snorted turning away, pulling her knees up into her arms as she leaned against the locker.

He signed again, more deeply and regretfully. "I'm coming out, Shayla. I am sorry that I did something wrong, but it seems to not be enough and I really do want to understand."

But she was glad he was in the small cave of tumbled lockers; she'd never be able to say it looking into his face. "Women don't like to have strange men grab them intimately," she retorted staring angrily at the opposite wall. "Large women don't like to be reminded they're fat. No one likes to be called 'blotchy', especially if they are."

He was wriggling, but making very little progress out. "I apologize for grabbing you intimately. My training never covered… women or intimate behavior or female anatomy or," he sighed, "so many things. About blotchy, I thought your circulatory system indicated an illness or stress and I was worried for you. I won't apologize for that." Saber muttered another expletive and his legs stopped moving. "You're not fat, except where it's nice. Mostly you're tall and muscular." She actually heard the smile as he spoke. "And you are strong."

"Where's it nice?" She knew. Her breasts, it was always her breasts. Not that she would believe him anyway.

He reached one hand out of the opening. "Can you pull me out, Shayla. I'm not getting anywhere by myself and I want to see you as we talk." His hand moved as if searching for hers. She reached and touched his fingers lightly and they twitched slightly in return; as if he wanted to squeeze her fingers but lacked the strength. Then her hand slid to his wrist over the brace he wore and she slowly helped his feeble movements pull him out.

Saber, breathing from his exertion, simply lay on the deck in front of where she sat with her elbows resting on her knees. Her head was tilted toward him, doubt and uncertainly clouding her grey eyes. Slowly his lips curled into a smile as his breathing returned to normal. His arm reached along her long legs, stroking the material of her trousers with the back of his fingers. She didn't move away.

"Here," he said as his hand finished its journey, reaching the floor where she was sitting. "You've got these wonderful long, shapely legs and a nearly-perfect…"

"Nearly?" she raised an eyebrow in sarcastic question.

Saber's grin grew wider. "You've got everything all covered up," he quipped back.

Shayla couldn't help herself; she laughed.

The man before her took her distraction to finish curling his arm around her rear as she sat, bending at the elbow to rest his lower arm against her lower back with his fingers curling around the convexity of her hip. "But this is frozen Ando so I guess I can understand covering everything up." Saber grinned.

Still disbelieving Shayla shook her head slowly. "You're a man on a planet lacking men." She gave a half smile and he could, finally, see the pain behind her expression. "You're wounded and I don't think you'll get the prettiest woman around, but you can certainly get one of the 100 prettiest. And that's not me."

"I don't want pretty, I want sexy. I want you." Saber laughed. "And I like your sense of humor, your strength." He sat, at first trying to sit up by using only the muscle of his abdomen. "Guess those muscles don't work anymore, so much doesn't work anymore," he murmured as he put his fisted hands down to the deck and slowly levered himself to a sitting position, scooting back just a little to lean against the metal lockers. They were both quiet, neither meeting the other's eyes.

"Will you come visit me, Shayla? At Rosetta's house?" Saber looked at the deck wondering if he could touch her again. "Or maybe I could visit you sometimes? Just for talk and watching you work?"

"You can visit," she allowed, wondering why he'd bother, why he'd want to see her all sweaty and smudged at her forge. His arm around her, his hand on her hip had been… nice.

Saber nodded. "I could get a ride into town with Rosetta. I'd also enjoy your visit, as would my brother, Tag. He's not …" Saber grimaced, "not quite as maneuverable as I am."

Shayla looked away. "Just one more woman among your visitors? I don't think so."

Saber raised an eyebrow in shock. "Shayla, where did you hear that? We don't get many visitors, other than our brothers. The only women who have come to visit are Karyn and that's always medical and Ciri. She brought us some cakes, but…" his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out the best way to word something, "she's… with Olan and not interested and… old."

The blacksmith gave him a surprised look, "No lady callers, then?"

The 41st Elite clone shook his head, "No. Not by a long shot." He stared down at his twisted hands, wrapped around his crutches, and his voice dropped, "I don't think the women of the town find us very attractive compared to our brothers."

Shayla took his twisted hand in her own, "I don't think it's that at all for most of us, Saber. Give the women of the town a little more credit. I think it was that first dinner at the Fisherman's Hall. You five just lay there, ignoring everyone. No real conversation from you, no eye contact, no smiles." She tilted her head. "You let Hok dominate the conversation with his oopee story. A _dozen_ times over."

Saber rolled his eyes at how many times he'd heard _that_ story from the lead scout. It was a good story, the first twenty or thirty time. You'd think he'd single-handedly wrestled the thing to the bottom of the Andoan Sea. He glanced down and noticed Shayla was rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand. He wished he could fully feel it. But he liked that she was doing it, all the same.

"You're right," he admitted, working to explain complex feelings to Shayla, "We were wounded," Saber began. "Suddenly, without warning we were bereft not only of what we were trained to do, our only purpose in life, but bereft of the very functions and sensations of our bodies. That was shock piled on top of shock. We were going to Kamino and that was despair. We were in the transport for three days and for those three days no one, not one of our brothers came to speak with us or even give us water until Captain Rex right before we landed here. We were disintegrating emotionally. On the battlefield we depend upon each other, after battle we provide emotional support to each other; yet our brothers forgot about us for three days. I don't really blame, them, really. Captain Rex said everybody was drugged." Saber dropped his head. "But, still, when the pirates attacked, Tag and I almost hoped they'd win because then they'd kill us useless men."

"Oh, Saber, I'm sorry." She reached and touched his hand again, slipping her fingers between his.

"There's no need to be sorry. I simply want to explain so you understand." His brown eyes were earnest. "Everyone on that ship was in mourning. We didn't _act_ like brothers until Captain Rex brought us together."

Shayla nodded, listening.

"So, first it's all despair and knowing we're going to die. Then, suddenly the pirates attack and we're fighting together again. Then, we're crashing and we're fighting again. Or, at least the others were fighting." He grimaced, "We didn't do much of anything really. We just kept getting moved around without much explanation. Before we knew it, we were being hauled over to that welcome dinner. Being in the biobeds like that, it just felt like being moved around like we were a crate of ammo or something."

"Why didn't you talk to us?" It was her turn to look down at her feet and the durasteel decking. "Most of us just wanted to talk, wanted to hear a man's voice again." A smile curled itself on the right side of her lips and her eyes grew distant. "Or a man's laughter, deep and vibrant."

Saber sighed, letting his head fall against the metal grill of a locker. "This will sound like we lack intelligence, Shayla. In some ways we do. We were taught to never question orders or information from a superior officer. In ArmyMed they said we had no functional use of our bodies or our hands. They were the experts and officers. They said we couldn't use our hands, so we didn't try to feed ourselves. They said we were helpless and we believed them. We didn't talk to anyone at the potluck because we knew no one would be interested in us troopers who were paralyzed and couldn't even use our hands. None of those beautiful and strong women would be interested in a helpless trooper. It was paradise and it was worse than anything I'd ever experienced because we couldn't share in the celebration."

Saber pursed his lips and gave an ironic laugh. "Then Sink figured out some information. He explained that, for ArmyMed, functional use of our bodies meant…" He paused and his brow furrowed as he lifted a hand to look into his palm. "It meant we could be rehabilitated back for battle. They didn't mean anything about daily functionality." Slowly Saber let his hand settle back to his thigh, palm up, so close to her.

Shayla was quiet for a while. "So you're learning how to move your body again, learning to re-use your hands. I suppose at the next potluck," she swallowed. "You'll be more…" She gave a slight movement with her head. "Sociable?"

"I hope so, Shayla. But before then I want to see you work glass. I want to see you discover its qualities. I have a feeling," he turned toward her and slid the back of his hand to her cheek. "I have a feeling you're most beautiful when you're working."

She nodded but a sad look came to her eyes. After a pause she spoke again. "I'm almost fifty; I can't have children"

He shook his head, "I'm not sure I can do any of that… with my injuries." He paused, his face like stone. Women expected a man to be able to do certain things.

She studied him carefully, "My age doesn't bother you?"

"No, Shayla," he caught her disappointment and used the side of his hand to lift her chin, cupping it in the hollow of his thumb. "It's not your age that bothers me."

"Then what?" Her face came up to look at his and he realized that 'blotchy' meant she was crying.

He gave a careful shrug of one shoulder, "I'm worried it's my age that will bother you."

She studied the lines in his face. He looked to be in his late 30s. "How old are you, then?"

"Eleven," Saber said with a depressed sigh, "almost twelve."

_Eleven! Barely eleven! He was a baby!_ Shayla gaped in shock.

There was silence in the room as they each inspected each other's words and expressions.

"How do you measure life, Shayla," he asked to the stunned expression on her face, "in time or in experience?" He swallowed and licked his lips. "Because if it's time, I'll never be old enough."

Her mouth was slightly agape as she searched his face. There was pain there; both physical and emotional; experience wreathed around his eyes. The angles on his face were deep.

While she was looking, inspecting his face, he leaned toward her and softly rested his lips against hers. When she didn't object or draw back, he moved them slowly into a kiss, gently enticing her to kiss him back.

_What could you do with a man like that? _

_What could you do with a man so brave he'd strip his emotions naked for you?_

Shayla didn't know, but she promised herself she'd find out.

Her lips kissed him back, tentative and fearful, while her fingers come up to caress his face, sliding from the edge of his jaw toward his lips. His smiling lips caught her fingers and kissed them as well.

"I like this, Shayla," he murmured against her skin. "I like this a lot. You're very soft and you smell like how I imagine flowers would smell."

Her chuckle almost buckled into tears. _He doesn't know how flowers smell?_

What guy would choose work when he was kissing/scoring with a girl for the first time in his entire life? Not unless Razor was expecting him to hurry up and finish inspecting the back so they could do what they planned to do.

"But we do have work to do." He pulled back then returned to her lips like iron filings pulled to a magnet.

"Work," she agreed with a whisper as her lips tugged gently at his.

"Right." A soft exhalation of satisfaction rose from deep in his chest. "Work."

With reluctant sighs they both leaned back at the same time. She cocked an eyebrow at him and he grinned as he gestured at the metal lockers.

"Let's inspect the other side a bit better. Maybe it isn't as impenetrable as it seemed." Saber's voice wasn't hopeful about the lockers but he had a large grin.

"I've an idea," Shayla spoke slowly, "If the lockers aren't valuable to you as individual units." Her lips curled into a smile and Saber laughed at his own earlier words. "I brought some basic tools with me and can remove the rivets and welds."

"We can get in through the back," he finished excitedly. He pushed at her with his hands. "Get your tools, Shayla. I'll wait here."

She laughed at his excitement and stood, turning once to see if he wanted help. He made shoo-ing motions with his hands.

When she returned with her tool pouch slung over her shoulder and the dark goggles in her hand, he was standing, leaning crookedly on his crutches. He looked at her with worried eyes. "Final warning, Shayla. This is about as good as I'll ever get."

"You look plenty good to me, Saber." Her voice was husky with emotion.

Saber nodded, a content smile dawning on his face as she touched his face with her fingers then turned to the lockers.

At first, Saber disliked not doing anything, but he'd been right and after a short time, he enjoyed watching her work. She had walked around, pushed at the lockers to determine their stability then ran her fingers over where the back of the locker was riveted to the frame. Her movements were both efficient and graceful, her face thoughtfully beautiful in those moments.

"I told the others that there'd be noise back here." Shayla spoke as she secured the back plate of metal prior to cutting the welds so it wouldn't slide off the slope of upturned lockers and skitter dangerously on the deck. "Razor said he was almost ready to float the ship but I told him this wouldn't take long."

Saber laughed, his brown eyes dancing with excitement.

Shayla nodded, slipped the dark goggles over her eyes then made fast work of slicing through the welds on the metallic lockers. With the heavy weight of the metal back plate helping, it was easy to break the seals of the rivets and pull them out.

"My kit!" Saber exclaimed with pleasure, "and Tag's." He gestured his braced hand in his excitement and almost fell but for Shayla's presence. "That's gotta be Sink's and Razor's gear as well."

Shayla brought out his gear first and Saber ran his hands over his armor and the curve of his helmet. "Bring out the other helmets, Shayla. The main gear can wait but the helmets have something we can use now."

He plunged his hands into the white bucket held in his lap. "Ah, _shabla_ useless hands," he muttered after a few moments, unable to make his fingers do what he planned.

"Never useless, Saber. Don't think that." Shayla's voice was almost a whisper.

Saber nodded. "Alright, then, not useless" He gave her a small smile. "But I will need your help."

She sat next to him and pulled out the black band circling the crown of the helmet on the inside as he instructed and pointed out with a finger. A thin stiff wire attached to one side of the band came easily.

"Pull it through the channel of the cheek piece with a ninety degree right-handed twist," he directed. "Don't try to jerk it out sideways. That's about the only thing that can break it." The unit came out easily and Saber, taking it from her hand, set it – like a crown – on his head.

Saber's face lit with up pleasure as he watched Shayla work on the gear.

"So, are you the happiest clone around now?" the blacksmith gently teased as she worked.

He blinked then a slow grin spread across his face as she pulled comm units from the helmets like he'd shown her.

"Oh, I'd say I'm the happiest man on this planet." He leaned forward to kiss her. "And it has little to do with blasters or comm units."

# # #

Razor brought up the diagram screen then scrolled it down to his level in the mech chair. "Here and here," he pointed out the small openings on either side of the ship to Killtric and Karyn. "That's where you'll reach in with the hooks and pull out some cable. It's heavy so you'll really have to pull hard." He thought for a moment. "The cables will end in rings you hook under the speeder's tow. Remember, under. Once I engage the anti-gravs, the cables will be pulled up by the ship. I'll set it for about an eight or nine meter lift." He frowned. "We could really use comm units. That would make-"

"Your wish," laughed Saber as he staggered into the cockpit on his crutches, a black band around his head with a stiff wire connection to a speaker at his lips, "is my command." He nodded to Shayla who held three more black bands in her hands. Shayla handed them to Razor who gaped with surprise as his fingers took them.

"Comm units! You found extra gear?"

"I found _our_ gear, Razor." Saber laughed again as he set himself into the secondary pilot's seat letting his crutches drop into Shayla's hands. She set them on the floor by his feet then stood behind him, one hand draped on his shoulder.

"The other men carried their gear in to set at their feet," Saber explained excitedly. "Catcher's they threw in the galley because he was last man in; but since our 'beds were first loaded our gear was put in a storage unit. The crash knocked the units into each other and behind a wall of other units."

"Test, test." Razor called and his voice went through the three comm units. "Here Killtric, Karyn, put one on. When you set the cables you won't need to make several trips back into the ship to check how we're doing before I engage the anti-gravs."

"Anti-gravs? That would have been helpful to know last night," chuckled Shayla standing behind the co-pilot's – Saber's – seat. "We could have slept in comfort without worrying about raiders."

Razor blinked, recognizing her closeness to Saber, recognizing Saber's pleased expression. He blinked again, not quite jealous but feeling some emotion similar to when he'd been injured, a sudden emptiness.

"Why didn't Odds or Chance mention anti-gravs?" Karyn asked as she set the band around her head and adjusted the comm set to her mouth. "Test, test."

"Good and clear," came the reply from Razor with an underlying soft hum.

"Clean," came another reply, Saber's this time, again with the hum, only in a different tone.

"Test." Killtric's rough voice came through, but with a third hum. "What are the hums for, son?" he asked.

"Planet-fall reset to default. It tells you who is sending the message but diminishes the more messages are sent," answered Razor absently as he watched Saber's thumbs hesitantly touch several controls on the keyboard. Razor nodded in satisfaction, Saber would do fine. "About Odds and Chance, I don't know," replied Razor as his own fingers moved smoothly over the console controls. "We met on this transport. Maybe they didn't know about the repulsors. They might be fighter- or LAAT-trained pilots. I worked on bigger ships. Venator-class. Not saying bigger is better, but…" he grinned, winking flirtatiously at Karyn who laughed and Razor felt slightly less empty. "This troop transport is about the smallest Republic ship that does have anti-gravs." He turned and gave the doctor some final instructors. "This ship is big enough though. Drive careful and mind the trees. They can snag the ship."

Karyn was glad Shayla and Miri were there to help hook up the cables to the speeder. With Shayla helping her and Miri assisting Killtric, the cables were pulled out and slipped under the tow.

"It's secure, Razor," she spoke into the headset.

"Good, Karyn; now you and the others get into the speeder and slowly drive forward until the cables are taut. I don't want the speeder under the ship or anyone standing there when I release the cables prior to float. Saber, you keep an eye on those two dials. Make sure they stay within a single count of each other."

"Yes sir," Saber's voice and accompanying hum came over their units.

After a moment, Karyn spoke again. "We're clear, Razor, in the speeder and ready to tug."

"Acknowledged," Razor's voice was professional, reflecting his training, but resonated with happiness. Karyn glanced at Killtric, both of them noticing Razor's good mood to be at the controls of a ship once again.

There was a clatter of loose cable chain sliding against metal then the click as the cable lock set. A low, growling sound seemed to shake her bones. There was the delicate tinkling sound of ice dropping on ice. Razor had warned them of sub-audible vibration. Miri set her hands against her ears, they all did. It wouldn't help, but was an instinctive reaction to the vibration.

Abruptly, the vibration was gone. There was a gasp of surprise from Shayla. She was looking back at the ship – twelve or fifteen times the speeder's size – gracefully floating behind and above them.

Killtric only smiled at Karyn, pride on his wrinkled visage then he settled back and gestured toward Ando town.

**PREPARATIONS**

There was a lot to do before Travis and the Ando Legion returned and, for the most part, Karyn was too busy to think of what she was going to do to Travis when he returned. She was too angry to think of what she was going to say to his marriage vows but she practiced the words every night. She was too busy to think of what that meant.

They'd taken the ship to salvage to an empty field on Killtric's farm – much to Razor's delight – and Tiruna had food waiting for them. As they ate together, the two clones told the others what to expect when their brothers returned.

"Best case scenario, Karyn," Razor said, carefully pushing the empty bowl aside, "is they accomplished their mission and there were no casualties. No serious injuries. The best missions are the ones where everyone makes it back." He exchanged a careful, measured glance with his brother before continuing, "However, that is... unlikely."

Karyn's lips tightened, and one of her hands clenched, but she also nodded in agreement, "I led my people in the war after my husband was killed. I understand what you are saying." Her eyes took on a shrewd, tactical look that the clones had not seen before in the doctor, "What kind of fighting will they be engaged in? I need to know what to expect."

Shayla crossed her strong arms across her chest, and listened carefully. She had fought in the war as well, and continued to proudly serve with Karyn and her band of women fighters, defending Ando.

Razor glanced at Saber again before answering, "They're headed into close-quarter fighting conditions."

"How do you know?" Shayla demanded.

The two clones shrugged in unison, as it had been obvious to them, but it was Saber, a ground trooper, who answered. "Small differences in the way the lieutenant set up his armor and blasters. What the troopers have been practicing the last three or four days. It shifted suddenly from open area defense..."

"Like defending Ando Town would be," cut in Razor.

"They expect to be fighting in some tight spaces," finished Saber.

Karyn's lips were tight and her face angry; as though every wound a man took was a personal affront to her. Although, even more, she had to be thinking of Travis, in even more danger than most, since he was leading troops.

"I'll hold some classes on emergency medicine. Mako and Lance…" Her voice faded and she looked to Razor. With a quiet voice she finished her sentence. "… I can't count on them returning, can I?"

Razor shook his head. "Medic position is the most dangerous."

Karyn nodded again, her lips so tightly pressed together they were white. "Rosetta's good and steady. Auset has the background for medical work. Xyra knows some some as well. Some of the older children can do haul and carry; most of the full-time fisherwomen have some first aid and experience. Megs will know who is the best." Karyn visibly steeled herself. "What's the worst case scenario, Razor?"

The former pilot thought carefully, and then answered in his low deep voice. "Worst case? High casualty and injury rate. This would mean men returning with fewer limbs, could be a lot of blood depending upon the type of weapons used, usually serious burn wounds; if they get to our pilots, then Odds and Chance wounded, damaged ship, bad landing, more wounded – possibly both civilian and trooper – from a crash."

"Actually, worse case would be also include all of those _and_ they're being chased," added Saber.

Everyone in the room paled at the thought of the fight being brought back to Ando. Killtric glanced toward his carbine, leaning against the wall. But, Tiruna placed a comforting hand on top of her husband's before she spoke,

Killtric shook his head but it was Tiruna who spoke. "No. Worse case is they don't return at all."

# # #

Karyn held emergency medical classes. Tag and Saber, as ground troopers, briefed her class on the types of wounds they had seen in close-quarter fighting, and their medic's usually response to such injuries. Having just been through a devastating planetary war, the people who came to volunteer were tough and focused.

Razor spoke with the Ando Town's regular emergency volunteers. He explained how a ship might land badly, what might catch fire first, what to do if it rolled.

Ashla had asked, "What about nets? Ship lands – badly or not – and we could have netting laid out. We have some large, strong netting for some of our bigger hauls. We could be out there prepared so that the ship doesn't roll." She gestured with her hands, covering one with the other demonstrating. "Would that work?"

Razor, furrowed his brow as he considered the idea, and then nodded.

Ashla asked for a break to get more of the fisherwomen to attend. When Razor returned from break she introduced him to an old, wizen woman named Megs who had a great many questions about the ship; its size, weight, drag characteristics. In the afternoon, there were twice as many people at the Fisherman's Hall to listen and think of how best to prevent the ship from rolling while still allowing the troopers inside to exit quickly in case of fire.

It was amazing how many Andoans volunteered; not just for aid, but simply to bring water to the troopers or help the able-bodied unload the transport; how many volunteered to be at the kitchen in Fisherman's Hall prepared to serve hot soup, how many were prepared to be there in case it was a bad landing. Many women volunteered who weren't hosting a trooper; who only volunteered because they knew one of the men who had gone. The troopers truly had touched the people of the town in the two months that they had been living in the community. All of their efforts to reach out and help their neighbors had not gone unnoticed.

Tag, Sink, Saber and Razor volunteered their biobeds to Karyn for use at the clinic. The beds could be converted for a variety of uses, and aid for a wide-range of critical injuries, meaning the difference between life and death for some in the early stages of recovery. Sink explained what he'd learned of the bed's functionality after reading the manual. "If it will help save any one of our brothers, Karyn," Sink advised, "we'll do what it takes."

Until their brothers returned, the four clones moved into housing close to Fisherman's Field. Tag relocated to Karyn's house. He would coordinate for his brothers over at the clinic. Sink was relocated to the second story of Fisherman's Hall, directly overlooking the field, with a good view of the planned landing site. Razor and Killtric were staying in a ground floor room on Fisherman's Hall with the communications gear removed from the salvaged ship, simply waiting for the passive transponder to report someone in the system. Saber was staying on the second story of a house located on the direct opposite side of Fisherman's Field so he could have an opposing view from Sink's, and in the event anything went critically wrong in a crash, they'd be able to coordinate quickly. A day landing would be preferably to a night landing, as the lights over the field did not reach into every corner. And, if the ship slid off the field, it could be difficult to see altogether. But, they felt they were prepared as they could be now. All they could do now was wait.

# # #

It was only very late at night when Karyn's bed seemed so big and lonely. It was only late at night that she raged angrily at an absent Travis. It was only late at night that she spoke the vows he had inscribed on the cast.

"_Mhi solus tome,_

_mhi solus dar'tome,_

_mhi me'dinui an,_

_mhi bajuri verde."_

It was only late at night when she cried as she recognized he might never return.

# # #

_Author's Notes: Thank you again to Reulte for all of her hard work on this chapter, and for putting up with me through a dozen round of back and forth edits. Chapter 107 returns to the battle scenes on Darkknell._


	107. Chapter 107 Battles that rage within

_A/N: OK, I like this chapter. It took me a while to write and at times felt like it was pulling teeth, but I do like it. It feels like it has mini chapters within the chapter because you get a chance to check in with many different characters. And, we are spiraling ever closer to that big final scene…_

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 107**

Blaze kept running.

It was easier not to think when his body was in constant motion. Obstacles occasionally appeared in his way. Some part of his brain registered that they were Kaz'harians and he was glad. He was a commando and killing came easily to him. Right now, he had no squad brothers to cover and no distracting Jedi yelling out orders that didn't always make sense. So, eliminating targets was easy.

Blaze just wished there were more of them. If there were enough of them, they would just take him out, and then the burning pain would cease. But, until that time came, he planned on taking down as many Kaz'harians as he could.

For Viper.

He leapt over the final body of the last target he'd downed. It twitched and he gave it a final headshot for good measure. He grunted with satisfaction and continued on his way. There weren't enough Kaz'harians on the planet to make up for the loss of his brother.

But, it wouldn't stop him from trying.

# # #

"Captain Rex, this is Odds," the pilot activated his comm for what seemed like the twentieth time and tried again, "Captain, this is Odds…" He pulled his helmet off and tossed it aside in frustration. "No good. They must be jamming our signals. We can't call out for help."

He glanced down at his injured brother, but there was no reply from Chance. Odds blew out a long sigh, and checked the bandage on his brother's chest again. He frowned as he noticed it was completely soaked through with blood again. He grabbed up another piece of packing out of the medkit, and carefully changed out the dressing.

Then, he sat back on the floor, knees drawn to chest, head resting momentarily against the metallic stalk leg of the pilot's chair. He heard blaster fire resume once again from the back of the ship, followed by the retort of slughthrower charges.

_Ah, seems like they are still putting up a fight back there after all._

Part of him wanted to—needed to—get back there and join the fight. But, he wasn't going to leave Chance. And, as he glanced up toward the hatch separating them from the rest of the ship, it was still very possible the fight was going to come to them anyway.

Odds checked the charges on his blaster. He went to tug the blaster from Chance's holster, but a hand stopped him.

"No."

Chance's eyes were closed, but his grip on Odds' hand was firm. "I can still fight," Chance murmured, weakly.

"You can't even open your eyes, you di'kut," Odds shook his head, but there was no malice in his tone as he chided his brother.

"I'm a clone… I can always fight," Chance grumbled, his hand sliding off of Odds to tighten around his blaster, refusing to relinquish his hold on the weapon. "I'm just… resting… a bit."

"You're insane. You need to not move until Mako or that 501st medic can get a look at you," Odds glanced toward the back again as he heard the sounds of the battle heating up. He heard a cry of pain, followed by more blaster fire and then an animalistic bellow of rage.

"We… should… get… back… there," Chance insisted.

For the moment, the thumping against the door had stopped and Odds had been able to devote his full attention to stopping the bleeding on Chance's chest.

"No."

"Our… brothers… need… us."

"There's only one brother I care about right now," Odds stopped, realizing how that sounded, and tried to decide a different tact, "You're a mess, Chance. Stop worrying about the others, OK? Just hold still and rest until I can get one of the medics in here to take a proper look at you."

The one-armed pilot tried to keep the worry out of his tone. He _was_ worried about their brothers in the back. And, he was afraid. No, absolutely kriffin' terrified that Chance was going to die.

He'd lost everything when he'd been sent to Kamino, and much as they argued sometimes, Chance was the only brother on Ando he'd really bonded with.

Suddenly, he wished he'd paid more attention in some of his Kamino classes covering field medicine. But, his only interest had ever been flying, and he'd been such a kriffin' good combat pilot that his instructors let him slide in some of his other scores. Now, Odds was sorely regretting his lack of focus. During the war, being a top-pilot had always been enough for him. He'd never stopped to think of any sort of existence _after_ the war. Such a concept was just beyond his comprehension.

"Odds," Chance whispered hoarsely.

"Chance, shut up and save your breath."

"Odds… if I… don't make.. it.." Chance's eyes were still closed, and his voice had dropped to a barely audible whisper.

"What? No! Of course, you're going to make it! You just need to shut up and listen to me! You're going to make it out of here, and I'm going to stay right by your side until you do. We're brothers, Chance," Odds voice held a slightly pleading tone, as if by will alone he could keep his brother from succumbing to his chest injury.

"Find yourself… a nice girl… Odds… Settle down…" Chance muttered, his voice beginning to fade away.

Odds felt tears began to burn behinds his lids. _Finding_ girls had not been a problem. Limiting himself to one had been more of an issue, and Chance had lectured him on the issue more than once.

"No," Odds protested, his voice coming out thick and not quite like his own, "I don't care about that." Right now nothing seemed more important than Chance, and he wondered why he'd ever wasted time on women, at all, when he could have spending the time with his brother. He suddenly began regretting a lot of his choices. "Chance, please…"

But, the hand gripping his had suddenly gone slack.

Odds stared down at his brother and felt a rage grip him and disbelief. Without thinking any further, he grabbed up Chance's blaster and stuffed it in his holster cursing the fact he didn't have two hands anymore. He grabbed his own weapon from where he'd laid it down on the floor when he'd been tending his brother. One at a time, he thought to himself, he'd use his blaster until the charge was gone, then his brother's blaster. That should be sufficient. Odds didn't let his thought process go any further than that.

# # #

Cody marched silently at the head of the long column of soldiers, Rex just a step behind him. For as many men as they as had, they moved through the corridors soundlessly. Cody had to admit he was impressed with this group of soldiers that had come to the planet with Rex. Despite the fact that most seemed to be fighting injured; he was shocked to see some that were even missing limbs; they all still fought as well as any clone. He noticed they seemed to work in pairs, assisting and compensating for each other, brother always watching out for brother.

"How did you do it?" Cody asked suddenly.

"What?" Rex asked, turned his head toward the 212th commander, trying to figure out the context of the question. He moved up so that the two were walking side-by-side.

Cody hooked an armored thumb over his pauldron to indicate the long column of men marching in the dark corridors behind them. He pointed at the metallic hinged brace on Rex's knee, "Last time I saw you, your whole leg was out of commission. The Army had basically given up on you."

Cody saw Rex stiffen up at the harsh wording. But, he meant to draw answers out and he wasn't going to softpedal anything. They might be friends, but he still felt he had a right to know what happened.

"I…" Rex hesitated.

_Kriff,_ Cody thought, trying to tap down his annoyance. _There it is again. That hesitation. Rex never hesitates. Either something is going on with him, or he's hiding something._

"I got a second chance, Cody."

"That doesn't tell me much, Rex."

"Well, it's the truth. And, more than the Army was willing to give me."

Cody could hear that Rex was trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone, but not quite succeeding. He took a deep breath, "Rex, when everything happened to you, we were deployed. We were out of touch during that time, and we came back to find out they'd written your papers. The Commander, General Kenobi, General Skywalker and I all tried to intervene when we found out, but it was too late."

Rex looked over at Cody, giving him a chance to tell his side of the story. He didn't interrupt, just patiently listened.

_Rex is patient. I'll give him that._

The 212th Commander took a deep breath before continuing, "The Commander… she was deeply distraught."

Rex's helmeted head rose up sharply and Cody caught the gesture. He immediately plunged on, "She wanted to drop everything and go after you herself."

The clone captain's entire body language tensed up, and Cody could tell he had his brother's rapt attention.

"But, it wouldn't have done any good," Cody shook his head, "it was already too late. We sent out ships we had in the area to follow your route. All they found was a piece of wreckage with the ship's designation."

There was a pause from Rex, "Wreckage?" he repeated, and his head cocked to the side the way a clone did when he was puzzled, "The airlock, of course," he murmured.

"Care to explain?" Cody demanded.

Rex blew out a breath, and said, "We… had trouble."

Under his helmet, Cody sent a glare over Rex's way, "Yes, that much is obvious. I'm trying to find out more about _what_ happened."

There was a pause, and once again the 212th Commander felt reluctance on the part of his friend to give details on what had happened to him during the time when he'd gone missing. A trickle of unease went up his spine. "_Rex_," he said, in a cautionary tone.

"The ship came under attack, Cody," Rex finally said.

When he didn't offer to elaborate or provide any kind of details beyond the one simple sentence, Cody gritted his teeth in frustration.

"The Commander said she felt you _die_."

Cody heard Rex inhale sharply. He stared over at his friend, daring him to explain but the 501st Captain had descended into stalwart silence once again.

Cody decided to drop the rest of his questions for the moment, in favor of just one question, "So, how long, Rex?"

"What?" Rex finally broke his silence.

Cody could tell he'd actually managed to catch his friend off-guard, not an easy thing to do. "Commander Tano can sense what is going on with you," Cody continued, "it has been my experience that a woman, well, a Jedi, only does that with a man when she is… well, when they are-"

"Wait, you and Commander Offee?" Rex suddenly interrupted.

_Fek! _

"This isn't about me," Cody suddenly wondered how it was the conversation had turned around, "we were talking about-"

He heard a strange sound coming from next to him, and it took a moment to realize Rex was trying to hold back laughter, and failing.

"What?" Cody glared at Rex defensively.

"We're a fine pair," Rex couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice as he spoke. "You and your _commander_."

_"Rex_," Cody hissed in his most intimidating tone, letting his brother know he was treading on very dangerous ground.

Rex put up his hands in a conciliatory gesture, but Cody could hear that he hadn't stopped chuckling.

"_Rex!_" Cody barked, using the tone he did when he was about to thrash someone.

"Fine, fine," Rex said, trying to reign in his amusement, "so, you and your... the two of you... come here together." The Captain paused, and Cody could tell he was still trying hard not to laugh. "Right, and then there's me. And, I'm... well, I guess you could say right now I'm..." the humor suddenly faded, and the 501st Captain generally sounded perplexed as he was venturing into contingencies that his training had never covered.

"You're _what_, Rex?" Cody steered the conversation back toward the serious again, "That's what I've been trying to figure out ever since you mysteriously reappeared back from the dead." He took a deep breath, and delivered the next words like a blow, "You're not Captain of the 501st anymore. Appo was put in charge." Cody felt the man next to him visibly flinch, but he couldn't take the words back. And, he knew he had to say them. It was his duty as commander.

"I don't know what I am, Cody," came the immediate, starkly honest reply in a hoarse raspy tone, "I haven't known or been sure of anything since I was kicked out of the GAR."

Cody stared over at Rex, and suddenly understood where the uncharacteristic pauses and hesitations were coming from with Rex. He realized, with a flash of guilt, that he would probably be reacting the same way if their places had been reversed. Actually, he would've ended up just like Rex if it hadn't been for Barriss. He immediately pushed thoughts of the distracting Jedi from his mind, and focused back on his friend.

"These men here, " Rex hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the Legion marching behind them, "they gave me a purpose when I just wanted to completely give up."

"You're a leader of men, Rex. It's an essential part of who you are. It gives you purpose." Cody glanced back over his shoulder at the Legion, "And, these men needed a leader." They walked on for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. "Question is, are you going to go back with them, wherever it is you came from or are you planning on going back with me?"

Rex's helmeted swiveled over at Cody in surprise. "Go back with you? You just made it clear to me that I no longer had a place in the 501st."

"I said no such thing," Cody clarified, "I just wanted to make it clear to you that Appo has been put in charge of the 501st." He tried to keep his tone neutral, and not let his personal opinions of the new 501st leader slip in. It wasn't that Appo wasn't trying, it's just that he was… not Rex. And, never could be. "What your role is now that you're _back _is completely unknown. I have no idea and can make no guarantees. Just wanted to make that clear. But, someone has to make sure the 212th and 501st make it back safely. I made a pledge to see my General safely home. I mean to keep it," Cody said solemnly.

"But, the repercussions for your being AWOL-" Rex objected.

"They'll likely be very severe. I know the regs, Rex," Cody's lips twisted with just the slightest hint of amusement at his brother trying to quote regs to him. Very few clones went AWOL, but those who were caught were never seen again after their sentencing. It was meant to send a message to any others thinking of abandoning their posts.

"I _have _to go back because of the others who came from Ord Cestus with me. Fives, Echo, Waxer, Trapper and the others. I need to make it clear that I _ordered _all of them to leave the station. They were simply following the orders of a superior officer."

"You mean to take the fall for everybody." It was a statement, not a question.

"Wouldn't you?"

Rex was silent for a moment, and then his voice came out as a ragged sigh, "Yes." They walked on, and then unexpectedly Cody felt a hand grip his shoulder. He looked over at Rex, just barely able to see the barest hint of his brother's eyes through the dark visor. Rex's voice was gruff and low when he said: "I'm going back with you, Cody."

Cody reached up for just a moment and gripped Rex's hand. He hoped he hadn't just made a huge mistake, and wasn't dooming the closest friend he had into heading back to Coruscant to be executed with him. All he had were his feelings to guide him and he knew it felt right to be working side-by-side with Rex, and as a soldier, he just had to rely upon his gut.

"Alright, vod," Cody said, giving Rex's hand a quick grip before releasing it, "we'll get through this together."

_And, one way or another, you're going to tell me what you've been hiding, _Cody vowed to himself.

# # #

Travis saw the blast coming at him and threw himself into a roll to avoid it, coming up in a crouch already firing in return. He felt the burn injuries on his chest protest at the abuse and he sucked in a deep breath as he tried to ignore the hot stabbing sensation on the largely unhealed area.

"Gah," he grunted, blowing out a long deep breath between his teeth, and wishing Karyn was there. She would be fussing over him right him. He suddenly missed her, and all of her fussing, desperately.

He spotted another target in his sites and for a moment he was able to block out the pain as he focused on eliminating his target. Shooting was a good distraction. The adrenaline helped keep everything else at bay for a bit.

"Are you alright, sir?" one of the ARC troopers dropped down smoothly to his knees, sliding forward still firing and ended up in place perfectly in position next to the Marine Lieutenant. For a moment, they both concentrated on working in tandem together as a group of Kaz'harians ran across their sight line.

_Aim for the neck. Take them down in one. _Travis focused intently on his shots. He didn't have the energy to spare to take a second or third shot to down the Kazzies. The two new ARCs were excellent shots. They already seemed to know the trick about the weak spot in their necks, and they'd been doing quick work of taking down targets.

Travis took a moment to glance over at which one of the two newbies was next to him. He glanced at the armor, "Echo, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"You're a good man to have in a fight."

Travis could feel that the comment took the clone by surprise, because the other trooper just nodded. _Yeah, it figures. Rex always has been stingy when it comes to praise. Had I been given the 501__st__, I would've run my command different._

Travis noted that this 'Echo' didn't seem to be much for conversation. Well, the two ARCs had been chatty enough with each other until Catcher had come down hard on them.

"It is alright to speak, Echo," Travis said, as he kept his attention focused straight ahead waiting to see if any more targets would cross their path.

"Uh…" the other clone was clearly at a loss for words, after a very long pause, he finally said, "uh… thank you, sir?"

Travis rolled his eyes. _Gah, Rex. Don't you let these boys of yours have any fun? _

In quick time, they took down the rest of the Kaz'harians.

_But, they can shoot. I'll give you that much, Rex._

Catcher appeared directly behind them, "That seems to be the last of them. We can move out again."

# # #

Leon flexed his bare toes up against the hard, unforgiving rock floor of the corridor.

_Kriff. That's cold._

It had always been uncomfortably cool in the labs, but his body seemed to have acclimated after a while and he'd stopped shivering. Leon now realized they must have been filtering the air in the lab to make it drier, likely to protect the equipment, because the air here in the corridors felt damp, heavy, and cold. He was sure if he was wearing his armor he wouldn't have noticed it, at all. He allowed himself a moment to mourn the absence of his thick solid commando gear, then gave up the useless wishing and focused back on the mission at hand.

He peered around the next corner, and then signaled to the general that it was save to proceed. He was still surprised that she was letting him take point. Most Jedi seemed to always like being up front, letting the clones just trail behind them. He glanced back at the Jedi Master, attired in similar plain blue prisoner clothes.

_Except they actually gave the general a shirt. That was decent of them, at least._

The commando rubbed at his bare chest, then tucked his hands tightly under his arms. He had no idea what planet he was on, since he'd been unconscious from the time they'd stormed the ship and completely overwhelmed the crew until he'd woken up in the lab. But, judging just from the way the air felt, he'd say it had to be someplace very humid. The cold was likely just a result of the heavy stone walls, and lack of windows. The climate outdoors could be very different.

_With their thick skin and fur, the Kaz'harians can probably easily survive any number of climates._

As they crept along the corridors, he'd been trying to recall everything he knew about their large, heavily muscled enemies, trying to figure out a weakness. Because once they did run across some, he was going to have to take them down bare-handed.

# # #

Mako glanced down at the lift holding their stolen cargo. They'd tugged down 18 vats off the walls, and he'd determined they had battery back-up so could operate on their own for a while. Maybe Tek or Gears could figure out how to wire them into the power supply of the ship if the batteries started to run low.

_Hopefully, it won't be too much of a drain on the ship. Not sure the electrical system of a pirate vessel was every designed with this purpose in mind._

Tank was walking behind him pushing a lift with another dozen glass sealed tanks, miniature clones that had already been hatched. Thirty in all.

_Kriff. Thirty little cadets._

At the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do, a fierce protectiveness had risen up within Mako and he knew there was no way he could allow these little Jangos to perish.

But, now, faced with the actual realities and practicalities of getting them home, it was started to seem more overwhelming.

_We're in the middle of a battle and I'm pushing around little cadets. I should be back embedded within the Legion. We're already down one medic._

A strong sense of guilt overwhelmed Mako as he began to regret his stong-armed defiance of the captain. He suddenly wondered if the captain's decision to send him back to the ship, and ask for Kix in his place meant he was angry with him.

_Maybe I've let him down. He doesn't want me there anymore. I've let down all of that trust he has shown in me. I've ruined everything._

Mako felt acid curl in his stomach.

He quickened his steps, pushing the lift faster and heard the metallic motors whine in protest. Suddenly, he just wanted to get to the ship, get the little clones secured and send Kix back to the captain. The Legion needed to have a medic with them, even if it wasn't going to be him.

# # #

"They don't give up, do they? Persistent, I'll give them that…" Hugh grumbled. He glanced down to check the charge on his DLT-20A. His attention was momentarily diverted and he didn't see a criss-cross of fire coming at him now from a new direction. Tomm grabbed his brother and pulled him back further in the alcove, just in time to keep the shots from slamming into him.

"Keep your kriffin' head up!" Tomm grumbled, and then leaned out ahead of Hugh taking down Kaz'harians with pinpoint accuracy. He dodged back just in time to avoid a spray of fire.

Hugh immediately took his place, trading off shots, while Tomm took a moment to analyze and assess.

"We're down to two on the right, but the three we had coming at us on the left, seem to have been replaced by another three," Tomm reported.

"Almost feels like they are trying to encircle us," Hugh stared back and forth between the Kaz'harians on either side of them.

"You think?" Tomm tugged Hugh back again, and took his turn drawing forward to fire. He gave a grunt of satisfaction as he neatly took down one of the large Kaz'harians, and then groaned a moment later when he saw another two step forward to take his place. He threw his body back into the alcove, narrowly dodging a huge hail of fire, "You know, we might need a new plan."

# # #

Hok just had this strong feeling they were being followed. It had been quiet for a while now and they were making good time heading in the direction where they _thought_ they could intersect Captain Catcher's team. They weren't sure. And, the kriffin' comms still weren't working. So, right now they were working off of the commando teams last known location, their anticipated trajectory and ultimate destination.

_That's a fancy way of saying we don't know where the frak they are. We're just hoping to get lucky so we can deliver the materials as Captain Rex ordered, and hopefully team up so we all have a better chance of surviving whatever it is going to come next. And, hopefully we can do that before we run into a whole bunch of Kazzies._

Only… it didn't seem like they were at risk of running headlong into a group of Kaz'harians.

Hok was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that the Kaz'harians were following _him._

# # #

Shadow Squad moved silently through the jungle at the head of the group of clones escorting the Jedi. So far, it had been remarkably quiet. Not a single Kazzie.

Shadow adjusted the grip on his large gun and tried to cradle it for a moment in the nook between his arm and body, freeing up his hand. He reached up and probed at his left shoulder, immediately wincing as he did so. He pulled his glove back and glanced down at it, noting that it immediately came back sticky with blood.

He scowled, and blew out a breath.

_Yeah, probably should have slapped a bacta patch on that or something._

He was starting to feel the effects of the slug that hit him earlier when he'd jumped in front of Mako. He reached up again, feeling around his armor. He could feel heat coming off of the wound, even through his gloves.

It was getting inflamed, alright.

If they got a few moments to take a break, he'd take off his helmet and give himself a stim. Maybe he could even get a patch onto it. Shadow Squad had been going non-stop since the battle in the labs had begun, and hadn't had any breaks or downtime like some of the others. After covering Mako and the wounded, they'd immediately proceeded back to point, pounding away at the Kaz'harians. They'd been assigned watch detail in the second lab, spread out at regular intervals and making sure no Kazzies sprang upon them from hidden doorways. And, they'd been pulled directly from that detail to Jedi escort duties.

Shadow was proud that Captain Rex thought so highly of him and his gunners. He was proud to serve, and would rather always be in the heart of the action than sitting idle on the sidelines. But, right now, just a brief respite would be more than welcomed.

He was sure the rest of his squad was feeling it, too. Hopper hadn't complained at all but he had to be feeling the slug that was still imbedded in his hand. If the one in Shadow's shoulder had already worked itself into full-on inflammation, he was sure that the same thing was happening to Hopper. And, Tuck probably shouldn't be running around them with all. With the hit he took to the chest, he should be lying on his back in a medbay somewhere, not hauling a quad gun on his shoulder. Jedi healing or not, he knew Tuck wasn't anywhere near to one hundred percent.

After this battle was finally over, if they lived through it, Shadow Squad was going to need a good long rest. They hadn't even reached the dungeons yet, and he was already exhausted.

_A stim shot. I just need a stimshot, and I'll be fine._

He shifted his grip again, readjusting his Z-6 rotary gun back to its customary position. Even that small movement jarred his injured shoulder and he gritted his teeth against the pain.

The only member of their team that had so far made it through the battle unscathed was Edge. The second rotary gunner was sticking close by Tuck, knowing his brother was too proud to ask for help, but ready to be there in a split-second, if needed.

Shadow gave a small grunt of satisfaction, and then noticed he'd picked up a 'shadow' of his own. Hopper was sticking mighty close to him. He swiveled his head and gave his brother a 'look.' The second quad gunner backed off a pace, but chuckled slightly under his breath. "Just watching out for you, vod."

"I'm _fine_, Hopper," Shadow attempted to pour strength and enthusiasm into his voice that he just wasn't feeling at the moment. He had to be strong for the sake of the squad; he'd do anything for them.

He quietly sighed to himself as his shoulder twinged again. He forcibly tuned it out, and focused his attention on keeping his feet moving and scanning for Kazzies.

_Alrighty, then, a stimshot, a painkiller, and about three days of rack time. Then, I'll be good._

# # #

_So far, so good, _Barriss thought, glancing around the jungle pathway they were walking upon. _We haven't spotted a single Kaz'harian. Perhaps Cody was being overcautious in sending so many clones with me. Seems a bit… overprotective._

Part of her was exasperated with Cody for thinking she needed protecting, after all, she was a Jedi and had spent more years learning how to fight than most of the clones had been alive.

But, another part of her, admittedly, a small part, well, a deep down part, yes, alright, she was somewhat pleased that Cody still cared enough to want to fuss over her safety.

_And, Cody does like to fuss._

Just that thought alone brought a small secretive smile to Barriss' face as she thought of her clone commander's more quirky qualities. He also-

_No, no, no. Not mine._

Her whisper of a smile vanished as quickly as it had come and was once again replaced by Jedi stoicism.

_He can't be mine. We can't be together. We're… not meant to be._

Her mind knew what to do. Follow the Jedi teachings. Make logical decisions. That is what she had done when parted ways with Cody. It all made perfect sense.

_Oh, Force._

_Traitorous mind!_

Much as Barriss tried to keep reminding herself she had made the right decision, Cody's face kept popping into her mind. She could hear the rich timbre of his voice, especially his laugh which happened so little that when she did hear it the sound was always like a rare gift.

And, his smell. No man should smell that good. It just wasn't right. When they would be pressed together skin to skin, and her face was lying up against his bare chest, she would be surrounded by a scent that was so uniquely Cody that even now she-

_I'm going mad._

Barriss decided that if there was an insanity line, she had not just crossed it, she'd leapt over it lightsaber in hand. The less she tried to think about Cody, the more his strongly-chiseled features appeared in her mind.

_No! I need to focus on the task at hand._

She glanced back at the clones behind her, two of which were carrying the unconscious forms of her fellow Jedi. The 501st trooper… Barriss struggled to remember his name… Hard… hard… what?... Hardbod… no, that wasn't right… Hardcase, that was it. Hardcase had opted to carry Master Skywalker. And, one of the clones from the 212th was carrying Master Kenobi. She stretched out with the Force and checked on the lifesigns of the two battered Jedi. Weak, but, still bright in the Force. They would both recover. It would just take time.

She turned back around.

_Well, that distracted me for a good 30 seconds._

An image of Cody laughing, teasing and tempting her with a bit of dessert back in their apartment on Ord Cestus, crept unbidden into her mind.

'_You're __incorrigible,' she had said to him._

'_I'm tasty,' he had countered, licking a piece of stuck blumfruit off his lip._

"Commander?"

The voice so startled Barriss, as lost as she was in her thoughts, she muttered out the first thing that came to mind, "Blumfruit."

"Excuse me, Commander?"

She glanced beside her and noticed that the 501st clone, Hardbod-, no, she corrected herself again, Hardcase, had quickened his steps and was walking alongside her.

"I was just asking how much further it was to your shuttle?" the clone repeated.

Barriss just stared at the blue and white armored clone, trying to focus on the question.

"Uh… right. The shuttle."

_Get a hold of yourself, Barriss! You have to focus! You came here to rescue your Master! She needs you! _

Barriss immediately brought the image of her stern Jedi Master to mind, and any passionate lingering thoughts of Cody were instantly dispelled.

"Not much further, Hardcase. We should be in sight of the shuttle, soon."

# # #

_A/N: Next chapter: The battle on the ship- Kaz'harian vs. clone fighting in closed quarters. Who will prevail? And, just who is stalking the scouts? And, Rex and Cody are almost at the dungeons…_


	108. Chapter 108 Kix Takes Charge

_Revised August 11, 2013._

_A/N: Hello All. Spent so much time writing over the past two weeks that it is just now that I am posting the first part of this exciting series of chapters. I had to divide this up into parts because there is so much of it. It is all part of a sequence called "Kix Takes Charge" and should please those fans of medics out there. I decided to start doing shorter chapters because, well, those long chapters were making me pull my hair out. (And, I've got great hair.) All parts of this next sequence are completed, so they'll be posted in quick succession._

_I'd received a question regarding what type of ammo would stay in the body rather than pass through it... I researched this issue over the past week with someone much smarter than me. And, Kix ponders this in his brilliant way while watching bullets thunk around him during this chapter. The ammo in the story is based upon something that actually exists._

_"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 108- Kix Takes Charge**_

Kix was just leaning back against the counter in the galley, about to take his first sip of caf, when the shooting began.

For such large creatures, the Kaz'harians moved with impressive stealth. They'd done a brilliant job in breaching the ship. The first indication there was enemy aboard were the spray of slugs that came barreling toward him just as his lips touched the tip of the plasticup. He was overtired and in place of sleep the freshly brewed caf would just have to keep him going for a while longer. He closed his eyes as he let the stimulant hit his system. He was so tired. He had reached that point where he felt like he could fall asleep right here on his feet. He allowed himself a brief moment of rest and wondered if he should root around the galley and find something to eat to bolster up his waning system. Kix had no idea how many hours, or even days, it was still going to be before he could actually get some proper sleep. His perfectly engineered body was designed for this kind of abuse. But, that didn't make it any easier to deal with the awful feeling of being absolutely bone tired.

It was only years of intensive training and hard-won battle instincts that gave the medic a slight edge of warning. Without it, the shots would easily have taken him out. His danger sense flared a split second before his ears registered the sounds of multiple Kel Mar II slugthrowers.

The medic's eyes sprang open and with habit ingrained from years of constant drills, he threw himself down to the deck. His caf cup was immediately abandoned and went flying up into the air. A second later, he felt the dual sensations of hot caf sloshing down his back plate and slugs skimming over his spauldron. Shots began hitting the cabinets behind him causing splinters to pepper into Kix's hair and face. He swatted at them with brusque, annoyed strokes before whisking his helmet off his belt clip and jamming it down on his head. As more shrapnel from the plinked down against his armor, Kix was thankful for the rugged protection.

A fresh hail fire of slugs embedded themselves into the Veshok-wood of the galley cabinets with a dull thunking sound, one after another. Kix gazed up at them curiously. He started thinking back to everything he knew about the Kaz'harians. Echo had characterized them as being "strong in tactical planning and execution."

_No kidding. How the did they get aboard?_

Kix heard the answering return sound of blasterfire from elsewhere in the ship. He immediately wondered how deep in the ship the Kaz'harians had gone. The medbay? His mind was racing, along with battle-fueled adrenaline and suddenly all he could think about were the patients he'd left behind.

_I should be there and not here wearing a cup of caf on my back._

He glanced down at the other end of the galley where there was a second exit. It looked clear, and he knew enough of the layout of the ship that he could make his way back the others if he took the secondary corridor. But, the moment he stood up he would be exposing himself to fire. He'd been through enough tactical drills to know that in order to cross the galley alive he would need a distraction.

Kix stood up, let out a quick burst of blasterfire, then dodged down again as slugs came hurtling back at him in return.

_Yes, yes, some for you, and some for me. Thank you._

While he was down, he hurriedly began rifling through the contents of the lower galley cabinets. He ignored the bottled water and neatly stacked packages of dried rations and ready-to-eat meals. He shoved them aside and hoped their might be something more _interesting_ left behind in the cabinets.

_Yes!_

Tucked behind the neatly stacked rations and water was enough Corellian rum to keep an entire shipload of pirates drunk for a week. The other clones had explained to Kix about the unusual origins of their ship. Kix tugged out two clear plasti-jugs of Corellian rum. The medic slid one jug out and shoved as far away from him as he could, while ensuring it was still out of the line of sight from the Kaz'harians.

_Just need to lure them in…_

He tucked the second bottle of Corellian rum under his arm, then popped up and fired again. As the next round of bullets thunked into the cabinets around him, Kix let out a loud, hopefully convincing scream of pain and threw himself to the floor with a loud thud. Having seen more dead men on the battlefield than he'd care to remember, he let his limbs fall askew in the manner of someone who was not likely to move again. However, there was nothing accidental in the positioning of his blaster arm, or the way he carefully aligned his twisted head so that he could see anything approaching from around the corner.

For a moment, there was just the sound of more shots hitting the Veshok-wood and splinters plinking down to the floor to join the growing pile. Out of the corner of his eye, the medic watched the way the bullets stuck to the hard durable wood. The pirate galley was actually made of nicer quality materials than the average Republic cruiser.

_Obviously, the previous owners only liked to steal from the best._

Veshok-wood was known for both its strength and flexibility, which made it a perfect choice for ship's interiors. It flexed enough to withstand gravitational pulls, landing on planets, entering/exiting orbits, etc. and had to be replaced less often than other materials.

Next to Echo, Kix was probably the clone in the 501st who spent the most time reading and researching just about anything and everything. He never knew when a piece of knowledge just might come in handy and save a brother one day. Plus, he genuinely enjoyed absorbing new information and found that his brain seemed to have almost an unlimited ability to keep recalling even the most minute details.

As he waited for the Kazzies to advance upon his position, he continued to glance out of the corner of his eye at the way the slugs were hitting the wood.

_The Kazzie ammo is sinking into the wood, and staying there._

The significance of his observation suddenly hit him.

_They are using special ammo. Normal slugthrower ammo would just punch straight through._

Griff was the only clone who'd been deemed injured enough to be sent back to the ship for his slugthrower injuries. He'd been shot twice in the leg, with one slug in the upper thigh and another in the calf. When Kix had treated him, both slugs had still been embedded inside the clone. Kix had thought it was an isolated case. But, what if the Seppies were initially using ammo targeting clones?

_Knowing they are up against flesh and blood targets they have chosen an ammo that punctures armor and leaves a slug embedded in the flesh? It would do maximum damage to an organic target…_

There were some shouted commands in the harsh Kaz'harian language, and the fire stopped.

_Gah. Took you long enough. You're ruining all of Rex's nice cabinets, you soddin' di'kuts. _

There was a long pause.

_Hurry up, I have places to go._

The medic heard heavy cautionary footsteps and rapid conversation back and forth in the simian's deep low language. With great effort, the clone held perfectly still, maintaining his 'dead pose.' He knew that the slightest mistake now could be fatal.

He kept his breaths as shallow as possible, hoping they didn't show from outside his armor.

_Rex is not going to be pleased, _Kix mused, trying to stay as calm as possible._ He sends me back to the ship, and I detonate the galley. I suppose I could always slip him a sedative and explain what happened._

It's worked before…

Uh… gah… fek...

Kix's thoughts suddenly froze as he got a much closer look at the overized enemies than he'd ever gotten during the disjoined battle at Kaz'haria. Back then, he'd been so focused on treating the wounded, and then he'd been shot twice himself early on in the battle. He'd woken up when he was being pulled out of bacta at Ord Cestus with only disjointed memories of the battle, and confusion as to what had happened to the rest of the 501st. He'd been told he was one of the 'lucky ones.' Later shuttles full of wounded were completely destroyed, and the rest of the Legion had been captured planetside. Even worse, he later found out the destroyers had to jump away before all LAATs had returned, leaving them at the complete mercy of the Seppies. He hadn't felt lucky, at all, after learning the details of the battle. Just bitter and lost, same as he'd felt when they'd lost Rex. He'd completely retreated into himself at Ord Cestus. It was Fives who'd located him at Ord Cestus and reunited him with the other brothers in the 501st, and then the brothers from the 212th. Shortly thereafter they all met up with Commander Cody and his crazy idea of rescuing both Legions. Insane as it was, it had pulled Kix out of his depression and given him something to focus on. But, there were times when he still felt wounded inside, like the scars from the battle at Kaz'haria hadn't truly healed yet.

And, for a stuttering pause, Kix found himself freezing up as the huge simians who had taken away so much from him suddenly reared around the corner.

_They're so much bigger than I remember…_

First one, and then the other of the burly Kaz'harians spotted Kix and drew their large Kel Mark II and sighted on the 'dead' medic. Even though he was completely unmoving, it appeared they were taking no chances and were going to pump a few more rounds into him anyway. A hot flare of anger burst out of Kix and all of a sudden he had an image of shuttles full of LAATs full of wounded brothers being evaced from the planet, being shot out of the sky. There were some things you just didn't do, even during wartime.

He squeezed off his trigger finger, and the bottle of Corellian rum, unseen down by their feet, erupted in a fireball. The two Kaz'harians bellowed in animalistic rage. The medic threw himself down into a ball, curling up to avoid the flash explosion.

Then, he unfurled himself, taking a quick glance to ensure the enemy was indeed down, yes, not going anywhere soon. _Uggh. Someone's gonna have to clean that up. Maybe I can convince Hardcase to do it._

He grabbed up the other bottle and took off at a full sprint heading for the exit at the other end of the galley. He made it all the way to the exit and out into the corridor.

The moment he did, he had to dive down again to avoid a spray of bullets coming at him from the right. Kix tossed up up the bottle of rum and hit it with a single blast shot and took off at a run toward the medbay. He heard shouts of pain as the fireball exploded behind him. He just kept running.

As he approached the medbay, he discovered the hatch was sealed.

_Smart. Likely the work of Tek or Gears. Hopefully everyone is barricaded inside._

He quickly turned around, trying to figure out someplace else to make a final stand. He heard the sound of heavy footsteps pounding down the corridor, along with more of the strange, guttural sounds that made up the Kaz'harian language.

But, this time he was sure they sounded angry.

_Thinking mayhap they don't like Corellian Rum? _

He could hear the heavy footsteps pounding closer and there were a great many of them.

_Gah. This is not good. They're so big I'll probably be lucky if they just shoot me. Thinking they'll tear my limbs off Wookie-style._

Kix tried not to picture the exact tendons that needed to sever in order for his arms to detach but his analytical mind the data up anyway.

As the Kaz'harians rounded the corner, the medic felt his mouth go dry.

_Oh, fek._

# # #


	109. Chapter 109 Kix Takes Charge- Part II

_Revised: August 10, 2013._

_A/N: The second part of our exciting "Kix Takes Charge" trilogy. I had a request for an update from Ahsoka's point-of-view, so I worked that into this chapter, as well. I know, I know, I'm so nice. And, now, back to medics blowing things up...  
_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 109**

Kix turned around and faced the corridor, prepared to make a final stand. If he was going down, he'd do so fighting as was worthy of the five oh first. His last moments would be spent taking down as many of the enemy as he could, giving his brothers the best chance to live.

Six heavily armed Kaz'harians had just rounded the corner and sighted him standing in front of the medbay. The front most Kaz'harian looked somewhat _singed _and ferociously angry. The medic didn't think the warriors he'd attacked in the galley were getting up anytime soon, so he figured this must have been a survivor of his most recent attack in the adjacent corridor. He also appeared to be the leader of the group, and the look he was giving Kix was downright murderous.

The medic took a deep breath and raised up his blaster to fire. The Kaz'harians stopped their advance and in one beautifully synchronized move all raised up their Kel Mark II rifles and aimed directly at Kix.

_They sure can be graceful for such large creatures. And all of that is directed at killing me. Imagine if the Kaz'harians ever put their talents toward something other than killing..._

Kix pushed away the thought immediately and realized his mind was wandering erratically in his final moments.

_On the bright side, it appears that they are going to shoot me to death rather than rip off my limbs. So, I get to die with my arms attached. Hey, that's something._

"Kix! Get your shebs in here!"

Light spilled into the corridor as the medbay hatch swooshed open, and he was suddenly and roughly hauled backwards by his backplate and bodysuit. He coughed for air as the front of his armor dug painfully into his lungs. The startled medic struggled to keep his balance and find his feet, as he heard the hatch swish shut again. Just as the door closed, there was the _ga-thunking_ sound of multiple rounds pounding right into it. Kix stood there for a moment wavering on his feet, just trying to digest what had happened as he double-over, working air back into his lungs. He felt someone pounding on his back, trying to be helpful.

"You alright there, medic?"

He glanced up and saw Griff standing next to him, grinning. He was carefully balancing on his one uninjured leg, looking pleased with himself for having hoisted in Kix so readily.

It took Kix a moment to realize, though, that the voice that had yelled to him in the corridor was not Griff, but his fellow medic. Kix took another moment to make sure he could breath properly then addressed the senior medic. His gaze swept across the medbay, taking in the injured clone, "Lance! You should _not_ be sitting up," Kix's voice growled out his displeasure in his sternest medic tone, which didn't tend to do much when used on a fellow medic. He hissed out a long resigned breath as he noted that not only was Lance now propped up in bed, but he was even back in his armor; as much as he could accommodate around the severe injuries on his right side.

"Yes, well, and the Kazzies should not be attacking our ship. But, they're doing that anyway, aren't they?" Lance quipped back, carefully balancing his blaster against his uninjured side as he double-checked the charge. Everything was awkward because his movements were stiff and limited and he couldn't move one entire side of his body.

Kix shook his head and knew better than to argue with a medic. He'd just sedate him later. "Is everybody here?" he asked, looking around and taking a quick count of the troopers around the medbay.

"Except for the pilots. There was no time. We had no way of getting up to them," Griff responded. Kix frowned as he noticed the trooper had also fully suited back up into his armor again.

The medic sighed, and slid an arm around Griff to help him back across the medbay to where the others were congregated close to Lance's bed.

"Right before we left Engineering, I noted that the pilots had barricaded themselves into the cockpit," Tek supplied, hovering protectively next to his brother, Gears.

"They should be safe enough in there," Gears offered, "the cockpit hatch is reinforced... safe- as long as they don't leave the cockpit."

"Or, unless they didn't have enough warning to get the hatch sealed in time," Tek pointed out.

Kix shook his head and left the two to their argument. He'd been briefly introduced to Tek and Gears when he'd first come aboard the ship. As the medic understood it, both clones were some sort of technical geniuses. The one known as Tek, though, seemed to specialize in computer systems, and Gears was a ship's mechanic. It had taken Kix a moment to realize that Gears was almost completely blind.

When he'd questioned the clone about it briefly, Gears had corrected him, 'Well, I can see some things. But, they all look like dark shapes. Blurs. Nothing is distinct.' He had smiled then, and said: 'It's alright. I always fixed everything by feel anyway.' But, Kix could hear the pain and sense of loss in the trooper's voice, despite the brave front he was putting up. He'd been hoping to have some spare time to examine him and maybe... what? See if the GAR had missed something? He wasn't sure. But, he'd been hoping to have the time to at least take a look. Maybe there was something he could do.

He noticed now that Gears had a blaster clenched in his hand and a determined expression on his face.

_A blind clone fighting a battle? Not so different than fighting a battle through thick smoke or darkness when we're forced to rely upon our other senses._

"Alright," Kix nodded, exhaling a long breath. He noticed all of the clones were looking to him expectantly.

_They expect me to to take charge? Why? Because I'm 501st? Maybe they associate me with Rex. __Fine. I'm used to taking charge. I'm a medic._

# # #

Ahsoka plodded through the jungle, thoroughly exhausted, but determined to make the trek to Cody's shuttle walking on her own. Hardcase constantly kept coming back to check on her, but she waved him off. She was still adjusting to the reality of her rescue and being free of the dark forbidding fortress. Ahsoka knew it would take a long time to absorb the experiences of the past two months. She still had yet to find out the details of what her own Master and Master Kenobi had gone through. Judging by their appearance, their time in the prison had been far rougher than her confinement of mainly dreary endless boredom, broken up by her few escape attempts.

Her gaze strayed over to where Denal and Gearshift were each carrying one of the unconscious Jedi slung over their armored shoulders. The Jedi hung limply, bouncing against the clones' armored backs; no signs of life in their gaunt, pale faces.

_Force. They looked awful._

_But, if anybody can help them, it's Barriss._ The thought bolstered Ahsoka's fledging spirits. _She's an amazing healer… They'll likely make her a knight soon_… She gazed forward thoughtfully, looking toward where her fellow padawan was leading their small procession through the jungle. The Mirilian looked confident and graceful, as always. Ahsoka pursed her lips and wondered if anything ever flustered Barriss.

_It'll be years, I bet, before they knight me_, she thought. _Although, staying a padawan does have its advantages, as long as I'm with Master, then I'm close to the 501st which means being close to Rex-_

The padawan's random, somewhat pleasant musings were brought to an abrupt halt as she was forced to face the reality of Appo now being in command of the 501st. Certainly, she'd been greatly relieved to learn Appo, after all his bravery in her defense, had been rescued by Cody. He was now safely in the care of Kix. She looked forward to seeing him again when all this was done, so she could thank the brave clone for all his dedication to duty even under such difficult circumstances.

Yet, with Appo as Commander of the 501st, where did that leave Rex?

Rex had promised to see Ahsoka after the battle, but had made no promises beyond that. What if he disappeared again? What if he had a life now that had no place for her? Ahsoka's entire world had shattered when she'd lost Rex the first time. The Jedi padawan knew she couldn't survive losing him again.

Her last reserves of strength left her, and she felt one of her legs buckle. Suddenly, there was a form at her elbow, catching her and steadying her.

"Are you alright, Commander?"

She looked over, catching sight of the large gun first, "Shadow, right?"

"That's right, Commander," She could hear in the clone's deep low voice his pleasure at being recognized. Ahsoka reached out a hand to steady herself on Shadow's shoulder, the one not currently balancing the rotary gun. As she pressed down, she heard the heavy gunner hiss in pain and her fingers came away sticky with blood.

"You're hurt," she said, suddenly, drawing her fingers back, her own weakness forgotten out of concern for the clone next to her.

He shook his head in denial, "It's nothing... just a scratch." He glanced backwards, and said in a crisp command tone, "Edge." The second rotary gunner immediately stepped forward from his place guarding the back of the line. "Assist the commander," Shadow said, smoothly exchanging places with Edge.

"Commander," Shadow gave a last respectful nod, and quickly stepped back, taking over Edge's place guarding the rear of the line.

The gunner known as Edge slid into place next to Ahsoka, gallantly offering his arm, "Commander."

Ahsoka gave him a suspicious look, "Are you injured?"

She heard the clone laugh as he shook his head. "I'm the only one in the squad who isn't." He paused, and then corrected himself, taking the question very literally as clones were wont to do, "Not unless you count the stuff I was sent to Kamino for... but, obviously, I can still fight; just like the rest of my squad brothers." There was obvious pride in the gunner's voice.

Ahsoka was intensely curious about the men who were with Rex, and she didn't know how much she could ask about them. She reached out a bit with her emotions, and sensed this clone was open to talking. "So, Edge, if you don't mind my asking, why were you sent to Kamino?"

"Complete deafness. Both ears. Just like Lieutenant Travis. Oh, wait. You probably haven't met him yet. You will. He's Rex's 2IC."

Ahsoka took all of this information in with great curiosity. Obviously, Rex had set up a formalized command structure around him, which is exactly what she would expect him to do. Except... she'd overheard Rex emphasizing to Cody that he wasn't in the GAR anymore. So, was all of this Rex's private army then? It was almost a chilling thought thinking of a group of renegade clones with complete GAR training, and weaponry, not answerable to anybody but themselves.

If the Republic were to find out about the existence of this group of clones... Ahsoka sucked in a breath, and she suddenly began to appreciate the complexities of the situation. In a flash, she pictured Mace Windu learning of the situation. The Jedi Council would _not_ tolerate the existence of a group of renegade clones under their own command fully armed and on the loose somewhere in the galaxy. It was... exactly the type of situation that kept the Jedi Council awake at night and locked in debates for endless hours.

"You alright, Commander?" Edge peered at her curiously, the earnestness in his tone almost her undoing. He reminded her of the eager young clones in the 501st, always willing to learn and trying to please.

Ahsoka immediately wanted to learn more and find out everything she could about these clones. But, she sensed she would have to tread carefully.

"So, Edge, you're deaf?" Ahsoka asked, withdrawing her arm from Edge so she could see him better, and she focused on him curiously. She had noticed that he looked directly into her face most of the time when she spoke, but he just didn't strike her as someone who could not hear at all.

"No, I was," the amiable clone immediately corrected her, "I can hear some now." He paused just a beat, then added in his forthright, honest way, "I can tell you have a nice voice."

Ahsoka laughed, and it felt good to laugh. OK, Edge was eager to please, but almost cocky, as well. She wondered if this clone would turn out to be as incorrigible as Fives one day. She turned her attention back to their discussion, "So, how is that possible?" she prompted, wanting to know more about his deafness, "I mean, how did you-"

The clone's helmet cocked to the side, and he shook his head. "Ah, that I can't answer. You'll have to ask the Captain Rex or Captain Catcher directly. Orders, you know? Come on, Commander. I can tell you're tired. Lean away."

She reached an arm tentatively over Edge's spaulder. He grabbed onto her hand, and gave it a little tug, more firmly readjusting her so that he was taking on more of her weight. She had to admit she _was_ exhausted, and it felt good to have the extra support.

"Isn't that better? And," the rotary gunner added in as they walked, "if you want need something demolished, just let me know. My Z-6 here can probably take down just about anything in this jungle. And, I haven't demolished anything in... an hour or two. Getting a bit restless."

Ahsoka laughed. It felt good to be laughing again. She'd done so little of it during her time locked up in the Darkknell prison. She felt a little lighter, like things just might be OK again, "I'll keep that in mind, and see if I can't find something for you to demolish. Thank you, Edge."

# # #

Kix's gaze swept around the medbay, and he suddenly noticed the absence of the 501st commander. "Alright, where's Appo?"

Griff's lips quirked in amusement, "Oh, we took _good_ care of the Commander. No to worry."

Kix felt a stab of alarm, "What did you do?"

The clone chuckled again and pointed to a generously sized closet, used for storing bedding, pillows and medbay pants. Kix noticed all of these items were now piled on the floor.

Griff shrugged, "He'll be safe enough in there. We'll take him out when the fighting is done."

"He's injured," Kix objected.

"He fit _perfectly_ in the closet," Griff pointed out, agreeably.

"Appo is a commander. _My_ commander," Kix could feel his stomach knotting up with tension, imagining Appo's reaction when he discovered he'd been stuffed in a closet.

"Kix," Lance interjected, "I approved it. He was laid out in such a way that he should be safe enough. It's safer for him than laying out here exposed and unconscious."

For a half-beat the medic part of Kix's brain wanted to object, but his battle-hardened clone side knew there was no time. Lance was right. He would just have to take hell from Appo for it later; at least the 501st Commander would still be alive to berate him.

"Alright," he breathed out, the sounding coming out raspy and a bit odd through the filters of his helmet, "Tek, Gears, how long will the medbay doors hold?"

No sooner had he gotten the words out, then an ominous pounding against the door started.

"Ah," Gears looked thoughtful, "Depends upon what they're now using to force that hatch... Sounds to me like a Squib Ram, though. They must want the ship, otherwise if the objective had just been to kill us, they likely would have blown up the ship already. Tek, what do you think?"

"The commando team did report back that the Kazzies have an impressive fleet of ships, but its' rather mismatched," Tek pointed out.

"Most of them stolen, then, likely," Gears speculated back.

"Well, they can't steal _our_ ship," Tek objected, "we just finished stealing this one and getting it the way we like it."

Gears listened for a long moment to the distinctive thuds against the door, and then he stared upwards for a moment as if accessing a manual in his head. "That's a Squib Ram, alright. The medbay hatch is not as reinforced as the cockpit. Designers probably never saw the need. Its only a matter of time before the ram gets the door opened."

"We need to make use of all available cover," Kix said, studying the layout of the medbay. He scowled, looking at Lance. "You are much too exposed."

"They wanted to move me, but I told them to wait. Hoping you'd get your shebs back here," Lance quirked up an eyebrow at Kix, "You didn't disappoint."

"Glad you approve. We'll get you moved in just a sec. I had to take the long way to get here but it did afford me the opportunity to see what we are up against." The other clones all leaned in, listening intently, like it was a pre-mission briefing, "I spotted at least a half dozen of them still standing. I took out two in the galley, and another two in the hallway. But, I suspect there may be others working their way through other parts of the ship. All of them are armed with Kel-Mark II rifles . The ammo they use is designed not only to penetrate _through_ clone armor, but to lodge itself into human flesh and stay there. When they chose to fight at Kaz'haria with something other than a blaster, they did so with weapons that were designed to have the maximum devastating impact upon clone flesh. Their choices were very deliberate." His words were met with a discontented spark of anger and sputterings of outrage from the others.

Kix shook his head sternly as he glanced where the ominous pounding continued like a clock that was desperately counting down. "No time for that now." He looked over to the senior medic. "Lance, we need to get you moved. They'll likely burst through that door anytime now. You realize this is going to burn like the Fire Rings of Fomax when we lift you, with all that internal stuff you have going on."

Lance shook his head. "Medic, remember? Just get it done."

Kix slid one hand under Lance's injured shoulder, and slid the other under his back. He instructed Tek to grab him under the legs. "Alright, on three. Let's get him to the floor behind this bed."

"Just make sure you set me down so I can shoot," Lance grumbled, and Kix could tell his fellow medic was trying to keep his mind off the pain from his injuries.

"Of course, Lance," he said, in his best cheerful medic voice which probably didn't fool Lance for a micro-second, "On three..." He caught Tek's eyes, "Three." He immediately said, not giving Lance a chance to tense up his muscles and make it any worse for himself when he was moved.

"Ahhhh! Kriff!" Lance was still unable to hold back a sharp gasp of pain, the jostling of both his internal injuries and multiple fractures too much to hold back.

Kix eased him down, noticing his grey pallor. He glanced back toward the hatch, noticing the door was still holding for the moment. Then, went back to checking Lance's vitals. He frowned, and immediately gave the injured medic a stim and then checked him again. "When this is over, you need to rest up for like a month. Got it?"

Lance tried to chuckle, but gasped at the effort. He settled on a pained smile, "I know just the place."

Kix gave the hatch another glance, and then went back to working on Lance, making him more comfortable, "Still think you can fight?"

"Yes," Lance gulped out, looking decidedly close to puking, "Just hand... me my blaster... and stop looking... at me like that."

The 501st medic wanted to object again, but knew there was no time. "If we live through this, I'm locking you in a bacta tank."

"We don't have... a bacta tank," Lance managed through gritted teeth, then groaned and leaned his head back against the bed behind him, taking a short rest.

"I'll find one," Kix threatened, "and, make sure you get locked in there. Without a blaster."

Lance peered his eyes open, "Fine... Now, can we just shoot... these things... so I can... get back... to bed?"

Kix glanced toward the hatch. The pounding continued, but the door held for the moment, "Like you would actually rest."

The other medic gave a short chuckle, but then winced from the action. "Ah, you got me there, vod... Shooting something would... make me... feel better."

Kix gave his fellow medic a small, hopefully encouraging smile and stood, facing the others. He'd taken care of his medic duties. Now, he just had to figure out how to defend the medbay, and get all of his brothers out of there alive.

# # #

_A/N: Next chapter: Gears and Tek come up with a plan to slow down the Kaz'harians. But, will it work or take out the lives of everyone inside in the medbay? Kix finds that being in charge is more complex than he'd ever imagined._


	110. Chapter 110 Kix Takes Charge - Part 3

_A/N: Alright, I said that the "Kix Takes Charge" series would be a trilogy. Its been so much fun to write that its going more than three parts. Hey, it happens. What can I say? Medics are just... gah... awesome. These chapters write themselves. Thank you to everyone that provided feedback on the past couple of chapters. Greatly appreciated. _

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 110**

"Gears has an idea to slow them," Tek reported, folding his arms across his distinctive brown armor from the 55th Mechanized Brigade.

"Go on," Kix said.

"We might be able to electrify the door. It could possibly take out the Squib Ram in the process," Gears said, getting excited as he warmed up to his topic.

"It might not take out the Ram," Tek argued back.

Gears faced off against his brother, folding his arms in a perfectly identical counterpose despite the fact he didn't realize he was doing so with his limited vision. His voice was strong and confident as it always was when spoke on anything having to do with machinery, which is where his true passion always lay, "Whether or not it takes out the Ram, it will generate enough of an electric field to take out those _operating_ the Ram. It still buys us time."

Kix glanced back nervously at the door, listening to the ominous and repeated thuds against the door. He repressed the urge to shudder as he remembered the Kaz'harians bearing down upon him in the hallway, and even worse, flashbacks to the Battle at Kaz'haria. _Stop it! he told himself, they're just an enemy, like any other. Think of them like droids. Just big, hairy ugly really really smart droids. They can be defeated._

"It could possibly also blow out the power on the ship," Tek was now in full blown debate mode with his brother.

_Blow out all the power on the ship? _Kix swallowed nervously. _Make that two sedatives I'll have to slip Rex._

Gears conceded the point, "Admittedly, it _could_ backfeed."

"Backfeed?" Kix asked, trying to follow the argument between the two as they went back and forth on this 'plan' of theirs.

"Ah, its been known to happen when power flows in the opposite direction from its usual flow," Gears began warming up to the topic, and Kix could literally see how the clone had the entire plan pictured in his head, "You see, normally, an alternating current typical delivers power by inducing a current to flow-"

"Gears!" Kix held up a hand to stop the barrage of technical detail flowing at him. "This is all very fascinating, but all I need to know is will it work?"

The ship's mechanic from the 182nd Legion rubbed his chin thoughtfully, tugging at a long scar that ran up to his nearly sightless eyes. He gave a confident nod of his head, "I'm _reasonably_ sure we can pull this off."

_Reasonably sure?!_

Kix stared at the technically-minded clones. He didn't know them well, not like he knew the 501st. He had nothing to go on but his gut. Rex seemed to trust his instincts when he made command decisions. As a medic, he often had to just rely upon instinct when making difficult decisions in the field. Admittedly, he wasn't always right. But, it was all he had.

He took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't dooming them all to die, "Do it."

_Is this what it is like for Rex every time he has to make a command decision?_

_Kriff, I had no idea. And, I thought being a medic was hard._

# # #

"We're set," Gears advised, from his position to the side of the door, his fingers inside the exposed wiring panel to the side of the door. The paneling glowed blue, and reflected back at him, casting him in an eerie light. The 182 Legion trooper had mainly white armor with stripes of light blue down his arms. The light reflecting off his armor gave him an almost ethereal glow as he worked to save his brothers.

"Everybody get back," Tek advised, his lips twisting sardonically, motioning to the rest of the troopers. "This could... go badly."

Gears rolled his eyes and shot Tek a scowl, pinpointing his location perfectly just by voice from across the room. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, vod."

"Just telling it like it is," the 55th Mech trooper said, ducking down behind a medbay bed, his voice muffled as he covered his head with his arms.

"_It'_s going to be just fine," Gears said confidently, "I know what I'm doing." He slid his helmet on, sealing it into place. Then, he tugged a pair of extra thick rubberized gloves out of his belt pouch and hot wired two exposed wires together.

The result was immediate... the panel sparked, causing Gears to instinctively shield himself from the sound and throw himself to the floor. The lights blinked alarmingly in the medbay causing the rest of the clones to look up at them all at once in a synchronized glance. At the same time, there was a deep bellow of rage from the other side of the door.

Gears picked himself up off the floor, tugging off the insulated gloves. For the moment, the medbay seemed eerily silent without the sound of the Squib Ram pounding against the door. Gears was the first to speak, "Well, I think that went well."

He crossed the room, seemingly having no problems finding his way back to the others despite his limited sight. If Kix hadn't been told he was a visually impaired clone, and seen the long scar running across his face, he wouldn't have known. Gears already seemed to be compensating so well. He reached a hand out to stop himself by feel, coming up against one of the medbay bunks.

"Ah, so what's next, boss?" Gears asked, looking around for Kix.

The 501st medic stood up from where he had hunkered down next to Lance. He stared toward the medbay door, knowing it was only a matter of time, likely precious minutes before the Kaz'harians rallied again and worked their way in. They were bound and determined to kill off the crew, and it appeared the clones were vastly outnumbered.

The medic scowled fiercely, and tried to put himself into the mindset of Captain Rex. Appo hadn't been leading the 501st for long, but during that time the medic hadn't been overly impressed with his track record. Kaz'haria had been a disaster. The portions of the Legion that hadn't been killed, or wounded, were now being held prisoner in enemy territory.

Kix thought back to everything he knew on the topic of Close Quarters Combat (CQC.) Commander Cody had lectured them extensively on the topic during their clandestine meetings at Ord Cestus. Fives and Echo believed rescuing their brothers in the dungeons would come down to a CQC situation. They'd even taken over Asori's physical therapy room on several afternoons using it as a makeshift training area.

Cody had been relentless in making them run through drills, and at the time, Kix had thought the 212th Commander was annoyingly over-obsessive. Everyone one of them was a battle-hardened clone, not a bunch of shinies. 'Worse than going through Rex's daily drills,' Kix had thought at the time, as Cody made them practice the same maneuvers again and again, irritable from the pain of his still healing injuries from Kaz'haria.

But, now as he stared around the small group of clones clustered around in the medbay, all of their lives dependent upon how he executed orders in the next few minutes, he was immensely glad for the commanders' training and thoroughness. And, he knew that the clones actually had the advantage in this case. It was all just a question of timing and execution. He suddenly sympathized with both Cody and Rex and realized for the first time how much pressure they were under as command clones.

_Fek. How do they do this day in and day out?_

If he were in their position, he not only would have everyone training to give them the highest advantage to survive, he'd probably have them training _twice_ as much. Kix vowed then and there to never grumble about practice and drills.

_Exploit your enemies' weakness to the best possible advantage with the resources at hand._

One of the many principals of warfare they'd studied for hours on end at Kamino immediately popped into Kix's head. He whipped up his helmeted head and looked around the medbay, studying the cabinets which he knew were well-stocked with supplies.

He suddenly dropped down to his knees next to his fellow medic, "Lance? Suture thread? Where do you keep it? Preferably 40 gauge, if you have it."

The medic cocked his head to the side with interest, then gestured with his uninjured arm, the one holding his blaster. He pointed up to an overhead cabinet, "Up there. Help yourself. And, I like the way the five oh first says hello to new friends," Lance quipped, immediately catching on to what Kix had in mind.

"Tek, Gears, help me secure this. It needs to be exactly... " he referenced his HUD, calculating the height of the Kaz'harian warrior and then subtracted down to calculate the height of the neck, "...1.45 meters high." He quickly unwrapped a length of the suture strength around his gloved hand and demonstrated, "This thread is incredibly strong, so wind it as tight as you can."

"You mean to gullitone them?" Griff asked, a tone of rough respect in his voice, as he watched arms crossed, leaning against one of the medbay tables.

Kix shook his head, "No. Don't think its strong enough for that," then added, "Beheading is Jedi business."

Lance broke out into laughter from his position on the floor, then groaned with pain grabbing his damaged chest, "_Kix_," he grumbled.

"Stop laughing, then, di'kut," Kix chastised, but cast his fellow medic a worried glance. He motioned to Tek and gave Gears a quick tap on the shoulder to signal 'let's go' and the three moved across the room.

At Lance's suggestion, they secured the thread to the wall using a skin stapler normally used in cases where flexclamps were not strong enough to hold a wound shut. The skin stapler did an admirable job of stretching suturing thread taut across the entryway creating a nearly invisible line at exactly neck height.

Just as they finished securing the last staple, the sound of the Ram started up again.

"Ah, that answers that question," Gears said, listening to the ominous sound. "It disabled the operator, but apparently didn't fry the machine. Compliments to the Squib Corporation."

"Or, they were able to fix it already," Tek pointed out, "remember what we read about the IQ of these Kaz'harians-"

"_Tek. Gears._" Kix cut the two clones off before they could get into another one of their arguments. The two looked over at him disappointed. He gave them his sternest look, worthy of Rex and they immediately shut up. "Get him behind cover," Kix ordered to Tek, gesturing to Gears.

"I might be blind, but I can fight," Gears objected.

"Not if you're dead. Now go!" he barked in an imposing command tone. The mechanic gave him a surprised look and immediately obeyed.

Kix took a position to the side of the door, waiting blaster in hand. The hatch immediately began opening, one forced meter at a time. Through the opening, Kix could see a wall of huge tall dark imposing fur.

_Breathe_, he reminded himself, _just breathe_. _Number one rule of warfare. It's alright to be scared. Just don't let your fear rule you._

Four Kaz'harians stepped cautiously into the room, their attention drawn to the medbay tables, the only obvious source of cover in the room.  
_  
They're going too slow. The wire is not going to take them down_, Kix scowled.

He slid his hand into his belt pouch, his fingers soundlessly pulling out a flashbang.

_So glad you big baddies don't wear helmets._

"Everybody better have their baffles set on max," Kix warned.

"Uggh," Lance grumbled, knowing right away what Kix had planned, "those things hurt in a space this small, you know."

Kix ignored his fellow medic's comments. He had no time to respond. Timing was critical. If one of the Kaz'harians turned their head, they would be looking right at him.

With a forceful throw of his arm, he whipped the flashbang at the feet of the two advancing Kaz'harians. His visor automatically darkened to compensate for the flash, and even with his baffles set to max, the blast was still painfully loud. For a moment, Kix felt himself get off-balance as his inner ear fluid was disturbed.

_Gah. I was too close to the thing._

But, his reaction was nothing compared to what it did to the completely unprotected Kaz'harians. The burst of light activated the light cells in the simians' eyes. Being photosensitive to start with the simians reared up in shock at the sudden blindness. Even Kix struggled for a moment with his balance, but he was still aware enough, that the medic part of him took note of the simian's extra sensitivity to light.

Completely blinded and disoriented, two of the large warriors continued rushing forward and two stumbled backwards toward the exit. Kix ignored those heading forward and focused on those making a retreat.

He sprang forward taking advantage of the cover of smoke provided by the flashbang and the confusion of the blindness. He took out the rear two with brutally efficient shots to the back of the neck. He spun around to finish off the two in front, but they'd already run into the trip wire. They were swept off their feet and went down with bellows of confused rage and choking sounds. Even though they were down, they weren't fatally injured and one was still aware enough that he had the medic perfectly lined up in his sights.

"Kix! Watch out!" he heard Griff shout a warning, and then saw his brothers spring forward from behind their cover blasters blaring. In a flare of blue light, the two downed Kaz'harians were taken out. "Behind you!"

The medic spun around and saw a dozen more Kaz'harians pouring through the medbay door.

# # #


	111. Chapter 111 Kix Takes Charge- Part 4

_Revised August 10, 2013._

_A/N: Many thanks to James for his advice on combat medic procedures and trainings._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 111**

Kix automatically dove and hit the ground firing taking down the first Kaz'harian that came through the hatch. The next warrior recovered quickly and immediately spun to fire on the medic. Having no other cover available, the medic barrel-rolled and drew the body of a dead Kaz'harian on top of him. He grunted, straining with the mass of the dead creature. Kix felt his back twinge from the abuse of lifting something too heavy much too quickly. He ignored the pain, and immediately felt the slightly thudding shock of several shots slamming into the carcass on top of him. Something warm and sticky began leaking down on top of his vambrace. Kix ignored the sensation, knowing his armor was going to be a mess by the time all this was done.

He heard the welcoming sound of blaster shots ringing out across the medbay and knew his brothers were covering him. Kix took advantage of the distraction, and shoved the bulk of the dead Kaz'harian to the side, and reached into his belt pouch for another flash bang. He could see that the Kazzies were drawing close to the trip wire again. It was still smoky and hazy in the room from the first stun grenade he'd lobbed, and the wire was near invisible. Kix raised himself up to his knee, lobbing out the second flash bang directly at the Kaz'harians surrounding him.

This time he was prepared for the disorientation that came from being much too close to his own ordinance and he counted the seconds as he waited for the waves of dizziness to pass.

_I'm probably going to need some time in bacta after all this is over. Probably damaged my inner ears with all of this..._

As soon as he felt his equilibrium reestablish itself, he rushed forward to take down two more Kaz'harians who'd run straight into the trip wire. He dispatched them easily with shots directly to the head and neck, respectively.

"Kix! Get your shebs back here behind cover!" Lance's voice came through his helmet comm, ringing with the annoyed authority that only a fellow medic could manage. Kix noticed, though, that while he could make out his brother's words, everything still sounded muddied, and he had to focus much harder than usual to translate sounds back into actual words.

_Oh, yes, that was one too many flash bangs... _

Taking Lance's advice, he sprinted back toward his brothers.

For the moment, there was no return fire from the Kaz'harians who were all still down and disabled. But, the 501st medic knew his precious seconds were quickly running out. He just managed to throw himself down beside Lance as sudden spray of slug thrower bullets came his way.

_Yeah. Flash bang just wore off. Kazzies are back up._

He took a quick peek around the corner of one of the bunks.

_Whoa... Not bad._

There was an impressive pile of Kaz'harians piled up by the entryway of the medbay. Those coming in would actually have to step over their fallen brothers.

"I count five still left that I can see," Griff commented.

"It's likely that they are going to rush us since we are pinned down on this end," Kix gave a worried look toward Lance.

"If that happens-" the injured medic began.

"Forget it," Kix wouldn't even let him finish the thought, "we are _not_ leaving you behind. We fight through this together."

Griff eased himself into a protective position next to Lance, his injured leg stretched out straight in front of him. "Besides, I'm not in a position to run at the moment either, vod."

Lance opened his mouth to object, but Kix shook his head and in a tone that brokered no argument said, "No one gets left behind."

Kix glanced back out again, and noticed the remaining Kaz'harians had regrouped outside the entrance and were having a rapid-fire conversation.

_Great. They're planning strategy. Just what we need from these Kazzies. More strategy._

His attention was caught by Gears and Tek who had a small pile of half disassembled medbay equipment around them. "Do I even want to know what you two are up to?"

Tek briefly glanced over and then returned his attention to their work. Gears had not even glanced up, his hands just a blur as he worked on disassembling pieces. He still had his helmet on, but had removed his gloves and gauntlets and was precisely feeling each of the pieces Tek handed him. "Another idea," Gears murmured.

"If there's one thing that Gears likes better than fixing stuff... it is blowing stuff up." There was both a tinge of amusement and pride in Tek's voice. "He's good at it, too."

"All clones like blowing stuff up," Griff counter-argued, but he craned his head so he could get a better viewing angle of what Tek and Gears were doing. They had piqued his curiosity.

"Ah yes, but how many clones can piece together a laser canon out of medbay parts?" Tek said pointedly to Griff, slapping a hydrospanner into Gears' hand; his head cocked slightly to the side as he listened to the steady stream of murmured instructions requesting parts and tools.

Kix's eyes widened, "Wait! A what?! You're building a laser canon?!"

Tek shrugged, "Yes, we're going to be short one laser cauterizer, a sonic scalpel, and a few of these big metal round things, whatever they are..." He gestured casually toward the assorted medical supplies around him.

"Those are used for situations in which a bleeding wound-… never mind," Kix shook his head, deciding now was not the time to get into a medical lecture. "Will it work?"

"It should," Gears answered, working quickly on combining pieces together on the ad-hoc weapon, "but, it has its limitations. It will be need to be fired from a stable position..." he looked thoughtful, "like from the top of one of the bunks. So, we're going to need a distraction to get it in place. And, it could be taken down in a single shot before we ever get to use it. There's no armor or shielding around it."

Kix blew out a breath, "Alright, OK. No armor, no shielding. Needs to be stable. What else?"

Gears scratched at his chin with the hydrospanner, "Ummmm... the whole device is not only somewhat unstable, it's also fragile so it would be best if only me or Tek fired it. It might sort of... come apart in our hands."

"And highly explosive," chimed in Tek, "don't forget about that part. If the device is hit or suffers a malfunction, it will likely detonate this entire half of the medbay. None of these pieces were never meant to be combined together like this."

"It _will_ work," Gears said, setting down the hydrospanner and reaching for other parts by feel alone.

"Gears, we don't know that for sure," Tek began, "This is a highly unstable configuration. The laser could-"

Kix tuned them out as they began another argument. It was a huge risk, but it was also a good plan.

_A distraction... What could they possibly use as a distraction..._

"Alright, I'm going to charge the Kaz'harians... " Kix began, not seeing any other way.

"Absolutely not!" Lance objected.

"No," came objections from every other clone present, and even Gears paused in what he was doing to give Kix a level-eyed stare, zooming in on his voice. The medic was just preparing to counter-argue. It was somehow easier taking the risks on himself than it was seeing those he was responsible for getting hurt. He could see now why Rex always insisted on being right in front and always leading the charge in every battle, as much as it used to always the medic crazy when he would do so seeing as how he was their _only_ Captain.

"We're out of time!" Griff shouted, drawing his blaster, as the last five Kaz'harians came charging through the door, having apparently finished whatever planning it was they were doing. Suddenly, there were five huge warriors barreling down on them.

One was reaching up now with a wicked-looking knife to cut the trip wire.

_OK, they figured that one out,_ Kix thought, taking aim at the warrior,_ Took them long enough. _But, he wasn't able to get his shot off as a whole barrage of slugthrower fire forced him to retreat back behind the medbay bunk, shards of plasti and metal peppering his armor.

# # #

Tru'lek was of a mindset that they should just forget about this farkled ship and head back to the fortress.

Alright, the initial plan had been solid enough.

Se'quin, their chief scientist, had figured out that the fiercesome smooth-skinned ones that called themselves 'clones' had managed to surprise them through the use of a cloaking device. It was a rare and expensive technology and none of the ships in the Kaz'harians fleet currently possessed a cloak. They'd been ordered to track down the clone ship, seize it, and then add it to the impressive assortment of ships in their hangar bay.

As Se'quin's explained it, cloaking technology had a number of limitations, the biggest being the severe power drain it caused. These clones would have to shut the ship down at some point, or risk fully depleting their power reserves. And when they did it would disable the cloak and make them detectable.

As always, Se'quin was right. They had simply stood by with a sizable force of warriors, waiting to be given the location of the ship. A battle was raging on in the fortress, but they were being kept out of that fray as they were all told their own time would come to fight soon enough. Getting a hold of the cloaked ship was considered a high priority.

Tru'lek was surprised by the calibre of these warrior clones guarding the ship. He would've thought the majority of their forces, and the best of them, would've been sent inside the fortress to try to rescue their brethren. Not that they would have any luck in such an ill-fated attempt. Tru'lek's forelock twitched in amusement as he thought of what awaited the clones when they set foot into the dungeon.

Fools.

But, he hadn't expected to see Voron, Ga'man, Kant, Doja, Y'ras, and Or'am all fall so quickly and perish in the battle to take the clone ship. Voron had literally been burnt alive right before his eyes. The sounds of his screams were still echoing in Tru'lek's ears.

Doja had shot him just to put him out of his misery. It was a good thing that Doja had done. Tru'lek wished he had thought of it. Doja was always thinking. He was the most considerate of them. And, just minutes later, Doja was dead of twin blaster shots to the head.

This was not how it was supposed to be.

Taking the ship was supposed to be easy. Like a piece of Muja fruit tart.

Mmmm... Muja fruit. Tru'lek realized he was starving. He just wanted to get done with this assignment, get back to the fortress and get to the cantina. When had he eaten last? Too long.

Y'ras was going on and on about his strategy.

_Seriously, Y'ras? How many different ways can you say get in there and shoot all the clones until they are dead?_

Tru'lek shifted from foot to foot impatiently, wishing Doja was still in charge. He'd never been one for all of this talking. Hmmm? Y'ras was mentioning something about the wire. _Oh, great. Tru'lek was in charge of cutting the wire down. Thanks, Y'ras. You're a real hero. Always assigning the action items to somebody else._

_Fine._

Y'ras gave the signal to move ahead. Tru'lek followed, rushing through the door behind the others, although he was a bit more in the mindset that he just wanted to get the whole thing done with than any true blood lust.

_Hopefully, this will be the last of the resistance. We can wipe out the rest of these clones, like we took out that pilot, and head back for the evening meal... And, dessert. Yes, I hope all of the battle going on today didn't interrupt the cook from being to make the muja tarts. I could eat about ten of them at this point..._

Tru'lek's pleasant thoughts of dinner were brought up short as he heard Y'ras make the strangest, startled choking sound. He stared in surprised as he suddenly noticed a bright light coming out of the back of his fellow warrior.

_That's not right._

Wait, the wire.

He unfroze and pulled out his long hunting knife, and reached up to cut the wire.

_Hah! That was easy. Not so tough, are you? Clones. Hah!_

He glanced back at Y'ras again, still puzzled by what had taken down the new leader of their squad. Something wasn't right here. Y'ras was actually smoking slightly, as if on fire. He dropped to his knees, wilting like a Dbergo tree that had been struck in a storm, then just sank to the floor.

Tru'lek heard a high-pitched whine and he had just enough time to turn his head, and focus his eyes on the homemade canon before it bored a hole straight through his chest. He felt himself dropping to his knees, and then everything began to fade very quickly in a rush of red and black.

# # #

Kix threw a sorrowful look toward Tek and Gears. There would be no opportunity to set up the laser canon. They would simply have to battle this one out the old-fashioned way and hope the Kazzies didn't make it all the way to the back of the medbay, otherwise they were completely vulnerable with Lance laid out on the floor the way he was… the chances of Lance surviving if the Kazzies made it all the way back… Kix forced the thought from his mind as a barrage of fire begin chewing into the bunks. He drew his blaster and focused on returning fire. This was not good. They were completely pinned down...

Suddenly the Kaz'harians were distracted by shouting and blaster fire from behind them. Distinctive blue blaster bolts began coming at them from behind them.

The clones cheered as they realized they were getting some help.

"Gears, Tek, go! Set up your laser canon!" Kix shouted, taking advantage of the temporary distraction.

In just seconds the canon was up in place. There was the sound of a clone crying out in pain, and the blue blaster fire stopped. The Kaz'harians turned and immediately began advancing again.

"Tek!" Kix bellowed, "now!"

Pulses of light began pumping out of the makeshift canon, immediately taking the startled Kaz'harians down by surprise. It didn't matter where in the torso they were hit; the blast of the canon the shots were so powerful. Griff, Kix, and Gears all stood up to provide covering fire as Tek pounded out shot after shot from the powerful canon. In just seconds, the battle was over.

In the aftermath of the noise of the battle, everything seemed oddly silent.

Gears was the first to speak. "I was just shooting in the direction where I heard slugthrower fire coming. I take it we got them all?"

Tek clapped his brother lightly on the spauldron. "Yes, they're all down. Your aim was true, vod."

Gears grunted with satisfaction, and stood a little taller, "And, the canon?"

"Didn't blow up," Tek commented, although there was that hint of pride in his voice again.

"Excellent," Gears sounded very pleased, then his tone changed to thoughtful, "we should probably disassemble it, though, the whole blowing up thing... still a strong possibility..."

Kix looked around at the carnage in the medbay, and noticed not only had the laser canon punched holes through the Kaz'harians but there were now in the walls of the medbay.

_Oh, kriff. Those better not extend all the way out to the hull._

"Kix," Lance called, drawing his attention down to him.

Kix noticed the medic looked pale and drawn. He immediately knelt down next to him and put a hand to his neck to check his vitals. Lance reached up his good hand, still clutching his blaster, and shoved his hand away.

"Stop," he firmly protested, "Find out who was shooting the Kazzies for us. I think they're down..."

Kix's eyes widened and he took off on a run out of medbay, blaster in one hand, and medkit in the other.

# # #

The 501st medic ran out in the hallway, blaster drawn, cautiously advancing past the downed Kaz'harians. Smoke was still rising up from their bodies, but judging by the size of the holes through their torsos, they would not be rising up again. Tek ran after him.

"Check them," Kix ordered, pointing to the bodies of the fallen Kaz'harians.

"What if any of them are still... uh..." Tek asked.

Kix's brain went numb, suddenly faced with the complex question of what to do with any 'prisoners' that might have lived.

_Kriff. This whole command thing was so multi-layered and complex. _

He constantly felt on edge, and in danger of screwing something up.

"Finish them," he said, harshly, but the words felt acidic on his tongue, and against everything he believed as a medic.

As he rounded the corner, he saw their 'savior.' It was the crumpled form of one of the pilots, still clutching his blaster. Kix had been introduced to the two pilots shortly after he'd come onboard. He'd been constantly busy in medbay, but the two cheerful pilots had been taking turns bringing him bottles of water, caf and food. They'd also volunteered to bring food for the other men in the medbay. Odds, in particular, was always cheerful and constantly offering to retrieve whatever was needed from other areas of the ship.

_'I'm glad to do it,' the one-armed pilot had told Kix with a cheerful grin, 'it gets me out of running those kriffin' boring diagnostics with Chance for a few minutes.' He'd rolled his eyes at the mention of running the diagnostic tests before shooting the medic a final smile, and then heading back up to the cockpit._

Kix found Odds just around the corner from medbay. He'd been shot multiple times.

"Oh, shab. Odds..." Kix carefully removed the pilot's helmet, and found blood was dribbling down the clones mouth.

He felt for a pulse and found a weak but thready pulse. At his touch, the clone's eyes fluttered open.

"Chance," muttered Odds, his words coming out gurgled as blood bubbled up on his lips, "They killed… Chance."

"Don't try to talk now," Kix said, immediately trying to assess the severity of the multiple puncture wounds affecting the one-armed pilot, "Take it easy."

Odds winced, and coughed, more blood bubbling up on his lips, "The others... alive?"

Kix immediately reached into his medkit for a painkiller, "Yes, all of us. Thanks to you. They're all in medbay. Tek is in the corridor back there." He debated whether to give the pilot a sedative, but was worried about depressing his already weak vital signs in his condition.

Odds coughed again, "All alive?" he repeated, as if unable to believe the good news.

"Yes," Kix assured him, tugging out several pressure bandages and immediately setting to work removing Odds' armor, "rest now, OK? You did real good."

He looked behind him and saw that Tek and Gears were working to clear clear the bodies of the Kaz'harians from the entryway of the medbay with a lift. For the moment, they were dumping them by the hatch. Tek was casting worried glances his way, glancing over at Odds.

Kix nodded, then pointed toward the lift, "Bring that lift over here. We need to get Odds into medbay."

The two close brothers immediately complied, unceremoniously shoving their latest load of Kaz'harians off the lift and hurrying over to Kix's side. Tek whispered directions to Gears, and the three of them carefully lifted the injured pilot. Odds cried out as he was moved.

"Should I check on Chance?" Tek asked, as soon as Odds was in place.

Kix immediately gave Tek a silencing look, but Odds heard it. His eyes had slid closed but they opened again as soon as he heard the question. "Chance is dead, Tek," the pilot murmured, and coughed again. He forced his eyes open and despite his pain and weariness the desolation was clear to see in his gaze. "They raided… the cockpit trying to... take us out. Chance threw himself… in front of the shot."

His energy completely spent, the pilot's eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Tek hung his head down, "Fek. Can't believe they got Chance." He stared down at Odds' unconscious form, "and, this leave us without a pilot."

Kix looked at the two desolate clones, and tried to think of what Rex would do in a situation like this, "_Focus_," he started barking orders, "we need to get Odds to medbay. Once there, I'll need your assistance."

Tek immediately complied, moving to activate the lift, "Yes, sir," the term of respect automatically slipping out at the command tone Kix had assumed.

The medic gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, thinking there was definitely something to Rex's methods. And that he'd never given Rex nearly enough credit for how frakkin' difficult his job was.

# # #

"Kix, come in, this is Mako," the medic started at the unexpected comm, realizing it had been a while since he'd heard from anyone outside of the ship. He quickly refocused back on the wound he was cauterizing on Odds' stump of a shoulder, taking a moment to toggle his comm at the same time with a blink of his eyes, "this is Kix, go ahead."

There was a slight pause, and then a quick breath of relief, "Good to hear your voice, Kix. The Kazzies have been jamming our signals. This is the first we've been able to get through to you."

_Ah, that would explain a lot._

"Kix, Captain Rex has ordered you to report in. He needs you for the battle at the dungeon," Mako advised. "I'm to take your place on the ship."

_Go to the ship. Leave the ship._ If Kix hadn't been in the middle of performing surgery, he would've shaken his head in exasperation. Instead, he grumbled a crisp, "Fine. Acknowledged."

"Is everything alright?" Mako asked, picking up on the medic's surly tone.

"We had a bit of trouble on our end," Kix allowed, "We'll fill you in when you get here."

"Understood. We'll be there soon. Mako out."

_We?_

Kix wondered exactly who was with the medic. He pushed his curiosity aside, and focused back on putting the injured pilot back together.

# # #


	112. Chapter 112 Mako- Spirit & Reflections

_Revised August 11, 2013._

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

**_Chapter 112_**

As Mako pushed the first repulser lift loaded with the self-contained glass tanks he puzzled over his brief communication with Kix.

_Trouble? What exactly did that mean? And, how did that affect this 'cargo' he was bringing back to the ship?_

He glanced down at the fifteen little forms on his lift, double-checking all the tanks were still securely attached, and then twisted his head back to glance at the second load being guided along behind him. They'd decided it would be safest to leave the little clones packaged in their original glass containers. The tanks each had a battery back-up, supplied food and pulled away waste products. As near as they could determine, the tanks could go a week without needing restocking or servicing. Provided the battle did not go overly long and there were no mechanical failures on the flight home, there should be no issues with transporting the little clones.

Mako was at a loss as to what to do with them when he got back to Ando. Hopefully, Karyn could help figure it out.

But, the battle could easily go much longer than expected. The ship could be damaged and they could be delayed going home. Battles never went according to plan. He doubted these little clones were ready for ration bars or ready-to-eat meals. If they had a significant delay on the way home, they could lose all of the little clones to starvation. He glanced down at the glass tanks again, and noticed one of the clones was staring right back at him.

_You know, don't you?_ _I don't have a clue. This whole plan was insane._

The little clone continued to stare at him, brown eyes big and seemingly unblinking as he just stared at Mako.

_You're so small,_ Mako thought as he stared at the tiny clone, _so helpless. Not sure why we went through so much trouble to get you lot. Yet, there is something about you..._

Mako continued to stare at the little figure, mesmerized, and almost fell as he stumbled over a jungle vine.

"You alright, Mako?" asked Sparks, who was pushing the second repulser lift, almost running into him.

"Fine," the medic said hastily, although the slight catch in his voice said otherwise.

"You sure?" the clone questioned, his armor blending beautifully in with the jungle around him thanks to all the deep green striping on the arms legs and chest.

Mako turned away from the staring eyes of the little clone and shook his head, "Yeah, fine."

"What do you think is going on back at the ship?" Drax asked.

Drax and his ever-present companion, Ax, were guarding their backs as they pushed the repulser lifts. The two clones were vigilantly scanning the jungle for any signs of trouble. Drax had lost his hand in the same AT-TE explosion that had given Ax his shuffling, limping gait.

"I'm not sure," Mako confessed, glancing back at Ax, "Kix just said they had trouble."

"Trouble," Ax murmured thoughtfully, his voice conveying the worry they were all feeling.

Ax's armor had dramatic rust red stripes from shoulder to gauntlet, proudly identifying him as member of the 55th Mechanized Brigade. Mako remembered Ax mentioning once that he and Drax had both been clone tank gunners within the brigade. Ax's weak leg caught on a gnarled piece of underbrush and Drax immediately reached out to steady him before he went down.

"I'm OK," Ax murmured, "thanks, though."

"Always got your back," Drax replied back, balancing his rifle in the crook of his arm so he could give his brother an affectionate slap on the pauldron.

Mako turned away from the two brothers, thinking how the two always had a way of always watching out for each every other, and compensating for each other's weaknesses. He wished he had somebody like that...

But, then his thoughts flew to Shadow Squad lining themselves up in front of him as a human wall just to protect him so he could treat injured troopers. He had more than one brother watching out for him. It was a strange sensation, being protected by the heavy gunners like that, different than being in the bomb squad and watching out for each other. He cringed inwardly as he remembered the gunners getting hurt while defending him.

_Gah._

His emotions were in a jumble, and it felt like they'd been that way ever since he'd arrived on Darkknell. When he'd agreed to become a medic, he hadn't counted on the emotional intensity.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen brothers injured before. He'd seen horrible injuries right from his first time in combat, during the Battle of Rhen Var, where there was no denying the battle was a complete disaster for the Republic. Mako had never seen so many brothers die during such a short period of time. But, even having gone through that, and every subsequent battle since then, it was so totally different as a medic when he was singularly responsible for making the pain _go away_.

But, it was even more than that, Mako felt the pressure of being the only barrier between these brothers and the fine line between life and death. A split-second wrong decision on his part could mean the difference between a brother making it or not.

Like with Till. If Lance was there, would he have done something different? Would Till still be alive?

Mako couldn't help but doubt himself. Was he too _slow_ because he was trying to perform procedures one-handed that were meant to be performed by a two-handed medic? Did Till die because Mako didn't respond fast enough?

His thoughts were interrupted as he almost ran into the front of the ship.

"Stay here with the lifts, and stay out of sight," Mako instructed Ax and Drax. The two stepped forward to take over the controls for the lifts, backing them up so they were concealed by the thick, lush foliage of the Darkknellian jungle. Drax leaned back comfortably against a tree trunk, his rifle rested in the crook of his single arm. Ax began pacing slowly back and forth, trying to work some of the stiffness out of his aching leg.

Mako signaled to Sparks, indicating he was to come with him to the ship. They approached the ship head-on. Mako glanced up at the pirate raider, and studied it with a quick, assessing gaze. _It looks alright. Nothing seems out of place._

Somehow just seeing the ship again was comforting as it was his only tie back to Ando. As he rounded the corner to one side, he noticed someone had hastily painted over the ship's newly christened name, _Spirit of Ando_, so now the ship was just named '_Spirit_.' He couldn't quite tell what had been used as a makeshift paint, but it looked like to be some of the thick glop that Tek and Gears had concocted for lubricating some of the ship's parts.

_Spirit._

The name gave Mako a shiver as he thought about the death of Till. He remembered walking back to town with the combat engineer one night after finishing when they'd both finished their work for the night on the raider. It had been a bitter cold night, and Till had talked non-stop about his girl. 'Her name is Shersti. And, I'm going to marry her,' his breath had produced little puffs of white in the freezing night air. 'I just haven't had a chance to ask her yet. We've been too busy working on the ship. But, I will. Probably when we get back from this trip."

Now, as Mako stood staring up at the word '_Spirit, _' his stomach clenched in knots as he thought of Till lying dead and still in a corridor outside the lab. He wondered if... maybe... just maybe they could bring the combat engineer back home with them again. It wasn't something they normally did. But, then again, the normal rules didn't apply anymore, did they?

Mako heaved his rifle to a more comfortable position on his shoulder, and indicated to Sparks he wanted to recon the perimeter first. As they walked around the ship, Mako couldn't help but get lost once again in the memories of their last few days on Ando. All available troopers had been assigned into a constant 24-hour rotating work detail by Lieutenant Travis. Mako already had an exhausting schedule with his medic duties, working for Karyn, and the time he spent each day checking on Ciri and Olan making sure the elderly couple had everything they needed. They insisted they he shouldn't 'go through the bother,' but he couldn't sleep without looking in on them every evening.

When Mako had been stocking away all the extra medical supplies in the pirate raider, Travis had come by to check on his progress. Mako had asked him where he'd managed to come by all the supplies. A look of guilt had flashed across the Marine's face, 'I'll have a lot of apologizing to do if we make it back from this...'

Mako had gaped at him, shocked, 'You took all this from Karyn?'

Travis grew defensive, 'I couldn't exactly procure it from one of the shops in town, now could I? As soon as word got out that we were buying up large supplies of things, Karyn would've been notified.'

Mako conceded the point, 'I suppose it's not easy dating the head of the town.'

The Lieutenant shook his head, seemingly glad to have a sympathetic ear, 'You don't know the half of it. Since there are no other towns on the planet, being the leader of Andotown, makes her the leader of the planet. It's one and the same here.'

Mako gazed up at their well-stocked cabinets, 'You don't think the head of the planet is going to notice all this missing stuff? We still have more than a day before we're supposed to leave.'

Travis shook his head, 'I took everything out of the original boxes. The empty packages are still in the storeroom. The ship is almost ready, so I plan on spending the rest of my time keeping her as distracted as possible until we leave.'

The medic laughed, knowing full well what type of _distraction _the Lieutenant had in mind. During his recovery, Rex had griped to Mako more than once about the noise levels of being forced to room next to Travis. And, once Mako had gotten the job with Karyn and moved into the large house, it was hard not to notice the amorous couple.

'Fek,' Rex had grumbled one time as Mako checked his still healing leg from the surgery, 'That's the fifth time today.'

_Five times?_

Mako had only ever experienced relief on his own, but certainly not that often. Fives times in a day... What would it be like to experience love with another person, and then with such intensity that-

His musings were suddenly interrupted by Travis' voice.

'I left her all of my earnings from the docks,' Travis had confided quietly to Mako. Like the rest of the clones, the Marine Lieutenant had taken a regular day job. His wrist had yet to fully heal from his little 'incident with the tree,' as Travis referred to it, but he seemed to have no problems working around it. Mako had noticed early on that the Lieutenant was incredibly adept with anything technical, so he wasn't surprised when Travis took a job repairing ships with Tek and Gears. Mako heard the three clones were in high demand all over as they'd gained a reputation of being able to fix most anything. Yet, even amongst clones, Travis seemed to have an IQ that went beyond that of all his brothers. Mako realized it was probably one of the reasons why the Lieutenant was so well matched with the doctor.

'She'll probably hate me for leaving her,' Travis continued on in a haunted tone, and Mako stared at him shocked. His voice trailed off, and he looked at the medic, as if judging him, trying to see if he understood. Mako was too shocked speechless to respond. The Lieutenant had never talked to him like this before. He hadn't even truly considered them friends. He had a close relationship with the captain, but only a cursory relationship with Travis. 'I put the money in one of the boxes in the supply closet. Not only to cover the cost of the supplies, mind you. But, if something happens...' His voice trailed off. Travis pushed a hand through his thick dark curls. His hair had started to grow out and curled now down to his collar.

'If something happens...' Mako prompted, curious what the Lieutenant was going to say.

Travis sighed, 'If something happens, I just want to feel like I still took care of Karyn. That probably sounds stupid, right? She has her own house, and makes her own money. But, I feel this is all I have to offer her.' The Marine shuffled from foot-to-foot, 'It _is_ stupid, right?'

Mako shook his head, 'No. I get it. I'm going to leave everything I've earned so far to Olan and Ciri. I feel like they're _mine_ to take care of.'

He glanced over at the Marine and their eyes met in mutual understanding.

Travis smiled then, taking a deep breath, 'Civilian life is making us into a bunch of softies, isn't it, Mako?' He headed for the door, pausing before he left to glance back, and say to the medic, 'Thanks, vod.'

Mako wasn't quite sure what Travis was thanking him for but he gave a dip of his head in acknowledgment.

_Soft? _ he rolled the concept around in his mind, as he finished up his work in the medbay. It was getting on toward the middle of the night, but he wasn't tired. _ I don't feel soft. I've never felt stronger._

_# # #_

_A/N: Next chapter, Mako gets a most unexpected surprise right before he boards the ship. Lance and Mako are reunited. (Hopefully they remembered to take Appo out of the closet.) And, Kix heads back to be with Rex for the final battle in the dungeons. _


	113. Chapter 113- Mako, Lance & Kix

_Revised: August 11, 2013._

_A/N: Happy 2013! This is our 113th chapter together. Ah, you guys are the best readers ever. A big shout out to J., the combat medic, out in training, who is freezing right now and reading this story. Hope your tent unfreezes soon. __This is the aftermath of the battle of the ship because battles are messy. Chapter 114 and onwards takes us back into the final push toward the big battle in the dungeons. Chapter 114 features some hot commando action, and a great Ahsoka/clone scene._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?'**

**Chapter 113**

As Sparks and Mako finished their perimeter recon, and approached the ramp, all of Mako's war-honed senses suddenly flared to life at once. He felt an adrenaline rush surge through his body as the dark form of a Kaz'harian came hurtling down upon from above. Instinct took over and he dove out of the way. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his fellow trooper do the same. Like a finely synchronized dance, both clones rolled in tandem and came up to their feet with DC-15s in hand, ready to fire. Just as Mako was ready to unload a clip into the Kaz'harian, he noticed something _wrong_.

"Hold!" he shouted to keep Sparks from firing.

"What is it?" the other trooper demanded, not taking his eyes off the menacing shape directly before them.

"He's not moving."

"Could be a trap," Sparks warned softly.

Mako shook his head, "No. Living things don't lay like that." He took a confident step forward and gave the hulking form a kick to give credence to his words. His armored foot sank in with a dull thud. Sparks drew up beside Mako and raised up his foot as if he wanted to kick the Kaz'harian for himself. But, he startled and froze halfway through the action. Mako stared at him, trying to see what had arrested Sparks' attention.

And, then he saw them.

Dead.

Dark heaps of them.

He blinked his eyes in surprise as it took a moment to register what he was seeing. There were dead Kaz'harian warriors all around them.

Sparks whistled, the sound coming out electronically muted through his bucket, "Whoa. Does this qualify as 'trouble'?"

Mako knelt and examined one of the dead warriors. He had a gaping wound in the middle of his belly. It was an absolutely perfectly round hole that went right through the center of the warrior.

_Huh. This isn't a blaster wound. I wonder what could this type of damage?!_

He was consumed with his medical examination and didn't see the danger coming from above.

"Mako. Watch out!" Sparks tackled his brother to the ground. The two clones barely cleared the way in time before another massive warrior came crashing down from above.

"You alright?" Sparks asked, tugging Mako to his feet.

The medic nodded, and they both turned their helmets up simultaneously toward the source of the 'attack.' They saw two armored forms just about to disappear back into the ship.

Mako shook his head, and then shouted out: "Hey! Your aim leaves something to be desired!"

Sparks tugged his brother to his feet, and then shouted upwards, "Hey, you guys invent a new weapon while we were gone? The Flying Kazzie?"

"Mako! Sparks!"

It took Mako a moment to capture the nuance of the voice so identical to his own, yet not, "Tek? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," the voice called back down, "Gears is here, too. Had we known you lazy shebs were hanging out under the ramp we would've thrown down the whole lot at once. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Doing a recce of the ship. Kix said you had trouble. Didn't quite expect this kind of greeting," Mako pointed to the dead warrior that almost flattened him gesturing with his one arm, blaster still held in his gloved hand.

"We got into a bit of a spot while you were gone," Tek said. "You'd best get up here and see for yourself." His tone changed over then from the usual light-hearted one to something different and it was enough that both Mako and Sparks were immediately making their way up the ramp as quickly as they could, hard boots clanking against the metallic ramp. Sparks was once again right beside him and they automatically moved in precise unison, their steps aligned, without even needing to think about it.

"Where's Lance? How is he?" Mako demanded, the moment he reached the top of the ramp.

"He was shooting Kazzies with the rest of us last time I saw him. He's in the medbay with Kix. And, oh, yes, good to see you, too," Tek threw in tartly.

Mako ignored the jibe, feeling some tension ease from his shoulders knowing Lance was still alive. "Wait! He was firing on Kaz'harians? In his condition?! He was critical last time I saw him! He shouldn't have been-"

Tek put up his hands in hopeless surrender at Mako's verbal barrage. "Hey, you try to stop a medic once he puts his mind to something."

Mako made a frustrated sound of annoyance in the back of his throat. How could Kix have let this happen?! He stormed away from the others, his mind singularly consumed on making it to his fellow medic.

"Mako," Tek called after him, his voice low in warning, "you should probably know-"

"What?!" Mako gritted out through clenched teeth. He didn't bother turning around.

"Chance is dead, Mako," Tek said in that no-nonsense tone clones used to deliver bad news.

Mako staggered. He immediately locked all of his muscles up tight and rigid to prevent himself from wavering in front of the others. He jammed his blaster into his belt pouch, so that he could clench his single fist. He squeezed his hand until his fingers almost felt like they were going to break. _Chance._ The good-natured pilot had always had a kind word for every brother. Chance and Odds were absolutely inseparable and one was never seen around town without the other...

"What about Odds?" Mako asked a long moment of uncomfortable silence had passed, and he was finally able to speak again.

"He's critical. Kix is working on him now," Tek said with no emotion in his tone.

"Anybody else?" Mako demanded, not able to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

"No. The rest of us made it through OK," Tek said, a bit of brotherly warmth coming through in his tone.

"We locked that Appo fellow in a closet, just to be safe, mind you." Gears chimed in cheerily. "We even gave him a _pillow_."

Mako tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out the logic behind putting the commander of the 501st in a closet. He decided he'd worry about it later. He shook his head, "Is _that_ all?"

"Oh, well, that 501st medic fellow could be a bit concussed from all those flashbangs-" started Tek.

"He lobbed off a whole mess of them!" interrupted Gears, gesturing as he got into telling his story and acting out his story. "Couldn't see it, but I heard it." He gestured with his hands, signifying massive lights and noise. "They were perfect for disabling these filthy shab'buir-"

Tek scowled and shot Gear a look of annoyance, a gesture which was completely wasted on his blind brother. Oblivious, Tek continued on, "Yes, fine, but then we did still have to go and _shoot_ them, too. You make it sound like they were so easy to kill. They weren't. They killed Chance, you know. And, shot Odds."

"Of course, I know they killed Chance!" Gears responded indignantly, "I might be blind, but it doesn't mean that I'm an di'kut, Tek. I'm saying that the flashbangs-"

Mako saw that the two were about to degrade into another of their endless arguments and he wasn't going to get any more useful information out of them. With a nod of his head, and brief gesture of his hand, he told Sparks to stay behind and help with the clean-up efforts. It was so much easier to use hand gestures sometimes, even when you only had one hand.

Mako took off for the medbay, the upraised voices of Tek and Gears still echoing out into the corridor. While no battle damage had been visible from the exterior, the interior of the ship told a different story. The pirate raider, which had seemed opulent compared to the standard stark Republic cruiser, was now riddled with blast marks and Kazzie shell holes. As Mako rounded the corner heading toward his destination, he skidded on a large patch of deep red blood, definitely human. He caught himself before he fell, and then began noting scattered patches of darker black Kazzie blood. There was more Kaz'harian blood than human blood, but still far too much red mingled in with the black. The battle had been costly and the liquid evidence was still here to see.

He paused for the briefest moment, and tugged off his helmet, bowing his head to his brothers' sacrifice. The moment the seal popped, his nose wrinkled from an acrid assault. His helmet filters had spared him from a great deal. He recognized the usual smell of blaster ozone, and the now familiar smell of spent Kazzie shells, but there was something else, too. He was already becoming much too familiar with the smell of burnt Kaz'ariah flesh and fur and recognized it easily. It was overwhelmingly pungent and acrid. Unable to suppress deep hacking coughs from the odor, Mako immediately tugged his bucket back on and pulled the seals.

"Sparks," he gasped, as soon as he could catch his breath, "make sure you keep your bucket on. The air is not good in the interior corridors."

Tek chuckled, cutting in on their channel, "I could've told you that. We haven't been able to vent it all the way yet. We figured the smell won't go away until we get the bodies out."

"I've got some ideas to help with the filtering," Gears chimed in, cheerfully.

The two seemed to have already resolved their earlier argument because both were already back to being amiable and cheerful again. Mako never could understand engineering clones.

"You could've warned me," Mako huffed out annoyed, still feeling the stench in the back of his throat when he breathed in too deeply. He figured it would be a long time before he got the smell of burnt Kaz'harian out of his bucket. Both Tek and Gears found this amusing and Mako decided he'd find a way to get his brothers back for the stink inside his helmet.

He rounded the last corner toward medbay and discovered circular holes in the walls that reminded him of the hole he'd found inside of the body warrior outside the raider. He stared at them and realized only a laser could cut with such precision. Still, he knew of no such weapon they had onboard the raider that could cut through a wall like _that_. More questions to ask his brothers. He continued on. The medbay door was closed, but slightly warped as if it had been rudely forced open. An abandoned Squibb Ram lay abandoned off to the side of the hatch.

"Mako, wait for me," Tek's voice came in through his helmet, "You're not going to be able to get into medbay on your own."

A moment later, he heard footsteps behind him and Tek appeared. "The Kazzies went through a great deal of trouble trying to force this hatch. Haven't had a chance to fix it yet." He laughed, but the sound was without humor, it was more of a sound of self-defense in the face of great odds, "Fixing this ship is going to keep me busy for a long time yet." He knelt down and pried open a panel that blended seamlessly into the flooring outside the medbay.

"Hidden panel?" Mako asked, staring down curiously.

Tek nodded, "Yes, when we were prepping the ship on Ando, Gears, Travis and me found stuff like this all over the ship. Apparently, the original pirate owners were big on secrets."

"Or, whoever owned the ship before them," Mako pointed out, then winced, realizing he was about to start a Tek/Gears style argument with such a comment.

But, Tek just nodded agreeably. Apparently, he preferred to just argue with Gears. "True. Good point. Its a hell of a ship. I think we're in for a few surprises if we end up using this ship long term."

Mako didn't want to think long term. He just wanted to get through this battle. He didn't pride himself on being nearly as forward thinking as Tek or Gears. If he made it through today, he would consider himself lucky. The engineering clone activated a circuit and the hatch to the medbay opened.

"It's easier to get out than in," Tek advised. "The hatch controls from inside medbay are still working."

Mako thanked Tek and entered the medbay. He wondered what he would find after seeing so much havoc outside. As he'd seen all the blood and damage to the ship, he'd felt a slow anger building. But, the moment he set foot inside the doors, everything was orderly calm. Mako took note that Kix's medbay was much like his personality. Calm and quiet precision. The experienced 501st medic was working over Odds, a sterile surgi-field casting a blue light over both of them. Kix glanced up and gave a quiet nod to the younger medic before returning his focus back to the surgery in progress.

"Mako!" greeted Griff cheerfully from further on back in the medbay, his injured leg comfortably propped up on pillows. "Nice of you to stop by for a visit. It was getting a bit dull around here."

Mako scoffed at _that_ comment and rolled his eyes behind his helmet. He noticed that no one in medbay was wearing their bucket, so he undid his seals and removed his helmet. He breathed in deeply, welcoming the fresh air and trying to get the stench of burnt flesh out of his lungs.

"Mako?" called a hoarse but most welcoming voice from the very back of medbay. Mako _knew_ that voice and immediately took off at a run, his helmet still clenched in his single hand.

"Hey! No running in the medbay!" Kix yelled, looking up briefly from his surgery. But, there was a note of teasing in the 501st medic's tone.

"Sorry, Kix," Mako called out, not slowing his steps at all, as he hurried to Lance's side.

"Bossy medics," Lance grumbled.

"Can't stand 'em," Mako immediately agreed. He felt himself sag with relief at seeing Lance again. He immediately gave the senior medic a full scrutinizing look, noting his pale pallor, and stiff bandages covering his entire right side. "Fek, Lance, you look terrible."

"I won't take that as a criticism of my work," Kix called out, not looking up from his surgery.

"Aw, he got beat up by a Kazzie or something," Griff commented cheerily, "he's _supposed_ to look like that."

"Er... thanks Griff," Lance said, in his matter-of-fact medic way, "it _was_ a det, actually."

"As I heard it," Kix chimed in without looking up from his careful work, "he jumped on a det to save one of his brothers. One of his commanding officers."

"Oh, that _is_ a better story," Griff said in the way that clones did when they were saving up stories to tell their brothers later. He gave Lance a long look of respect, "Jumped on a det? Tell me _everything._"

"I didn't _jump on a det_. I just threw myself on top of Travis when the det landed. Honestly, clone gossip," Lance blew out an impatient breath, but then gasped from the effort.

Mako scowled. He was studying Lance very carefully, noting how Lance looked ashen, and his breathing was slow and labored.

"Stop looking at me like that," Lance murmured.

"Not good, Lance," Mako chewed on his lip. He clipped his helmet to his belt so that his hand would be free, and then pointed his index finger accusingly, "you should be in a bacta tank."

Kix gave a victorious snort, "Finally, a medic around here who has some sense. I like _this_ one."

"I heard you were up and about shooting a blaster? What were you thinking?!" Mako lectured, drawing closer and immediately beginning to take Lance's vitals. Behind his lecturing tone there was genuine concern.

"Our ship was being overrun by Kazzies, Mako. Wasn't much time for lying about in bed. Gah! Stop fussing," Lance ordered, but with his weakened voice there wasn't much conviction behind the order.

Mako shook his head, "Sorry, Lance. I was trained by the best. You'll just have to suffer through, vod."

The injured medic continued to grumble away, a steady diatribe of under his breath.

Kix gave an amused chuckle, "You're alright, kid." He actually paused for a moment in his work to glance over at the younger medic, "You'd fit in well with the 501st."

Both Lance and Mako glanced over in surprise at the compliment, exchanging a look. Mako quickly shook his head. "Thanks, Kix, but uh..." he held up his stub of a hand, "not so sure the 501st has a place for men like me."

Kix froze for just a moment, and then his voice turned quiet, "You know, I'd totally forgotten about that." He shook his head, "All of you... you have a way of making somebody forget there's anything different about you."

Mako looked up and was about to comment, when he suddenly _remembered. _He cursed under his breath, "Kix!" The other medic looked over slightly startled, "Captain Rex wants you to report back. I'm to stay here with the ship."

Kix nodded, looking pensive for a moment, "Come on over here then, Mako. I could use your help finishing up."

Mako felt a brief flare of panic. He locked eyes with Lance.

"Go on, Mako," Lance said, quietly, "It's just like the training and sims. No different."

_Except this time it's on a actual brother,_ Mako thought his insides clenching with fear. _Gah! My first real surgery! Now?!_

He headed to the sani-area and stripped off his gauntlet, glove and liner, by tucking it underneath his other arm, and then shimmed into a surgical steri-glove. He went through a steri-process, the blue overhead light quickly scanning over his body to kill microbes that might have gathered on his body during the preceeding battle and trek through the jungle. Then, he joined Kix, peering into Odds' chest. He strove to speak with confidence that he didn't feel, "What are we looking at?"

Kix pointed into the steri-field, his hand hovering, "He took a slug here, nestled right in the ribs. Could use some help getting the ribs pulled back so I can get it out. The slug doesn't want to release," He glanced up at the pilot's face, "It's amazing he's still alive, with as many slugs as I've pulled out of him already. He's stubborn. I'll give him that."

"How many more after this one?" Mako asked, his own nervousness forgotten as he focused on the task at hand. He was completely focused on Odds' now. But, he was also thinking about Ax and Drax waiting outside with the baby clones.

"He has another two slugs in his legs," Kix shook his head, "still not sure if he's going to make it. He lost a lot of blood before we found him in the hallway."

Mako thought back to all the blood he'd seen as he walked toward the medbay.

_It was Odds' blood._

Mako took a deep stabilizing breath, glancing up at the pale face of the pilot they were trying to save. This was much more complex than anything he'd ever done before. Sure, he'd done well in the sims, but... all of a sudden he was hit with an attack of nerves again.

_Fek._

He felt his hand shaking.

"You, OK?" Kix immediately asked.

_Of course, Kix had noticed that. _Mako cursed himself for his weakness. In his head, he heard Rex's deep baritone ordering him to get Kix's "ass off the ship" before the baby clones were brought on board.

_Fek! I have to do this. Get a hold of yourself, Mako._

"Of course, I'm fine. Just a long day, you know?" Mako said, forcing cheerfulness into his tone that he didn't feel. "Probably could use a cup of caf later."

"You and me both," Kix laughed, his voice dropped down lower into a deep rumbly whisper tone that was just between the two brothers, "I have to warn you, though, when I went to caf before... I... uh... accidentally destroyed the galley. Probably best if we don't mention that to the Captain, OK? We'll just let him think the Kazzies did it."

Mako blinked in surprise and he whispered back, "Kix, you really destroyed the galley?"

Kix laughed softly, "Afraid so. All those lovely cabinets. Total fireball. And, a good stash of your rum. Hope you guys weren't saving that for the trip home."

"Uhhhh..." the younger medic tried to think of a response, still trying to figure out what happened, "we had rum?"

Kix's hearty laugh in response reassured Mako and washed over him, restoring his confidence. He found himself really _liking_ the 501st medic, and he glanced over at him. Kix glanced over at him and gave him a warm genuine smile. Mako returned the smile, and suddenly felt terrible that he couldn't be entirely truthful with him. He was sending him back to be with Rex, but to get him away so that he could get the little clones onboard the ship. If things were different, he truly wished he could work with the talented 501st medic again. Mako blew out a regretful sigh.

The intuitive 501st medic picked up Mako's change of mood immediately, "Something wrong?"

"Er... no. I was just thinking..." Mako spoke slowly, trying to keep his voice steady and give himself a chance to get his thoughts in order. It still pained him to not be able to tell Kix everything. He could sense Lance staring at him, and he knew his brother and mentor had sensed something was up. He ignored Lance as he couldn't take any more pressure than he was already under. "Once we get Odds' chest in some semblance of order, why don't you let me finish up the rest? I could use the practice, and uh... the Captain seemed in a hurry to get you back."

Kix paused in what he was doing, and scrutinized Mako carefully, "He was?" Mako could sense Lance was still staring at him, as well, trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Uhhh," Mako bit his lip, and focused down on Odds' chest. "He was quite strong in the language he used when he asked for you."

"Huh," Kix shook his head, and his good mood from before seemed to be gone as he mulled over this information.

Mako began speaking rapidly, "Sparks, from my Legion, is waiting for you by the hatch. He'll escort you back."

Kix nodded, just listening, as he put a rib-spreader in place to get at the slug. But, as he carefully worked at extracting the slug, the 501st medic began muttering under his breath about "the Captain" and "make up his mind."

Lance glanced over with a typical clone upraised eyebrow, "What's that now? I heard less complaining out of you when we were being overrun by Kaz'harians."

The 501st medic looked up long enough to glare at at Lance, "_You_ should be resting."

"Too much excitement," Lance scowled, "a clone can't get a decent bit of rest around this place."

"No," Kix muttered, he leaned forward and gave one particular area of Odd's sternum an intense scrutiny, "you're too damn stubborn to rest." He pointed into the surgi-field and Mako nodded. Without being asked, the younger medic picked up a surgi-scalpel and handed it to over to his fellow clone. The two worked together in tandem, without words needing to be exchanged. Kix gave a nod, and it was Mako who did the final extraction. The younger medic's face lit up in a brilliant smile as he emerged victorious with the stubborn, deadly chunk of metal. Lance's eyes met Kix's and they both exchanged a _look_ as if the younger clone had just truly joined their ranks.

"Finish up," Kix said, taking a step back, "I'm going to watch from here."

Mako gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and went eagerly back to work. Kix watched carefully, offering a few murmurs of advice but never interfering.

"Well done," he said, when the younger medic finished, "Alright, I'll leave you to do a bit of metal hunting in his legs. I'm going to pack up my kit."

"So," Lance asked curiously as Kix stripped off his steri-gloves and began reassembling his medpack, "What was all that grumbling about?" Underneath the medic's slightly teasing tone, there was genuine concern.

Kix glanced over at Lance and met his eyes briefly before going back to precisely placing rearranging his supplies into his medpack. "It's nothing. Do you mind if I dip into some of your stock of c-gauze? I'm running low."

Lance lifted his good hand and gave a slight wave, "Help yourself. We probably overstocked before coming here."

"Don't say that," Kix warned ominously, "Brings bad luck."

Lance glanced down at himself, "If I'm anything to go by, there might be some truth to that. But, you're changing the subject. What's going on?"

Kix reached into an upper cabinet and began pulling out supplies, neatly stashing them away to fill the empty spaces in his medpack where he'd used up materials during the Battle on Kaz'haria. "It's just... I don't get this. No offense." He glanced over at Mako, and back at Lance, "I'm Captain Rex's medic. I always have been. Why wasn't I his first choice from the start?" He ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. "Sorry, I probably could have worded that better."

"Your wording was fine," Lance said, "there's plenty of spray bandages in that cabinet if you need them."

Kix nodded and continued neatly arranging all of the supplies he thought he'd need for triage in the upcoming battle.

"No offense here," Mako chimed in, not looking up from where he was focusing on getting a slug out of Odds' thigh. "And, I have no idea why Rex made me stay. He always has his reasons, though." His voice had the confidence of somebody who believed in their commander and was willing to follow them anywhere.

Griff, who'd just been listening thoughtfully to this whole exchange, finally spoke up, "If you hadn't been here, Kix, I don't think anyone of us would've be alive right now, and the Kazzies would have the ship."

"Griff's right," Lance said, "it was your leadership that pulled us through."

"You're not just a medic. You're a hell of a soldier," Griff's voice held deep respect.

Kix fastened the top of his pack, and slid it over onto his shoulders, double-checking the straps. He looked over to Griff and Lance, "Thank you... that means a great deal."

Kix was almost out the door, when Mako's voice stopped him.

"Kix," it had taken several moments for Mako to work out what he was going to say, "about Rex..."

Kix froze, without turning around but it was obvious Mako had his full attention.

"You'll always be his medic, Kix."

The 501st medic nodded and disappeared out the door.

Mako felt a sense of loss when Kix was gone. He exhaled, suddenly feeling drained. But, there was still so much to do...

"Griff!" Mako said hurriedly, as soon as Kix was out of sight, "get on the comm. Ax and Drax are just outside the ship with some... unusual cargo. Give them a heads up that Kix and Sparks are coming. Tell them to make sure they are out of sight. They'll understand."

Mako was still busily engaged in the surgery on Odds and couldn't access his helmet or gauntlet comm gear. Griff immediately complied without question, lifting his wrist comm to his lips and speaking into it in a low murmur. Lance shot Mako a _look _demanding to know what was going on. The younger medic just quirked an eyebrow at him, and continued working.

"They have them in their sights, and the _cargo_ is secure." Griff reported. He listened for a moment to the voices coming through on his comm then chuckled, "Apparently, Sparks is talking a lightyear a minute. Said something about keeping Kix distracted. Ax said that he's a natural. Could talk the ears off a gundark. OK, he's passing by them now. Ax reports that peace has returned to the jungle. They're clear." Griff chuckled, "That 501st medic is in for a long trek through the jungle."

Mako chuckled himself, but decided he owed Sparks a caf when they returned to Ando. _Well done, Sparks._

Mako finished extracting the first slug, and took note that the damage to the surrounding tissues was less than he'd originally feared.

_One more to go, and Odds is still hanging in. I think the odds are in your favor. Huh. I wonder if that's where you got your name, vod._

"Griff," Mako ordered, "tell Ax and Drax they're cleared to bring the cargo aboard." The medic pursed his lips thoughtfully, "No, wait! Belay that. Contact Tek and Gears first. Let them know we're bringing two fully loaded repulsorlifts aboard. They need to keep the ramps clear." He scowled fiercely, "Last thing we need is the two of them tossing down a horde of dead Kaz'harians on top of them."

Mako grasped onto the second slug, this one was even easier to extract than the first, either that or he was getting better and better at extractions. With a satisfied sigh, he dropped it into the metal collections tray, taking satisfaction in the sound of metal clacking against metal. He sealed the area with a spray bandage and then applied a generous coating of bacta. He then began working on wrapping all of Odds' injured areas in protective gauze to keep the bacta in place. He lifted and pinned the clone against his chest, using his stump of an arm, and secured the bandage with his one hand. Then, fighting fatigue, he finished up with the last of the bandaging on the pilot's legs. Lance watched him the entire time, but Mako could see the fatigue and pain in the senior medic's eyes.

"You should be sleeping, Lance," Mako chastised.

"And, you look ready to drop," the senior medic retorted.

Mako had no reply, as he was barely able to stifle a yawn. He needed caf, and soon.

_Fek. The galley is gone. How are we going to make caf?_

He stepped back and stretched his back while he inspected his work.

Drax poked his head in the medbay door, "The lifts are aboard Mako." He chuckled, "You should've seen the look on Tek's face, and the way he described it to Gears..." his voice trailed off in amusement. "Anyway, Tek wants to know where you want them?"

Mako sighed and stepped back from the medbay table where he'd done the surgery on Odds. He'd done all he could for the pilot for now. He carefully working the surgi-glove off his single hand and shut off the blue steri-field over the unconscious pilot. Mako scrubbed at his weary eyes with a balled fist. "Check with Tek and Gears on all the power we'll be needing. But, I was thinking the auxiliary storage bay."

"We already have some extra gear and supplies in that bay," Drax pointed out.

"I know," Mako stretched, and felt his back give a satisfying pop, "it will have to just be moved into the corridor until we can find another place for it."

Drax shook his head, "Going to be a tight squeeze going home with all this extra _'cargo,'_ Mako."

The young medic breathed out, "We'll make it work." He walked over to Lance's bedside, and quickly checked his vitals, then stopped by and did the same with Griff.

Griff scowled and shook his head, "I'm fine, Mako. What's the frak is going on?"

Mako hesitated, glancing at Drax, "We... uh... found something in the labs."

"What kind of _something_? Fill me in, Mako." Griff demanded.

Drax stepped forward into the medbay and walked to Griff's side, "Might be easier if you saw it in person." He looked over at Mako, "Can I bring Griff with me? We could use some extra help."

Mako pulled a scanner out of a pocket on his beltpouch, running it quickly over Griff's leg, "He can't put any weight on his leg. Too much muscle damage."

Drax reached over and helped Griff up out of bed, "I've got him. No worries. We'll find him a nice suitable task to do that doesn't involve standing."

Griff let out of a whoop of victory that he was getting out of medbay as the two rapidly made their way out of the room.

"Drax!" Mako called after the rapidly retreating pair, "Make sure he doesn't do any walking. First signs that he's overdoing it, drag his shebs back to medbay."

Drax chuckled. "Acknowledged. You sound just like Lance."

The two clones quickly left the medbay.

Mako glanced over at Lance, and noticed the older medic was giving him an amused look, "You think this is funny?"

"In its own way, yes. You're turning into one hell of a good medic, Mako," Lance said.

Mako did a quick check on Odds' vitals, and then satisfied, pulled up a spare storage crate and sat down next to Lance.

"How is he?" Lance asked, giving a slight nod toward the injured pilot.

Mako glanced back over at Odds and they both studied the still form of the injured pilot for a long moment. He took a long deep breath and blew it out again, "You know, Lance, I might be overly optimistic but I think he's going to make it."

The senior medic smiled with approval, "That's good, Mako."

Mako chewed at his lip worriedly, looking down and frowning, not saying anything.

Noticing the look, Lance immediately asked, "What?"

Mako shook his head, "No. This isn't a good time to discuss this-"

"_Mako_," Lance's voice was a low warning growl, "you've already brought it up. Out with it."

"It's just that-" Mako stopped, struggling for the right words, "how do you know when you've done _enough-"_

"Did you lose someone Mako?" Lance's voice was quiet with understanding.

"Till," the younger medic's voice was heavy with grief.

Lance took in the information, his expression carefully neutral, "We'll probably lose more brothers before this is out."

"I know," the younger clone said heavily, "The commando team lost Viper."

"Chance was killed when they stormed the cockpit," Lance said carefully.

"I heard," Mako said, quietly, "But, Till was _different_."

"Because he died while you were working on him."

"Yes! There must have been something else I could have done!" Mako clenched his fist in frustration, "It was only a single slug to the chest."

"It only takes one, Mako," Lance said, quietly.

"But, Odds was shot multiple times and it looks like he is going to make it!" the younger medic objected.

"They're all different," the elder medic said in his quiet way. "You have to accept that sometimes there's nothing we can do to save them."

"_No_!" the younger's medic voice exploded out of him, "All of our training... what's it all for if we can't _save_ them?!"

"We have our limits as medics. A lot of them, unfortunately, especially in the heat of battle when we have to make split-second decisions. You just have to do the best you can and try to keep them alive until they can be evacued out and patched up some more. That's all we can do."

Mako's eyes were wide and haunted as he tried to accept the reality of his first battle and losing brothers. His shoulders slumped and he didn't respond back to Lance.

The elder medic gave an encouraging smile and tried to lighten the mood, "It's not so bad, really. There are certain advantages. During a battle _we_ outrank everyone."

Mako looked up and gave a ghost of a smile.

"You know," Lance continued, "I'm thinking that we medics wouldn't do so badly as command clones."

Mako snorted, "Command clones? Us?"

Lance looked indignant, "Why not? I'm going to bring it up with Captain Catcher. Kix said that his fellow medic, Coric, is second to the captain."

The younger medic shook his head, not on board with the idea, "As if we don't have enough to do already, Lance."

"We'll make the time," Lance said, emphatically, "I had some interesting discussions with Kix."

"Yes, I can see that," Mako replied, "probably best we separated the two of you. Any more time together and you'd be trying to take command of the entire Legion."

Lance chuckled, and then winced from the action.

Mako's brow creased with concern, "How are your pain levels?"

Lance closed his eyes for a moment before replying, "I'd be lying to you if I said I was comfortable. Everything hurts, Mako. But, I don't think there is any amount of meds or stims that are going to help. Talking to you helps take my mind off things."

"You should still try and rest, Lance," Mako advised, leaning forward and checking the medic's vitals.

"If I could, I would," the medic murmured, then closed his eyes for a moment as a spasm of pain hit, "but, I _can't_ sleep. There's that medical term: Resting comfortably? Well, there's nothing comfortable about being blown up by a det."

Mako checked the datapad hanging off the end of Lance's bed, "You're due for another painshot. You're getting one whether you want it or not." He got up from the crate and selected a syringe from his medpac. Lance didn't object as Mako injected him in the neck.

"So, you still have told me about this mysterious cargo in the medbay," Lance murmured, changing the topic.

Mako gave the senior medic a wry look, "Alright, then, since you refuse to sleep, I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you that we're currently loading another 30 clones onboard."

Lance gasped, and then winced from the motion, "Thirty clones! Wounded?"

"Easy!" Mako cautioned, then scowled, "If they were wounded, would I be sitting on my shebs with you here in medbay?"

"You're secretely enjoying keeping me hanging all this time," Lance muttered irritably, "Come on, then. Time to explain yourself. Let me in on your little joke."

The younger medic chuckled, "Not sure this qualifies as a little joke." He pursued his lips and looked up consideringly, "More like 30 little-" He shook his head, "No, no, no. They're not jokes. They're-"

"Mako!"

"They're clones!" Mako exclaimed excitedly.

"We've established that they are clones," Lance's voice had once again assumed a warning growl.

"Baby clones!" the younger medic burst out, not able to contain his excitement any longer. He stared at Lance waiting for him to react.

The older medic just stared at Mako, dumb-struck, and blinking, as his brain tried to take in what he was hearing. "They're... what now?"

"Cadets," Mako clarified, "but, miniature ones." He held out his hands, given an approximation of the size. "You know, like just out of the vat and before they learn how to hold a blaster kind of little cadets."

"I know what little cadets are," Lance shot Mako a look of annoyance, "and, believe it or not, I know a thing or two about babies, as well. But, go on, explain."

Lance's comment went over the younger medic's head, and he immediately launched into an explanation, "We were rescuing the Jedi at the lab," Mako explained, "except when we got there we found there was more than one lab."

Lance's listened carefully and patiently. Having been off on the commando team and completely an entire different set of responsibilities, he had only heard scattered bits about the other battle. "The second lab was much larger than the first, consisting of multiple rooms. We immediately discovered the missing Jedi, but we also discovered the Kaz'harians had been doing genetic experimentations. They were creating their own clone army. We think the ones that we found are the prototypes."

Lance's eyes widened with the implications of what they had discovered, "Kriff, Mako. Let's hope so. If they succeeded in creating more... if there are already clones out there... could you imagine fighting clones?" he shuddered at the possibility, and then groaned as the movement jarred his painful injuries.

"Be _still_," Mako shook his head disapprovingly at Lance, "We went through their data, and it looks like the genetic program was still in its early stages. From what we could tell, the Kaz'harians theorized they would need a wide-sampling of clone DNA to make the project viable. It explains why they captured two legions of clones and kept them alive for so long."

"Now that they succeeded with their prototypes," Lance said in a worried tone, "what did they intend to do with the captive Legions? The 501st and the 212th?"

"I don't know," Mako admitted, "but, it's likely they didn't need them alive much longer. They likely would have executed them soon, or sold them off as slaves, or used them as human shields someplace. They served their purpose."

Something nagged at the back of Lance's mind at Mako's words like there was an essential piece of the puzzle if he could just put it all together. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to concentrate.

"Lance?" Mako asked, concerned.

"I'm OK, Mako," the senior medic said softly, "just thinking about the Kaz'harians and how unexpectantly smart they've turned out to be."

"That they are," Mako admitted, "But, we blew up their labs. It was a brilliant explosion."

"Did you take out a lot of Kazzies?" Lance asked carefully, opening his eyes again and peering at Mako.

"No," Mako replied, "they all ran off shortly before they tried to kill us all by detonating the first lab."

"Mmmm..." Lance said carefully.

"What's mmmmm?" asked Mako, "I know that sound."

"Did you scan the baby clones for explosives?"

"What?" Mako gasped.

"Never underestimate a Kaz'harian, Mako," Lance said, carefully, "that's what Kix told me. He fought them in the Battle of Kaz'haria."

The younger medic's face paled and he took off at a run toward the auxiliary cargo bay.

# # #

He returned twenty minutes later, still winded, face sweaty, but looking relieved.

"They're clean. Tek, Gears, Griff and I couldn't find the slightest trace of explosives on the clones themselves or the glass tanks they're each currently in," the younger medic sank down on the crate again with an exhausted grunt. "Kriff, Lance. You're going to make me old before my time."

"Oh, no, the Kaminoans already took care of that," the senior medic quipped.

Mako rolled his eyes, and then let his forehead sink down against the side of Lance's bunk.

"_You_ should get some rest, Mako," Lance advised.

"I'm resting," the younger medic mumbled, sounding like he was already half-asleep.

Lance chuckled, and then mumbled, "Thirty little clones, huh?"

Mako murmured, "Good looking little fellows. Every last one of them."

The senior medic laughed lightly again, "Oh, I'm sure they are." His gaze grew thoughtful, I wonder how the women in Ando are going to react to this..."

Mako's head suddenly popped up and he stared at Lance, getting a last-minute adrenaline surge as he remembered an important bit of information, "You've got a baby on the way!"

"How do you know about that?"

The younger medic smiled, knowingly, "Rose told me herself. But, I would've found out anyway. Half the legion already knows."

"How? Who?" the medic sputtered, shocked, "We only just found out ourselves."

Mako yawned hugely, "No secrets in the Legion. You know that," he stretched and began looking about the medbay, eyeing the empty bunks as if considering one for a nap. He glanced back at Lance, trying to stifle another yawn, before adding in, "Probably be nice for your baby grow up around with all these other..." he waved in the general direction of the auxiliary cargo bay, "... little ones."

"Yes," Lance said, with a small smile, "I hadn't thought of that. Having other children about would be... good."

Mako suddenly burst out laughing, his fatigue temporarily forgotten.

"What?" Lance looked confused.

"Admittedly, I'm no expert on these topics, Lance. But, having 30 little boy clones about at all times _would_ be a good thing unless..." Mako hesitated.

"Unless what?" Lance demanded.

Mako's eyes twinkled, "There is the possibility that you and Rose will have a girl, Lance."

As the full implications of what Mako had just said settled in, Lance suddenly blanched, and his pallor grew so alarmingly pale that the younger medic immediately sprang up and began checking his vitals. "Lance!"

"I'm alright," the senior medic murmured weakly, "just promise me, Mako, you'll never mention that again."

"Hah," Mako mumbled, falling asleep again with his forehead almost slipping off Lance's bunk.

"Mako!" Lance said, his voice startling the younger clone awake.

"Wha..." Mako objected in a weary voice of one who had finally fallen asleep.

"Go lie down in one of the empty medbay bunks. I'll wake you up immediately when we need you," Lance's voice had slipped into a crisp command tone.

Mako glanced at his brother wearily and opened his mouth to argue with him, but then just nodded wearily and stumbled over to the nearest bunk. He collapsed down and didn't even remember his head hitting the pillow.

# # #


	114. Chapter 114 Deadly Crossfire

_A/N: Before I wrote these chapters, I went back and revised the "Scouts I, II, III and IV" arc. Some of the events that happen in those chapters are important for events that happen... later. So, I just made some minor adjustments. There are six final events that wrap up the story and this is the first of the six._

_Many thanks to Reulte for beta-reading this chapter. You tweaked a word here and there and made this chapter so much better. Thank you! You're amazing!_

_A very Happy Birthday to James, my favorite combat medic, who has been such a huge help on all my medic chapters. Getting ready to ship out on Afghanistan on your birthday. Good luck James._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 114**

"Sarge," Flex asked, "not that I'm not enjoying this pleasant stroll through this big, dark, dank fortress but how much further until we reach those nice ol' dungeons the Captain kept talking 'bout?"

Hok double-checked the map in his HUD before replying, but a small smile quirked his lips at Flex's good humor, "Not much further." He gave a quick glance back. Flex had not complained about his injury since it had occurred, but Hok knew the severe fracture to his arm must be paining him. Once adrenaline gave out, Flex would drop and not wake up for a week. His team was already feeling the strain and wouldn't last through a prolonged engagement in the dungeons. Hok hoped it wouldn't turn into that; the longer they had to fight the more likely he'd lose his team. "According to my estimates, we're only about twenty minutes out from the dungeons. Jag, you concur?"

Jagger was the best of the four of them at reading maps and coordinates. He'd memorized the entire fortress layout while they were still trekking through the jungle. To the terrains expert, the confusing maze of corridors easily made sense. "Yes, Sarge. Twenty minutes or maybe even sooner," Jagger said. "_Actually_, I think we could get there much sooner, Sarge, if we got a move on and didn't have to listen to Flex here moaning like a strill." There was a teasing edge to Jagger's voice that belayed his words.

"_Hey_," Flex protested, "I am not moaning."

"Hey, me and Sabre have been doing all the hard work," Jagger pointed out, giving the heavy bag of gear across his shoulders a heft so that it thumped against his shoulder armor. He nodded his head toward the smaller, lighter bag that they'd carefully fitted with a strap so it wouldn't rub against Flex's badly fractured arm, "You figured the _easy_ way out." Behind Jaguar's words, there was a light-hearted air of taking Flex's mind off his injury.

"_Easy_ way, out?" Flex protested. "You call getting clubbed by a Kazzie easy?!"

"Hmmph," Jag snorted, making a show of adjusting his gear again. "Then, next time, duck!" He laughed at his own joke.

Hok let the scouts have their banter back and forth. Flex and Jagger were the closest vode on the scout team which meant they were the most likely to drive each other insane at every opportunity. Normally, he gave them some leeway to have at each other. But right now, he couldn't stop the prickly feeling that had been at the back of his neck for hours now. He was sure they were being _followed_. Yet, every time he turned around he saw only his team of scouts behind him.

He sighed, listening to Jag and Flex with their usual banter back and forth. He wondered if paranoia was finally getting to him.

Maybe it was this place. These dark hallways. The tension of the upcoming battle in the dungeons.

"Leave him be, Jag," Sabre said crossly, increasing his pace to be at Flex's side. The team sniper tended to be protective of Flex, but was even more so since he acted as the team medic. He swiveled his camouflaged scout helmet so that he could shoot Jagger an annoyed look. "Flex has been through enough without you and your-"

"Cut the chatter _now_," Hok ordered abruptly.

"Sarge, I didn't mean anything by it-" Jaguar began defensively.

"_Now_!" Hok bellowed the words in their comm. His uncharacteristic harshness caught the other three scouts by surprise and they froze for a moment in position, automatically looking to the clone sergeant for orders. He gave a quick hand signal and motioned for them to flatten against the wall. They immediately complied, their helmets tilted to the side in identical looks of curiosity.

"I _heard_ something..." Hok muttered, creeping forward. The other three followed along behind him, keeping flush to the wall, also straining forward to listen. It would have been almost comical if not for the seriousness of the situation, considering they were all hearing-impaired clones. They froze in complete concentration, focused on trying to hear what might be coming at them.

Hok frowned. He was sure there was something up _ahead_ of them. Then he glanced backwards. He still had a strong hunch that there was something behind them, as well. He scowled fiercely and moved the team onwards. They crept forward toward the corner of the corridor. He drew his weapon and the other three did the same.

Hok spoke softly, even though even he knew the words would show in their helmets. Travis had made sure all the hearing-impaired clones in the Legion had the same modifications to their helmets that he had for ease of communications. Even though the scout team had some degree of hearing restored thanks to Xyra's treatments, the technology was still a huge help. "Get ready. All I can make out is footsteps." He leaned forward slightly, prepared to take aim on whatever was coming at them from around the corner. "Make that... multiple footsteps. Be ready for anything. I think we've stumbled upon a large group of Kazzies here."

"Got your back, Sarge," Flex murmured from his position immediately behind Hok.

The four scouts tensed as the sounds of marching feet grew louder. Hok glanced back at his team and saw that Sabre was clutching the specialized sniper rifle that had caught his eye in the Kaz'harian armory. He shook his head curtly at his sniper. They were too closed-quarter a situation for Sabre to get use his new weapon. The sniper tensed but slid the weapon back onto his shoulder and pulled his blaster from its holster.

It all happened so fast that Hok wondered later what would have happened if any of them had reacted just slightly differently...

It was the heart of nightmares.

Hok spun into position drawing a bead onto the lead combatant in front preparing to fire. He gave out a loud cry psyching up his adrenaline, and heard the scouts behind him do the same.

But, at the last second, he caught a flash of white.

Armor.

Clone armor.

"Hold!" he shouted to his team as he slammed his arm down, pushing Flex's blaster pointing to the ground. Flex had been in the process of firing, and the energy weapon discharged, blowing up fragments of shrapnel from the stone floor. Hok grunted as he felt fragments find the chinks between his armor and pierce their way into his bodysuit. He heard a gasp from Flex and knew that some fragments must have also pierced him.

But there was no time to think because he suddenly found himself face-to-face with an ARC DC-17 hand blaster shoved right under the chin of his distinctive scout helmet.

"Hold! Don't fire!" he heard a harshly barked command and several sharp inhales of breath. He recognized the voice. It was _his_ voice. As his heart rate calmed down and he was able to think a little more clearly, he realized it was Captain Catcher's voice.

His face broke into a relieved smile, even though he could barely hear above the blood still pounding in his ears from adrenaline, "Captain! It is good to see a familiar face."

"A familiar face?" The ARC Captain lowered his weapon, and signaled to the others behind him to do the same, "Scout Sergeant Hok, I see you haven't lost your sense of humor." He leaned his helmeted head around Hok, peering behind him. "Now, either you are doing one frak of a good job of hiding the rest of the Legion or Captain Rex sent you scouting out ahead. We've been out of radio contact. Kazzies seem to be jamming our signals."

"We've been out of radio contact as well. And yes, sir, Captain Rex sent out us out to locate your team," Hok said.

"Any particular reason?" Travis stepped forward, joining Catcher.

"Hello, Lieutenant," Hok greeted, his eyes briefly darting down to the impressive amount of scorching down the front of the Marine's chest armor and winced in sympathy. "We were told to deliver these weapons to you." The scout sergeant slid the large bag of gear off of his shoulder and set it down before the two commanding officers.

Captain Catcher took a stiff-legged step forward toward the gear bag, but could not bend down to open it. He made a hand signal toward Travis who came forward and opened the bag.

Hok stared at Catcher in puzzlement, as he was sure the ARC Captain had still been walking with the aid of a crutch when the team had first landed on Darkknell. "Captain, you're...uh..." Hok began uncertainly, making a gesture toward the ARC Captain's mechanical legs, "..._walking_ now."

"Yes, not exactly leaping like a Jedi, but it's an improvement," Captain Catcher shook his head, and waved a hand dismissively then pointed to the bag of weapons, "Hok, fill me in."

The clone sergeant knelt down next to Travis and tugged out one of the weapons they'd found in the armory. He handed it up to Catcher for his examination.

"We found the Kaz'harian armory. The Captain would like us to arm the prisoners to aid in the final battle against the Kaz'harians."

Two ARCs dressed in 501st blue stepped forward from the back of the command team.

"It would give us a strategic advantage if we could immediately increase our numbers and put the two Legions to use," said the first of the blue armored ARCs.

"Might help offset whatever _surprises _the Kaz'harians have cooked up while they've waited for us to get to the dungeons," said the second of the ARCs.

Hok took in the unfamiliar troopers, "Ah, more of the mighty five of first." Behind him, Hok felt his team shifting forward to get a closer look at the newcomers. Flex had crept so close to him that if Hok leaned back he'd step on his team member. "_Flex,_" Hok hissed under his breath, and the burly scout stepped back a bit. Barely.

"Sergeant Hok, this is the ARC Trooper Echo of the 501st," Catcher introduced the first of the blue clad ARCs who gave a slight dip his head toward the scout team, "and also ARC Trooper Fives. They were added to our team courtesy of Commander Cody."

Hok nodded, studying the two in their 501st armor. He couldn't help feel both impressed and intimidated as he came face-to-face with more members of Captain Rex's famed legion. Hearing about the 501st was one thing, but now coming face-to-face with the most talked about clone unit in the GAR was a bit... unsettling. He had gotten used to seeing Captain Rex on a day-to-day basis, and treating him like any other brother. But, these two looked downright intimidating in their ARC gear.

"What else have you brought us?" asked the one identified as 'Fives' gesturing to the gear bags held by the rest of the team. His voice rang with authority and it was clear he was comfortable making his opinions known.

"Jagger, Sabre, Flex," Hok snapped out of his stupor and waved his scouts forward with an abrupt snap of his hands. His three team members immediately responded, and set down their gear bags in front of the ARCs. Without being asked, both Jagger and Sabre helped Flex gently ease his bag off of his shoulder, protecting his injured limb from being jarred as he set down the heavy weapons.

The two 501st ARCs began inspecting the goods from the Kaz'harian armory. Fives pointed to the rare sniper rifle now gracing Sabre's shoulder with a critical eye. "You find _that_ in their armory?"

Sabre tucked the rifle closer to his chest, "Yes," he practically growled at Fives, "but this one is _mine_."

"It's a nice piece," Fives said amicably, "you a sniper?"

Sabre straightened up a bit under the ARC's sharp gaze, "Yes. I'm Sabre," extending a hand to the 501st trooper. "You... uh... a friend of Captain Rex's, then?"

Fives laughed; the sound echoing off the harsh rock walls and startling those around him. "You could say that."

Catcher watched the exchange between the two teams, glad they were getting along but he couldn't help the sense of unease that had gnawed at him. He continued to glance back down the darkened corridor. The move did not escape the notice of Captain Catcher.

"Something wrong, Sergeant Hok?" asked Catcher.

"I'm not sure," Hok admitted honestly, "it's just a feeling more than anything else. But, I keep getting the feeling that we're being followed."

Catcher straightened up with concern, "Being followed? Trust your gut."

Dart, who had guarded the back of the commando team, stepped forward and spoke up, "Captain Catcher, sir? I've had the same feeling. Like we've picked up a tail."

Both 501st ARCs snapped up their heads in unison and looked toward Captain Catcher, "Being followed on _both_ sides?"

Travis stepped forward, "If that is true, it means we are walking into a-"

"_Trap_," Hok and Catcher said the word simultaneously.

"Orders, sir?" Hok asked nervously, looking to Captain Catcher, the ranking officer on the scene.

"Distribute some of these extra weapons and ammo then fan out. I have a feeling things are about to get hot. There is not much cover, but keep to the shadows as much as you can," Captain Catcher began.

Hok nodded, signaling his team to begin distributing the weapons as much as possible among the commando unit. He noticed the 501st ARCs seemed to take particular delight in rifling through the unusual assortment of weapons they had selected from the armory. Fives was having a lively discussion with Sabre over some of the weapons that the sniper had personally selected and insisted they needed to bring along. It appeared that Sabre had made a new friend.

He shook his head in amusement, but he still couldn't stop the roiling in is gut. His instincts kept telling him that something was coming.

"We have no cover here," Hok muttered, walking over to stand next to Travis and Catcher.

"I realize that Sergeant," Catcher said, "but our other option is to make a run for the dungeons. That means we likely run headlong into one group of Kazzies. Or, we run back the way we came, which means we run headlong back into the other group of Kazzies. At least this way, if we are in one position and not running, we have unlimited ammo and weapons."

"Sir, the 'shadows' are not likely to give us much cover. The Kazzies can see in the dark," Hok pointed out.

Catcher sighed, and the ARC Captain sounded incredibly weary, "I _know_, Hok. These are far from ideal circumstances. If you have a better plan, I'm all for it. But, it appears our choices are either run or hold our ground." He looked over at the Marine Lieutenant as if expecting an argument, "Travis?"

The Marine was examining a Kel Mark II Heavy Assault rifle, hefting its weight. He grunted with satisfaction and slung it over his shoulder then rubbed at his chest as if his the movement made him sore. He looked up at Catcher. "Actually, Captain Catcher. I think you are absolutely right."

"You do?" There was genuine surprise in Catcher's tone.

Hok stared back and forth between the two commanders, wondering what had happened to them here on Darkknell that the two were now suddenly getting along. Battle could do strange things to brothers.

"I agree our best bet is to try to stand our ground. Especially, now that you have brought us this unexpected _gift_ of all these extra armaments," Travis explained, still rubbing at his chest. He gestured to Dart, waving him over. He pointed to the rifle slung over his shoulder, "Might want to try one of the Kel Marks. They're heavy, but I think it might be better for taking down Kazzies in a single shot than our blasters if you don't mind the recoil. We cross-trained with these in our Marine training. I imagine you did the same in your ARC training?" Dart nodded, and headed over to the gear bag to grab one of the heavy assault rifles. Travis turned his attention back to Hok and Catcher. "We know what we're facing here. If we can punch through that way," he pointed toward the dungeons, "we need to continue on and finish the final part of our mission."

Hok raised up an eyebrow, knowing that the commando team had special directives and objectives from the Captain. He was curious, of course, wondering just what it was that this special team of ARCs and Marines had been tasked to do in the dungeons. He knew the scouts were supposed to deliver weapons and arm prisoners. But, the commando team obviously had other orders from the Captain, as well. He wanted to ask, but years of training silenced him.

"Behind you!" shouted Catcher, ending all conversation as his pointed with the business end of his blaster. He pointed directly behind Jagger.

The terrains expert spun around just in time to see a horde of Kaz'harians descending upon them. He dropped to one knee and also began firing. Flex ran and slid to his knees, coming down in place right next to his brother. And suddenly Sabre was there on Jagger's other side, the three scouts fighting side-by-side. For all their bickering, they were brothers to the end. Hok felt like his legs couldn't take him to their sides fast enough, as he ran to take his place beside his team firing upon the Kaz'harians. He hoped it wasn't the end as he felt Kaz'harian shells began to hit against his armor, and sink into the rocks behind them, creating more painful rock fragments.

_Fek. Those are going to hurt coming out_, he thought. And, suddenly, all he could think of was Xyra and her hands, calloused from her many hours working out at sea and the way they had tended to him when he had been first been dragged from the mouth of the sea oppee. There was smoke in the air from all the firing and the smell of blaster ozone that even his bucket filters could not fully work out. He heard one of his men cry out, the familiar sound of a brother in pain. It was Sabre, he was sure. Then another cry of pain and it sounded like Jagger this time. He could only keep firing, focusing on target after target.

He felt a flurry of blue blaster bolts come from behind him and knew that the 501st ARCs and the rest of the command team were backing them up. Kaz'harians continued to fall but it seemed that more kept taking their place. They couldn't take them down fast enough.

Then there were shouts of confusion from the command team and the blue blaster bolts from behind them grew stuttered then stopped. Hok craned his neck back and spared just a micro-second to see what happened.

_Fek! Captain Catcher! Where are you? My team is dying!_

Hok spun around and saw that Catcher had problems of his own. Dart was correct in his 'hunch' that the command team had also picked up a tail. There was now a huge horde of Kaz'harians warriors descending upon the command team from behind. Hemmed in on both sides, they were caught in a deadly cross-fire. Dart, Lieutenant Travis, Captain Catcher, and the 501st ARCs had spun around to deal with the new threat firing upon them from behind.

Hok cried out in surprise as he felt a shell bite into his shin. He immediately felt a warm trail of blood running down inside his bodysuit. He shifted his balance to his other leg to compensate. Hok used the pain to help him focus his attention back on taking down Kaz'harians. But, for each one dropped another two seemed to melt out of the darkness and took their place.

There were just too many.

This was it. This was where he was going to meet his final end.

_Good bye, Xyra._

_I'm sorry. I didn't make it home._

# # #


	115. Chapter 115 Deadly Crossfire- Part II

_A/N: I've wanted to do shorter chapters for a while, and I never seem to be able to do them. But, lo and behold, I finally did it. (Uh huh. Right. Just waiting for someone to complain: "But. But. It's too short." Go ahead. I'm setting my hordes of Kaz'harians and their nifty flamethrowers after you...) Seriously, I'm trying to get a chapter or maybe two out before I go "off grid" for two weeks. I'm headed to a part of the world that doesn't have Internet access. I know. Are there really parts of the world still like that? Apparently. Anyway, trying to cram out a few more updates._

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**

**Chapter 115**

**Deadly Crossfire- Part II**

"Travis, call for aid!" Catcher pivoted around, his movements somewhat stilted due to the braces on his legs that allowed the once paralyzed-ARC to move, "Let the Captain know we need help!"

Travis saw Catcher take just a split-second to gaze passed him over his shoulder to check on the progress of Hok and his team. They all knew the scouts were in serious trouble, and it went against everything in the brother's code to abandon vode in need. But, they were under such heavy fire themselves at the moment there was no way they could spin around and help out the scouts. The Kaz'harians had hemmed them in on both sides with a deadly crossfire.

Travis dropped down to one knee, focusing on his breathing as he fired, ensuring a steady rhythm. As Galactic Marines in training, they'd spent endless hours just working on getting the breathing right as they worked on the cadence of their shots. The two 501st ARCs, Fives and Echo, took a knee, and began firing in tandem. He couldn't help but admire the perfection of their movements, and realized their technique was even better than his. He'd have to ask them about their technique later to see if they'd be willing to share what they knew.

Inside Travis' fully deaf world, the battle was just a haze of flashes of bright light inside a corridor that was rapidly filling with the haze of smoke and ozone. The Kaz'harian weapons were noxious polluters. His HUD scrolled up with an incoming short-wave comm signal, which were the only comms that were working at the moment, an order from Catcher telling him to try and contact the Captain for help. He pivoted his head over to Catcher, acknowledging the order, and opted for formality in the heat of battle, "Yes, sir!"

He toggled his comm, and tried again and again to raise the main force of the Legion. He gritted his teeth in frustration as his HUD continued to flash red. Whatever it was that had been jamming their comms over longer distances was still affecting them now.

"No good. I can't get through," Travis reported. He tried to keep his tone as calm as possible. Even though he could no longer hear his own voice, and hadn't been able to since he'd lost his hearing in battle, he remembered the cadences and always tried to remember to modulate his voice when speaking with those who still had hearing.

"Acknowledged. Keep trying," Catcher replied back. Travis only saw text in his HUD, but he had a strong hunch that the ARC Captain's tone was also calm in the face of the great danger they were facing. It would be just like him. The annoying di'kut.

Out of the corner of his eye, Travis saw Catcher jerk suddenly as if he'd been hit. The clone wavered for a moment, one hand clutching at his side.

"Catcher!" Travis shouted out. In that moment, he forgot all pretense of formality, or any of the conflicts he'd had with the clone in the past.

The ARC Captain looked over at him, as he slowly straightened up, and got himself back into a position to resume firing. "I'm... fine, Travis." But, his slightly awkward posture made it clear there was much more going on than the ARC Captain was letting on. "Keep... trying to call out. We're...not going to make it through this one alone."

Before Travis could formulate a reply, there was slight movement behind him. Dart and Torch moved up from their positions at the back of the column and suddenly positioned themselves in such a way as to block shots from hitting their Captain on either side.

"What are you two doing?" Catcher demanded.

"Watching your back, sir," Dart said, without hesitation.

Torch gave Dart a deep nod of his head as if something significant had just passed between the two brothers.

_What was that all about? _Travis wondered, _And, since when did Dart and Torch suddenly become such team players?_

But, he had no more time to wonder as the fire from the Kaz'harians suddenly heated up and he had all he could do just to keep from being overwhelmed. He focused again on his firing rhythm, trying again and again to toggle his comm.

_Gah!_ _  
_

His HUD continue to flash red like a ticking det as the signal was blocked time and again.

_Fek! Rex we could use some help here! The Kazzies have us pinned down! _Travis gritted his teeth in frustration as he continued to shoot at what seemed like an endless horde of Kaz'harians. _We are getting our shebs shot off down here near the dungeons! Catcher just took a shot to the the gut. And, I think we're losing the entire scout team. And, the only reason the rest of us are still standing is because those 501st ARCs of yours are shooting like an army onto themselves. But, it will only be a matter of time before the Kaz'harians get them, too. We're all going to be dead in a matter of minutes. Where the shab are you, you fekkin' di'kut?! You taking the scenic route to the dungeons?_

Travis couldn't keep his frustrations into his thoughts as the battle progressed, and he continued to hear cries of pain from the scouts team. He glanced over at Catcher and although the ARC Captain had not paused in his intense firing against the large simian warriors, there was a steady stream of red seeping out from between his chest plates. Travis' thoughts and frustrations swirled around in his mind as he fell into the endless rhythm of firing on the Kaz'harians.

_'**Travis?'**_

The voice of his closest vod responding back into his head came so suddenly that Travis temporarily froze up. It took a Kaz'harian shell hitting the wall behind him and pelting him with painful fragments of rock before he unfroze and was able to respond.

_-Fek! Rex!  
_

**_Simply addressing me as 'Captain' would do, Travis._**

_- Rex!_

His brother's unflappable calm came across even in the bizarre mental link, and Travis hated the feeling. Not that he hated Rex's calm. He was used to that after being stuck with having the perfect clone as his closest vod all these years, but considering the situation... gah. Before he could even start in again, Rex was already responding.

**_Travis. Confirm your report. Catcher is down and you've lost the scouts? What's your position?_**

The Marine took some satisfaction in realizing that Rex _was_ concerned. Irritating calm was just his way.

_- Catcher is injured, Rex, but he's like you, too stubborn to go down. The Kazzies have us caught in a crossfire. I can't check on the status of the scouts, but it sounds like some, if not all of them are down._

Travis pulled up his location on his HUD, and tried to figure out the most expedient way to convey the exact positioning to Rex without being able to transmit the data. He stared at it, focusing on the images, and trying to remember the feeling when he and Rex had 'connected' back on Ando. He gritted his teeth and focused on the memory of the uncomfortable sensations.

**_Good job, Travis. I got your location. __I'm headed there now with an advanced squad with Cody and the fastest of our men. The main force will be moving right behind us._**

OK. Weird. Uncomfortable. But, maybe, useful. Sometimes.

He knew Rex was doing everything possible to get to them.

Aw... kriff.

The Kaz'harians suddenly surged and rushed forward advancing upon their position. He knew there was no way they were going to last several minutes.

_- Rex! We don't have several minutes! -_

He tried to communicate the thought out to Rex, but suddenly a Kaz'harian warrior was upon him swinging a massive club at his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fives and Echo engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and Dart and Torch rallying to protect the injured ARC Captain.

One thing was certain... by the time Rex reached them, they would all be dead.

# # #


	116. Chapter 116 Deadly Crossfire Part 3

_Author's Note: Thank you to OSDT Edward Buck for catching an error in this chapter. I am always ever so grateful when folks catch my errors so I can correct them. Edward pointed out that Travis "heard" Torch yell. Travis is actually full deaf and has not gained any hearing back at all, unlike the scouts which regained partial hearing. I've fixed it now in this version of the chapter and I actually like the way it came out. Thanks again for spotting the error. Much appreciated. - LongLivetheClones (currently in Tokyo.)_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 116**

**Deadly Crossfire Part 3**

Ahsoka sank down exhaustion against the wall and looked around the small shuttle.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka," Barriss promised glancing over apologetically toward the Jedi padawan. "I'll get to you as soon as I get Masters Skywalker and Kenobi stable." She frowned as she knelt between their prone forms as if unsure for a moment where to begin.

Ahsoka shook her head, waving a vague hand in the direction of the other Jedi. She closed her eyes tiredly, and murmured, "Don't worry about me. Take care of them."

She must have fallen immediately asleep because the next thing she registered was being startled awake by the slightest of touches as an emergency blanket was being very gently draped over her form. She started and stared up in confusion.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to awaken you."

Ahsoka peered up at the clone voice as she tried to identify the speaker. Heavy gunner. Ah. Shadow. Leader of the squad that had escorted the Jedi here. She gripped his arm tightly feeling disoriented and desperate for news. "Shadow, what's going on? How long was I out?"

The gunner's voice grunted, and his voice sounded strained, "Commander Offee is still working on the two Generals, sir. You've only been out for a few minutes."

Ahsoka stared at him puzzled, and realized she was grabbing his injured arm. She released her grip immediately, "Sorry!" She gave the clone an admonishing look, "You should have that injury tended, Shadow. Padawan Offee is an excellent healer."

He shook his head neglibly and dismissively, "Oh no, sir. The commander is much too busy to be bothered with the likes of me. My squad has to head back out anyway. We're needed back in the dungeons. Our orders were to see you safely here. I let the squad rest up for a short bit, but now we're going to rejoin the others. I'm going to leave Tuck behind to protect you. He's an outstanding gunner." He leaned in a little closer to the Jedi padawan and dropped his voice, "Between you and me, he could use a bit of a breather. That hit to the chest he took outside the labs is paining him more than he's letting on."

Ahsoka quirked up an eyebrow at the squad leader, "Yes, well that seems to be a trait amongst you gunners."

Shadow chuckled, "Perhaps." He looked into the Jedi's eyes, "I'd appreciate it, though, Commander if you'd... ah..." the clone hesitated, as if not quite sure how to word what he was asking. He blew out a breath, and scratched at the back of his short cropped hair with his uninjured arm, "He's not going to take well to being left behind, and..."

Ahsoka smiled kindly and nodded, seeing Rex's concern and caring for his men in the squad leader's gaze. "I understand, Shadow. I'll watch out for him, and see if I can get him to rest."

"It won't be easy," Shadow admitted, still speaking very softly, "he can be pretty stubborn. When I gave him the orders to stay behind I told him I needed my best man to guard the Jedi." His voice took on a low earnestness, "And, Tuck truly is one of the best. He will lay down his life for you if need be."

Ahsoka felt a tightening in her gut at the clone's sincerity, "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Shadow gave a slight bow and said in his deep voice, "We have orders to protect you. And, all of us would do whatever it takes to fulfill those orders."

The Jedi padawan felt tears gathering in her eyes, suddenly worried that these clones would die for her. Just a minute later, she was watching Shadow Squad soundlessly slip out the hatch and disappear into the Darknellian Jungle. Tuck, the gunner left behind, stood by her side, his large gun leaning against his hip. His helmet was off and his face was drawn and grim as he watched his brothers disappear. She exchanged a glance with the clone as the last of Shadow Squad vanished into the darkness of the trees. He frowned, then hung his head before inhaling sharply and saying, "We should head inside, Commander. It's not safe here."

But, she could feel the emotions roiling off of him and she felt them, too. There was a huge battle about to be fought, and they were both being left out of it.

# # #

Travis glanced over at Fives and Echo engaged in hand-to-hand to combat. Dart and Torch were still in position on either side of Catcher, loyally protecting their injured commanding officer.

He glanced back just in time to see a massive wooden club coming down toward his head. The Marine Lieutenant instinctively raised up one arm to protect his skull from being shattered. With his other arm, he ejected his vibroblade from its sheath.

Travis realized that he missed the satisfying and distinctive 'shunk' sound of a vibroblade. There were not many battle sounds he missed. It was actually much less distracting to be in battle now that his world had gone completely silent. Even with the protective baffles of a clone helmet, battles were notoriously loud and hard on the senses.

But, the Marine had always excelled in knife training and he'd found both comfort and satisfaction in the sound of his vibroblade ejecting from its sheath. Even now, while he thought he was adjusted to being deaf, it seemed somehow _off_ somehow to see the powerful blade spring-free without the comforting, trademark sound accompanying it.

While it was instinct to raise up his arm to protect his skull, it was only after he had done so that Travis realized his tactical error. This was the same arm he had so recently broken on Ando and it would not be able to take much battle abuse, even with armor. He quickly twisted his body away to switch tactics, trying to grab a hold of the club. He was only successful in latching onto a piece of the wooden weapon mid-swing, and then awkwardly. He yelped as his entire arm was jammed backwards at angle it was not meant to go. However, it did stop the club from connecting with his skull. It also allowed him enough time to thrust out and up, attacking with his other arm. The vibroblade raked across the simian's throat in a lethal gash, spurting blood across the front of Travis' armor. The warrior fell forward, hitting the ground hard, but took the Marine down with him. Travis connected with the stone floor hard, and his awkwardly twisted arm smashed into the ground.

_Fek! Fek! Fek!_

Travis cursed up a storm as he lay there in anger for a moment, feeling his arm instantly begin to go numbly and tingly. He wasn't sure if he'd broken it like he did on Ando. This felt different. More like ligaments than bone. But, it definitely didn't feel good.

_Kriff! The last thing I need is to be down a hand just like I was when I stupidly punched that tree back on Ando-_

**_Ando_.**

Thoughts of the semi-frozen planet, the simple lifestyle, and the good, wholesome people who lived there gave the Marine a surge of strength. He let off a bellow of rage and bodily threw off the downed Kaz'harian on top of him.

He assessed the battle in a glance and saw that Dart, Torch and Catcher were completely surrounded. Travis let out a trademark Galactic Marine yell. He couldn't hear the sound, which was so odd after years of training with the sound as a tactical weapon. But, it worked exactly as it should. It drew attention away from his besieged brothers and focused the Kazzies on _him_.

His plan worked entirely too well. Suddenly, he had more Kaz'harians than he knew what to do with turning and attacking him at once.

_Great one, Travis. Now what are you going to do?_

But, Torch had his back. The simians suddenly spun around and focused their attention on the other Galactic Marine and Travis realized his vod must be yelling, too.

_Fek. I hate being fekkin' deaf sometimes._

99% of the time he felt the Kaminoans were total assholes for even thinking of reconditioning just because he was deaf. And, 1% of the time he did have to admit he was at a disadvantage in battle and the tech couldn't compensate for the fact he couldn't fekkin' hear anything.

Travis ducked in time to avoid another huge swung from a massive Kaz'harian club. He was able to force movement out of his injured arm so he could grip his blaster again. He chose to ignore the pain signals screaming out of the newly injured limb.

_Probably going to regret that later, but I'm worried about living another 30 seconds._

He felled a Kaz'harian with a blast to the head, while spinning around to take another down with a stab to the neck. This time, he found it easier to simply project out his thoughts to his brother.

- Rex! Where are you? We're being overrun by Kazzies here!-

Rex's response came back with his normal infuriating calm, just like Catcher had earlier. Travis couldn't help but be annoyed by that response, especially considering the direness of the situation.

**Travis, there's been a delay.**

- What?!

Rex seemed totally composed despite the fact that Travis could tell his brother was in full-scale battle mode at the moment.

**We were just intercepted by a Kaz'harian patrol. A large one. They are preventing us from going any further.**

-Wait! What are you saying?!

**We are working to dispatch the patrol. We cannot proceed further until we do. Stand by.**

- Stand by? Rex, it's more like good bye.

**We're trying to get through to you. Stand by.**

Travis wanted to argue with the order, but knew it would do no good to take out any more of his frustrations on the Captain. Better to take them out on the seemingly endless supply of Kaz'harians coming at him. He started to feel exhaustion start to get the better of him, and wondered how much longer he could carry on. Would it be so bad just to finally give up?

Rex's voice cutting into his thoughts came so suddenly that it almost interrupted his rythmn of fighting.

**Trav, looks like we're bogged down here, but I'm sending help.**

Travis felt something within in him clench at Rex's use of his affectionate childhood nickname for him. He felt hope blossom within him at his brother's words. He should've known that Rex would be working more than one angle at a time. He never had been the sort to think inside the box.

Maybe that's why they gave him the kriffin' 501st.

Sudden respect and understanding for everything that Rex and how he operated as a Captain connected in Travis' brain.

- Alright, Rex. I trust you, vod. Thanks. I'll, ah, do my best to ah, make it through, until they get here.

**You'll make it through. Because it's you. See you at the dungeons.**

Rex's simple and absolute faith in his abilities humbled the Marine. But, Travis felt a renewed sense of confidence. They would make it through this. Somehow.

He downed another Kaz'harian and threw himself into a roll so that he ended up by Catcher's side. The move tore painfully at his injured arm. He made a mental note not to do that again.

Catcher looked over at Travis, "Travis! What's the word?"

"Help is coming," Travis said, his voice breathless and hoarse.

Gah. Even speaking was painful. When was the last time he'd had anything to drink?

It was easier the way he communicated with Rex. Not actually having to talk.

_I do not just think that! There is no way I am developing a preference for that insane, awful head-splitting-_

"When's the Captain going to get here?" Catcher demanded.

"Uh..." Travis began, then realized there was no easy way to say this, so he decided to just blurt it out, "He's not coming."

"What?!" the ARC Captain actually took the time to pivot his head to stare for a split second at Travis.

The Marine was able to get a good look at Catcher. His entire side was stained with red and blood was leaking down onto his cuisse.

"He's sending help," Travis said, glancing around quickly, wondering where Dart and Torch had gone. They had been protecting Catcher on the left and right.

Then, right behind a pile of downed Kaz'harians, he saw them.

Dart was down. And, Torch was standing right above fighting like a one-man army protecting his brother from the Kaz'harians trying to get to them. Torch seemed to be doing an admirable job holding his own, and Travis felt some Marine Corps pride run through him.

"They don't let up, do they?" Catcher said, dropping his depleted blaster to the ground and reaching for the Kel-Mark II strapped over his shoulder. It was very close range to be using such a powerful weapon, but it was all he had left. The ARC Captain took a first shot and then staggered from the recoil, clutching at his injured side. The blood started seeping from the wound at an even faster rate.

"Switch," Travis said in a tone that brokered no argument, holding out his blaster and reaching for the Kel-Mark II. Catcher nodded and quickly handed over the weapon.

Travis had trained on the heavy slug throwers, since Marines cross-trained in a great variety of weapons. It took two hands to manage one of them due to the weight and the recoil. He raised up the weapon and took his first shot.

The recoil was even worse than he'd remembered, and he groaned as the pain reverberated down into his injured arm, causing further numbness into the damaged tissues.

_Gah. You'd have to be someone the size of a Kaz'harian to be using a Kel Mark all day. These things are brutal._

He lifted the weapon back up to his shoulder to take a second shot. The next shot hurt even worse than the first and he realized he was not going to last long with this weapon. He glanced over at Catcher and saw that the ARC Captain was starting to waver. He wasn't stand up as straight as he had been just a moment ago. One hand was now clutching at his injured side and blood was running out over his fingertips.

"Catcher?" he said, inquiringly, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to take several more punishing shots with the Kel-Mark II.

Don't think about how much it hurts. Just focus on how nice it looks when the Kazzies go down. One falling Kazzie. Two falling Kazzie. Three falling baddie... All 'a hitting the floor...

"I'll be alright," came the immediate reply from Catcher, flashing across Travis' HUD, "focus on yourself."

_Right. Uh huh. That was a total Rex thing to say. Being the Captain in charge is going to his head. This is no good. Now, there are two of them._

But, the truth was he had gotten to the point that he liked and admired the ARC Captain, much as it bothered him to admit it. And, he wanted Catcher to make it out of this thing alive.

_Anytime now. Help would be good. Not that this hasn't been fun._

Travis suddenly realized his entire arm had gone numb from the recoil of the Kel Mark II. He couldn't lift it or move it or take another shot with the oversized weapon. The weapon slipped from his grasp and dropped to the ground as the numbness spread.

_Fek!_

He saw a club-wielding step forward and take a massive swing at Catcher's head.

"Catcher!" Travis bellowed out a warning, and saw the ARC began to turn toward the club. But, he was too slow. He knew he wasn't going to make it in time to stop the deadly assault. He was just turning his head directly into the path of the massive wooden weapon.

Travis ejected his vibroblade and threw his body forward toward the Kaz'harian. But, he knew he was at the wrong angle and he would not be able to reach Catcher in time.

But, right before the lethal shot smashed into Catcher's skull, a precise blaster splintered the wood. The Kaz'harian, Catcher and Travis all pivoted in surprise at once. Another blaster shot, this one definitely recognizable as the distinctive blue of the clone blasters, caught the simian right in the forehead. The large warrior fell backwards and collapsed dead at the ARC Captain's feet.

But, Travis had no more time to register what was going on. Massive hands gripped him around the throat and cut off his air supply. The Marine gasped as he was lifted up in the air and realized a Kaz'harian had snuck up behind him after he'd dropped the slugthrower. Travis slammed his helmeted head back into the simian's skull trying to knock him senseless. For a moment, the simian's grasp eased up, and Travis slammed backwards with his vibroblade trying to get a lethal shot in. But, he only succeeded in slamming the blade into the warrior's gut, which was protected by a chest plate and did little damage. It still angered the Kaz'harian, though, and he immediately tightened his grip on Travis' throat. Blackness began sweeping in front of his vision.

_No! No! No!_

Travis kicked back violently with his legs, refusing to go down without a struggle. The pressure on his throat increased even more and he was sure his neck was about to snap from the strength and pressure of the massive hands.

Suddenly, there was a flash of familiar armor in his peripheral vision. Republic Commando armor. Then, the bright flash of a blaster shot going off close to his head. And, for the second time, he fell as a Kaz'harian took him dow. Unfortunately, the creature died with his hands locked around Travis' throat. Brightness flashed before his eyes before the lack of oxygen became too much.

_Karyn, _he thought with a moan, as it all faded to black.

# # #


	117. Chapter 117 Deadly Crossfire Part 4

_A/N: This chapter reveals the fate of Travis. It begins in the immediate aftermath of the battle, so you have to a bit patient to find out how it was that everything panned out. In upcoming chapters, (and there are several completed that will be posted quickly), the same action will be told from a couple different viewpoints. Very exciting, I assure you. I also received a request for "more Ahsoka" so I added in this beginning scene between Ahsoka and Tuck (the gunner from Shadow's Squad who was "left behind." (Poor guy.)) And, speaking of Ahsoka, check out the new story artwork by Sophia (GloriaBlaz!) There is more to come including an awesome pic of Rex in full armor during the Ando timeframe, a sketch of Travis (hot!), and two Andoan Legion troopers. A huge thank you to Sophia for lending her talents to this story._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 117**

**Deadly Crossfire Part 4**

Ahsoka sighed restlessly and tried to get comfortable under the thin, silvery emergency blanket. She shifted to one side and then onto her back, huffing out a breath in exasperation. Finally, the Togrutan Jedi gave up and rolled gracefully into a sitting up position. She was too keyed up to rest. Her mind was filled with worry about Rex and the fate of the 501st Legion.

A shadow appeared by her elbow and a polite soft-spoken voice asked, "Would you like caf, Commander Tano?" She nodded and smiled up at Tuck, who carefully maneuvered himself into a kneeling position by her side. She could tell the point at which the wound in his chest pained him because his whole face pulled tight into a grimace. He squeezed his eyes shut, but said nothing, focusing instead on not spilling the steaming caf he held in his hands. Ahsoka wanted to help him, but knew from her experiences with Rex and Appo how stubborn clones could be. She waited patiently while the gunner eased himself into a comfortable position.

"It's fresh," the gunner said handing her one of the cups, and then he set down his plasti-cup so he could reach into his belt pouch. "I poked about into the galley a bit while you were resting. Not much there, I'm afraid. But, I did find some flatbread." He pulled out the pre-packaged foodstuff, split one in half and offered it up to the Jedi. Ahsoka accepted the small offering and glanced at Tuck curiously. His behavior was unusual for a clone. All of the shinies in the 501st, (and they were constantly getting replacements due to battle losses), always seemed terrified to have any contact with her beyond a passing salute in the corridor or directly answering a question. Only Rex's intimate circle of friends, whom she'd known the longest, would relax enough to have a conversation with her. But, all of the heavy gunners who'd escorted her back to the shuttle seemed to have no issues speaking with her. Even now, everything about this clone seemed... different. Despite his injury, his body language was relaxed as he sat next to her sharing this humble meal. The young Jedi was determined to find out why these clones were so _different_.

"Tuck," Ahsoka began, taking a bite of her flatbread and chewing it carefully, "can I ask you something?"

A flash of alarm passed through the gunner's eyes, and she saw his hand tense up on the thin handle of his plasti-cup, "Commander, there are certain things the Captain ordered us not to discuss."

_Shab. Rex._

Ahsoka sighed, and placed a gentle hand on top of the clone's hand. Rather than recoil from the contact, he relaxed and allowed it.

_Yup. That's definitely different, _Ahsoka immediately realized, confirming her theory, _most clones I know would have dissolved into a bundle of nerves the moment I touched them._

"Can you at least tell me what it is you were ordered not to discuss?" Ahsoka prompted. She was determined to learn _something_.

Tuck took a long sip of his caf while he considered his reply. She realized he was much like Rex, and did not do anything without thinking it through first. "Alright," he finally replied. "The two captains, Captain Rex and Captain Catcher, gave us specific orders not to discuss our base of origin with any members of the 501st or 212th. We are to direct any such inquiries back to members of the command team."

Ahsoka took a deep breath and chewed her lip as she digested this information. She nodded thoughtfully, and removed her hand from on top of Tuck's hand, "Alright," she said, "I make you a promise I will not ask for this information. Fair enough?"

Tuck nodded, and she felt the gunner relax considerably, "Thank you, Commander."

"I'd like to ask you other questions that have nothing to do with your base of origin. Would that be alright?" Ahsoka prompted gently.

Tuck still looked wary as if she might be pulling a Jedi trick. He took a long dredge of his caf as he considered the question. "Alright," his lips drawing out the word in his distinctive clone accent.

"Most clones I know are terrified around women. Yet, you seem very comfortable around me. Why is that?" Her stomach chose that moment to let out a loud growl, "Can I get another flatbread? I didn't realize how hungry I was," She reached out a hand, and put it palm up in a gentle gesture of surrender.

Tuck laughed and reached into his beltpouch for more of the crackers. He cracked another in half, putting one piece in Ahsoka's outstretched hand and keeping the other portion for himself. Ahsoka noted that he gave her the much larger portion. "I'm relieved you didn't ask a more difficult question, Commander." He took a bite of the thin, dried bread, chewed it thoroughly and washed it down with a sip of caf. "In answer to your question," The gunner's face lit up with a mischievous grin that suddenly reminded Ahsoka of Rex and flaming spiders, "I have a girl." He shrugged, and then grimaced as the movement pulled at his chest wound. He rubbed at it with the back of one fist, and waited while the pain passed before continuing on, "All of us in Shadow Squad do... well, except for Shadow. But, he's... ah... got his eye on somebody." The gunner gave Ahsoka a long, considering look, "So, you're the Captain's girl, then?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Ahsoka blushed furiously, her montrals darkening in color from discomfort, "Uh... well... we... ah... It's ah... complicated, Tuck..."

"Complicated?" Tuck regarded her with confusion, "You're not ashamed of the Captain, are you?"

"No! That's not it at all!" Ahsoka said, wondering why suddenly her words were coming out wrong.

Tuck set down his caf cup, and pointed a finger in her direction, "Where we come from, women _fight_ over clones. We are in high demand. Nobody is _ashamed_ of us." The gunner pushed himself up to his feet. He hissed and put a hand to his chest, and then crumbled the empty plasti-cup in his fist as he shook his head. He seemed to be taking a moment to gather himself together, before he turned and regarded the Jedi again. When he did, the look in his eyes was forlorn, "You know, we came all this way to do a rescue. When the Lieutenant gathered us together, he said it was because of the 501st. But, I always thought there might be a little more to it. When I found out the Captain had a girl, and saw the way he looked at you back in the labs, it all made sense. I know what that _feels_ like. He came here to rescue _you_."

Tuck's words stabbed at Ahsoka. The clone looked at her with fire in his honey brown eyes.

"Clones have _died_ on this mission, Commander. Good men who had women waiting for them back home," Tuck's voice was a low accented growl, "the least you could do is have the decency and the courage to acknowledge the Captain as yours."

# # #

Travis awoke and began gasping for air. The steely grasp from his throat was gone.

_Except... ow... now breathing just hurts..._

_I'm not dead, though. That's a start._

The Marine wanted to immediately get up and resume with the battle, but his limbs refused to respond to his commands. He couldn't even get his eyes to open. He realized he wasn't going to be able to move. Not yet anyway.

Travis felt someone release the seal on his helmet, and tug it off. One of his eyelids was pried open and there was a beam of bright light shined into his cornea.

"Ahhh," he protested, reaching one hand up to bat the light away. It was much too bright. What a cruel trick to play on a resting clone. He forced both his eyes open so he could deal with the offender. Travis felt a portable breather get strapped over his face, and suddenly taking breaths grew blissfully easier.

_Breathing. Yes. Nice._

_Sweet._

Air.

As his surroundings blearily came in and out of focus, Travis was able to make out a form armored in 501st blue. The Marine stared in confusion up at the face, sure that he did not know this clone. It was not one of those newcomers that had just joined the team, Fives or Echo. And, it was not the familiar battered armor of Rex. Then who? He continued to stare at the 501st clone uncertainly, knowing his eyes were somewhat glazed over. Osik. Were there bloody 501st wandering all over the shabla fortress now?

He blinked furiously, trying to force his eyes to focus. The clone seemed to be speaking to him. No. He was speaking to someone right next to him. Travis twisted his head trying to see who else was there and in doing so dislodged the portable breather. The Marine felt firm hands grasp his face and put the breather back in place. The two clones were still conferring back and forth and then the 501st medic was directly in his line of sight.

"Lieutenant, you need to keep the breather on until your vitals stabilize," he spoke slowly and deliberately, maintaining eye contact with Travis the whole time.

_Ah_, Travis realized, _someone must have clued him in to the fact that I am deaf_.

"How are you feeling, Lieutenant?" the medic continued on, still speaking very slowly.

_Alright, now this is just getting annoying. I might be deaf, but I'm not a di'kut. I did not sustain brain damage when I lost my hearing. And, how am I supposed to answer with a breather on?_

Travis simply rolled his eyes with annoyance.

Right next to the medic, he saw the second clone break out laughing. He glanced up and sucked in his breath as recognition struck. "Blaze." He was wearing his familiar RepComm armor scored heavily now with additional burn damage from the explosion outside the fortress. Something about his kit looked _off, _though. Clipped to the RC's belt was a different helmet than the one Travis had gotten accustomed to always seeing Blaze wear. He stared at it a moment in confusion, but then realized his bucket must have been destroyed in the same blast that killed Viper. Blaze saw him eyeing the helmet, and slid one hand over it protectively as if someone might take this last remaining piece of his brother away.

"Blaze," Travis murmured, having no way of knowing in his silent world if he could be heard with the portable breather on. But, some sound must have gotten through, because the commando knelt down next to him sitting clearly in his line of sight so that the Marine could see his face and read his lips.

"Lieutenant Travis. Good to see you back amongst the conscious," Blaze said.

Travis studied Blaze's face and noted the new burn scarring down his face and neck. The blast outside the fortress had been severe enough to send Blaze back with Cody's team for medical treatment. Travis felt his breathing ease, and he raised up one arm signaling that he wanted the breather off. As he gestured with his arm, he realized with relief that the numbness from the recoil of the Kaz'harian weapon had completely worn off.

The medic checked his vitals, and then nodded, sliding the breather off.

"It's good to see you back, Blaze," Travis said, still studying the commando's injuries carefully. Blaze's burns were now covered with bacta, but still looked red and raw underneath. The commando already had considerable scarring on his face from the previous injuries that had sent him to Kamino, and the combined effect of the scarring lined his face from his eyes almost all the way to his chin. The RC's jaw tightened under the Marine's scrutiny, but he said nothing. "I wasn't expecting you back." Travis continued, "You sure you're OK?"

Blaze's jaw tightened some more, pulling his burns so that the bacta glistened in the light, "I was cleared to return. I'm _fine_, Lieutenant."

Travis couldn't hear intonations of voice anymore, but he was sure that the RC was gritting the words out one at a time.

"Alright, then," the Marine conceded, and then he smiled warmly, "I must say you have excellent timing."

Some of the tension left the commando's face and he seemed to relax slightly under the praise. When his face relaxed, the scars were not severe and his appearance was not so harsh.

Travis suddenly realized the battle was over. There were no more bright flashes of light in the smoke-filled, darkened corridor. He pushed himself up onto one elbow, staring around in confusion, "How long was I out?"

"It took about a minute until you started coming around. Two for your vitals to stabilize," said the unfamiliar 501st clone, appearing in Travis' line of vision again. The Marine Lieutenant glanced toward the other clone's shoulder and noticed he had a medic's insignia on the sleeve.

"Two minutes?" Travis sputtered, staring up toward Blaze for confirmation. "The battle's over?!"

Blaze nodded, and then looked thoughtful as he summarized what Travis had missed, "You were pulled down when I shot that one," he pointed to a dead Kaz'harian just a few meters off from the Marine, "He'd gotten a death grip on you. That's for sure." He gave the unmoving form a prod with his foot for good measure. The large hulking form was unyielding under his armored boot. "Once Kix, Sparks and I got here it didn't take long to finish off the rest of them. Kix has a special technique for it. He used it when they did a siege on the ship."

"Flash bangs," the clone medic identified as 'Kix' said as he ran a scanner over Travis. His hands always seemed to be working, even as he was talking, "It is their primary weakness due to photobobia." He shifted from soldier mode back to medic mode, "How are you feeling, Lieutenant?"

"Fine," Travis said, pushing himself up to a seated position, and waved a hand toward where he could see some of the others from the command team, "don't worry about me. See to the others." He suddenly realized how pushy, rude and ungrateful he sounded, and that was no way to treat a medic. "Uh... thanks for the help, Kix. You're Captain Rex's medic, I take it?"

The 501st clone straightened his shoulder's up, "I am." He held up his scanner, "You've got ligament damage to your arm, and seems you sustained some burns to your chest recently. Normally, I'd insist on taking more time to look you over, but you're right, I need to triage the others." He gave a quick sweeping glance toward the rest of the team. "Come find me right away if you have difficulties breathing."

The Marine Lieutenant nodded, and Travis watched as the medic moved off to go to see to Captain Catcher. The ARC was sitting on the floor, head back, eyes closed and one hand braced against his bleeding side.

His attention was brought back to the Republic Commando by his side. "Water? The medic told me you might be thirsty." He offered up his own canteen to Travis.

Travis accepted it eagerly. His extreme thirst from earlier in the battle had combined with the aching in his throat to create a parching ache. He practically ripped the canteen out of Blaze's hands.

"I see he was right," a small smile of amusement tugged at Blaze's lips.

Travis ignored him as his entire focus was on getting something to drink. He closed his eyes in blissful relief as the water hit the back of his throat. He kept on drinking, not even pausing to take a breath. Blaze knelt back on his haunches, still watching him with amusement. "Battle dehydration can be deadly. I would think you Marines would know better," he wagged a finger in Travis' direction, but his words were an attempt at humor.

The Marine narrowed his eyes at him as he drank, not in the mood to be lectured. But, as he studied Blaze more carefully he noticed that the humor did not extend to his eyes. It was as if the commando was trying to make a show of normalcy to the outside world but inwardly was in complete turmoil. Travis wondered how much the loss of Viper was taking a toll on the Republic Commando. The two had been absolutely inseparable for as long as he had known them. Travis had no idea what he could do for his brother. He was ill equipped to deal with such things. He finished drinking and shook the canteen gently judging how much water was left as he gathered his thoughts. Then, he clipped the depleted canteen to his belt, and then grabbed up his nearly full one and offered it to Blaze in exchange. The commando accepted it with a nod.

"Blaze, look, about Viper-" Travis started out, feeling he needed to say something. Karyn had tried to talk to him one night about what she called something like post battle stress disorder or something, but it was all very complicated. He hadn't wanted to hear about it, or consider the idea that _he_ had it along with the rest of the Legion. So, he did what he always did when Karyn brought up topics too unsavory to consider. He distracted her with physical pleasures of the flesh. It always seemed to work. Although now, he was wishing perhaps he had paid more attention to the discussion. Perhaps Karyn had been trying to tell him something important, after all. If he succeeded in making it home, he would apologize and ask her about it again. For the sake of Blaze. And the others. Maybe even for himself.

"Not up for discussion," Blaze said harshly, he brought his bucket up off of his belt and slammed it onto his head.

Travis took a deep breath. It was disorienting see Blaze's armor and Viper's face. "Blaze. I can't talk to you when you have your bucket on. Deaf, remember?" He pointed to his ears.

Blaze took a long moment, and then tugged his helmet off. He studied it for a long moment as if still trying to come to grips with the brother who had worn it before. Travis opened his mouth to say something about Viper, but held his tongue at the last moment. The other RC seemed to sense this and looked at him with narrowed eyes. A long moment of awkward silence ensued between them.

_Shab_, Travis thought,_ Karyn is right. I do need to learn more about this stuff. If not for me, for vode like Blaze._

Blaze surprised him by being the first to break the silence between the two men. He clipped the helmet to his belt, and resumed giving the Lieutenant an informal briefing, "You took first priority among the wounded," he made a vague gesture with his hand indicating the others around them.

Travis raised up an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh, yeah?"

Blaze let out the barest chuckle, "Yes. You were the only one who wasn't breathing. Apparently, that sort of thing gets you moved to the head of the queue."

"I'll keep that in mind next time I decide to stop breathing then," Travis quipped back, reaching one hand inside his bodysuit to rub at his neck. He grimaced as he felt a whole line of bruising from where the simian's hands had gripped him so tightly. Once this battle was done, he just wanted to sleep and let some of these bruises settle.

Blaze was watching his movements very carefully. He pointed to the arm that Travis had been avoiding using and kept cradled in his lap. "Medic said you injured your arm." He glanced over at where Kix was working on Catcher. "Looks like he'll be busy for a while. Want me to wrap it for you?"

Travis nodded and held out his arm, impressed with how the commando seemed to catch every detail. He watched as Blaze removed his glove and vambrace and then wrapped the area with a bacta bandage from his field medkit. "So, how did you end up here?" Travis demanded, turning to Blaze.

The commando shrugged, "The communications jamming is sporadic. Captain Rex was able to contact us and send your coordinates. I met up with the others," he gestured toward Kix and Sparks, "as I was entering the battle zone." He made a gesture indicating he was done wrapping Travis' arm, "Alright?"

Travis experimentally closed his arm into a fist. It was painful and everything tingled going all the way up to his shoulder, but at least he could get some movement out of the arm again. "It's perfect," he said, inordinately pleased he'd be able to fire again with that hand, painful as it would be, "could you help get my vambrace over it?" Now that he felt functional again, he was suddenly eager to get going. "Blaze, do you know of the status of the others? There were two 501st ARCs with our team, Fives and Echo," Travis craned his neck around, not seeing them in the smoky corridor. "Or, Hok and his team? Do you know the status of the scouts?" It was incredibly difficult to see anything in the aftermath of the battle.

The RC shook his head, "No. Been too busy tending to your non-breathing shebs ever since the battle ended. Alright, Lieutenant. Up you go. Let's check it out." He hauled the Marine to his feet in one smooth move. Everything spun dizzily around Travis for a moment and he fought for balance. Blaze maintained a tight grip on his elbow and said nothing, just waited while he found his feet. "You good now?"

"Yeah," Travis nodded, he rubbed at his neck which still felt painfully bruised and raw, "remind me not to do _that_ again."

"Noted," Blaze said, and then he pointed down the corridor. It was the same direction where Travis had last caught sight of Hok and his scout team, "I heard heavy shooting down this way. Right before the battle came to a close. Something big went down."

Together, they set off into the smoke-filled corridor to find out the fate of the scout team.

# # #


	118. Chap 118 Deadly Crossfire Final Showdown

**A/N: **_Chapter 118 tells the finale of the Battle in the Corridor, primarily from the POV of Scout Sergeant Hok. We finally find out his fate. Poor Hok. (Sigh.) Some other notable characters do pop in for a bit, though, to tell their POV of the battle._

_This is actually a compilation of two chapters, (Chapter 118, and what I originally planned to release next week as Chapter 119.) Both are combined here as one bonus chapter. Yummy. I did this specifically to avoid leaving things ending on a cliffhanger for a third week in a row. (Some of you have hinted my cliffies are evil.) I did mark off the original ending of the chapter, so I could show you how nice I was being this week._

_New artwork again on the story! All of the artwork is done by Gloryblaz, a reader of WHTCR. She spent many hours creating these lovely pieces. There is a link on my profile where you can see more of Gloryblaz's WHTCR work. _

**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex**

**Chapter 118**

**Deadly Crossfire- Part 5**

This was it. The final surge of the Kaz'harians.

Hok stared down the horde coming at him. Out of long-borne habit, he whipped his gaze over to check on the team. Flex was standing over Jagger and Sabre, one leg spread on either side of them. There was a fierce protectiveness to his stance.

Then, Hok saw a slight hint of movement out of Sabre. Flex noticed it, too. He tucked his blaster under his own good arm while he knelt to check his brother over. But, there was no time to linger. Flex sprang back to his feet, ducking down in time to avoid a side swipe from a Kaz'harian that had gotten too close. Hok took that warrior down with a shot to the head. He kept providing as much cover fire as he could toward his team, but he was completely inundated himself. Flex glanced over his way and gave a nod for the help. Hok gave a nod back of acknowledgement and gestured toward Sabre.

"Not sure, Sarge," Flex replied back, choosing to answer over the comm rather than hand signals. With just one arm, hand signals were not as convenient for him. "Sabre was hit hard with a club. I thought he might be coming around, but he's still down. It was a bad hit."

"Alright. Keep me posted," Hok replied.

Still, he felt a surge of hope at this positive sign. If Sabre could get back into the fight, perhaps the odds were in their favor. They had been through worse situations and pulled through.

As a team, the four scouts had pulled through some tough scrapes. He was determined that all four of them were going to make it through this and finish this entire mission.

His leg started trembling precariously; the injured and torn muscles protesting the strain.

_No! No! No!_

Hok teetered and fought to stay on his feet. If he went down, he'd be easy prey for the Kaz'harians. Flex would be on his own. He fiercely locked the muscles in his leg. A wave of pain rushed back at him as the injured flesh screamed back at him in protest. He gritted his teeth, and a low groan escaped under his breath.

He felt his eyes water from the strain and his breathing grew ragged. He blinked rapidly trying to get his vision to clear. The Kaz'harians in front of him starting blurry into grey fuzzy blobs.

_Oh, this is not good. I can't shoot if I can't see._

He took huge gulping breaths of air, willing his body to just hang on. He wished he had time to grab a stim off his belt.

But, there was no time. The Kaz'harians seemed to sense he was off. They were coming at him faster. He fired at what he hoped was the right direction, but he knew his accuracy was off. He was vulnerable and he was slipping.

He teetered again on his feet, struggling to stay standing.

The grey blobs were almost right on top of him. It was over...

The sudden arrival of the two ARCs from the 501st startled him. Without warning, he was flanked on either side by the impressively decked out blue and white ARCs that Catcher had identified to him as 'Fives' and 'Echo.'

"Looks like you could you could use some help," Fives said, as the duo took down the Kaz'harians about to overwhelm Hok.

"Uhh..." Hok found himself numbly staring. His body didn't seem to want to move anymore. The ARCs were a blur of motion around him as they took down the Kaz'harians. He felt himself wavering on his feet again.

The battle seemed distant now as if it was happening to somebody else. He began to feel cold and start shivering. Hok couldn't stop the tremors that started wracking his body. Hok heard one of the ARCs say something quickly to the other. He suspected they were talking about him, but his hearing was garbled. Everything seemed surreal and far away. Hok felt something sharp prick between his armored plates.

His eyes started to focus. He slowly turned his head down just in time to see Fives tucking away a used stim sharp with one hand, blaster still in hand in the other. The ARC gestured toward the wound on his leg, and then said without preamble, "You were going into shock."

Hok felt his body warming up, his vision further cleared and he felt a sudden burst of energy. The stim's effects worked its way throughout his system. He took several deep gulping breaths, and then carefully eased himself into a position alongside Fives, resuming firing, mindful of his injured leg. Fives and Echo both shifted slightly, making room for him. They did the move so naturally it was as if they had the ability to think as one during a battle.

"Thanks, vode," Hok acknowledged. It didn't need to be said that he was thanking them for more than the stim shot. He owed them. He hoped he could repay them one day.

But, the battle was far from over. He pointed over toward where Flex was still fiercely engaged on his own. Sabre had yet to rise.

"On it," Fives said, gesturing to Echo. He glanced down at Hok's leg, which had left an impressive puddle of blood on the ground. "You're bleeding out. Stay put."

The two ARCs positioned themselves shoulder-to-shoulder, emitting a continuous sweep of fire as they sidestepped their way over to the rest of the scout team.

As soon as they arrived, Fives shifted and started firing back-to-back with Flex. The scout initially gave a sharp startled glance at the sudden arrival of the ARC, but immediately adapted into the battle stance with him. Hok realized that Fives was literally covering Flex's back. Echo knelt down and checked over the two downed scouts. Hok saw him speaking to Sabre, and then reach into his beltpouch and administer a sharp to the clone, likely either a stim or a painkiller.

With the aid of Echo, Sabre worked his way to his feet. He was clearly favoring one shoulder, but Hok was thrilled to see him up again. Sabre angled his body so that he could shield Jagger, who still hadn't shown any signs of movement. Echo moved into a strategic position on the other side of him so that all four clones were covering each other's backs.

When he saw Captain Rex again, he'd have to commend him on his ARCs. These 501st fellows were everything he'd heard about. He could see why they'd earned such a reputation.

_Yes, it's all going to be OK. We're going to make it through this thing._

His optimism was short-lived. Hok's attention had been divided between watching his team and trading fire with the Kaz'harians. But, as talented as clones were at multi-tasking, and scouts were even more skilled at it than most, he'd diverted his attention for just a micro-second too long.

Hok shouted out in protest as he tackled to the ground from behind. His injured leg buckled painfully under him. Hok's vision went red with a haze of pain, and he desperately wanted to just straighten out his leg to ease the tremendous pain. This sudden spike of pain was even worse than the original stinging bite when he'd been attacked on that cold moonlit shore by the Oppee. But, he forced himself to block out the signal coming from his leg. There were several hundred kilos of Kaz'harian warrior to suddenly contend with and Hok knew he was in trouble.

He butted the simian with helmet. At the same time, he fiercely tried to tug his arms free from where they'd been pinned underneath his body.

"Gah!" But, his vicious head-butt did not go over well with the Kaz'harian. He saw a flash of dark grey fur and the curiously human-looking dark hands in front of his scout visor. Then, all of a sudden he felt blinding pain in his skull. It took him a moment to realize it came from the Kaz'harians' hands squeezing his helmet. He both heard and felt the crack as the plasti-material in his helmet began to give way under the tremendous pressure.

_I'm not dying now getting my brains crushed like a Nabooian sweet seed!_

The scout leader bucked his body upwards trying to throw the Kaz'harian off. But, his opponent had a great advantage in body mass and his most recent efforts just seemed to inspire the simian further. Through his muffled hearing, he heard a cold, amused chuckle as the pressure on his skull tightened.

There was another 'crack.' The pain in his skull was excruciating. But, Hok hoped he was just hearing a piece of his helmet cracking and not the bones in his skull. Hok yelled and kicked out with his legs. He was heedless of what he might be doing to to his already injured leg. Right now, he could only think about trying to survive the next few seconds. Once his scout helmet gave way, the massive simian would crush his head immediately.

There was another loud 'crack.'

Hok's entire life flashed before his eyes.

It started with Kamino and sped through the formation of the scout squad and then the battle of Geonosis. It ended with the events on Ando. Hok's final thoughts were of Xyra.

# # #

_[Author's Note: Chapter 118 originally ended here.] _

_# # #_

"Yes, sir, Captain Rex. Jedi are secure," Shadow listened carefully, and his eyes widened slightly at the information being relayed to him, "Understood, Captain. Yes. We are in a position to intercept," the gunner double-checked the squad's position against his HUD. "Proceeding to the assigned coordinates. Avoiding your position. Following the alternate route."

He immediately signed off as soon as he received the orders. He could hear the sounds of battle in the background as the Captain was speaking to him. This was no time for idle chat, or clone banter. Shadow relayed the info to Hopper and Edge who simultaneously clicked back a confirmation of the new orders.

He tamped down the frustration he felt knowing the Captain and the Legion were caught up in a battle elsewhere and his squad could not go assist. Orders were orders. He respected the command structure and knew when to shut up and obey. _That_ had not changed with Ando. With a brisk hand motion, Shadow increased the squad's pace into a sprint.

_Gah. I hate running._

There had been a time when he'd loved running as much as the next clone. But, that was before he'd taken a blaster bolt to the hip. He'd healed some during the two months on Ando. Thanks to the relentless daily drills from the Viper, Blaze, and Captain Catcher, he'd figured out a way to work his permanent limp back into a decent cadence of a run.

But, he was a damaged clone. And, he would always be a damaged clone. And, that knowledge burned him to the core.

Late at night, when he couldn't sleep because there was no position that was comfortable with a burning, aching hip, he lay awake and thought of his brothers elsewhere in the galaxy. They were still fighting on, and they were everything a clone should be. He was... not.

He was just a shadow of his former self.

Ando. There _was_ someone on Ando who had caught his eye. His squad mates couldn't stop talking about _their_ relationships. When he was spending time with the squad, it was different now. It used to always be talk about guns, ammo, droids and sometimes bolo scores. But, now, all Hopper, Tuck and Edge talked about were their new lives. Their relationships.

And, the rest of the squad knew whom he had his eye on. You couldn't hide anything in a squad of four. They kept telling him to go for it. But, he held back. He kept to himself when they were all off busy with their women. He was not what he once was.

Shadow.

His name suited him well.

For all that he was holo of confidence when surrounded by his squad, on the inside he felt wounded by a great deal more than just the blaster shot that took him out of the GAR. He felt a complete loss of self.

He was just an empty shell of a man.

So, he stayed away and hid when he was off-duty. And, when he was around the Legion he hid behind his big gun and his brash humor.

But, the hurt was there. And, it ran deep.

_Fek. This is why I hate running._

His hip was hurting in earnest now.

Shadow checked his HUD, double-checking their current position against their target destination.

He cut his comms, and allowed himself a groan of frustration. They were less than halfway there.

He focused his thoughts on his running, trying to make good time. The Captain had impressed upon him the urgency of their task. Lieutenant Travis and Captain Catcher were caught in a deadly crossfire. Shadow clearly detected something in the Captain's tone that he'd not heard before. A desperate edge. Everyone knew the Lieutenant and the Captain were close. For all they fought like a bunch of acklays, it was clear they were as close as two vode could be. His squad had to get there on time. He would do this for the Captain. Rex was a good man. He felt he owed him. They all did.

Shadow tucked his rotary gun high up into his good shoulder and concentrated on making his hip work. It was not a graceful run by any means, but it was still a decent clip. When he focused on the mechanics of just keeping his leg moving, he could keep up with Hopper and Edge.

On Ando, there were times after training when the pain from training had been enough to make him consider seeking out the medics. But, he didn't. He couldn't. He _wouldn't_.

Knowing he couldn't sleep, he would spend hours just walking slowly by himself around the abandoned back-alleys of Ando. No one lived there anymore. He'd been told that families had once been there. Before the war. Now there were just rows of empty buildings. Ghosts. Shells. Like him.

He walked slowly trying to work the sting of the pain out of his hip. Eventually, he'd get so cold and exhausted, he knew he could finally sleep for a few hours.

He'd been self-conscious about his hip ever since he'd been doomed to Kamino because of it. He'd been able to keep a real low profile and avoid the medics in all the time he'd been on Ando.

Yes, he was lonely.

But, it was who he was.

Just a shadow.

# # #

To say Catcher was surprised by the sudden appearance of Blaze was an understatement.

He heard activity behind him and spun around seeing Travis go down. He wanted to get to his brother to assist, but the sudden motion had left him reeling. He doubled over and grasped at his injured side. He saw dark spots in front of his vision. The ARC Captain knew he'd been steadily losing blood ever since he'd gotten hit.

He heard shouting and new commotion and activity behind him. But, he lacked the energy or strength to turn and see what it was. Suddenly, he felt a firm grip on his elbow. The shock of being touched was enough to give him a sudden adrenaline surge. Catcher immediately straightened up, regardless of the pain it caused him. He ejected his vibroblade and prepared to gut the combatant grabbing him. Just as he swung, the blade was spun down and away.

He heard the smooth familiar cadence of a clone voice, "Whoa, easy! I'm a medic!"

The deflection of his blade had thrown him off-balance, particularly with his braced legs which did not allow for sudden pivots. He felt himself teetering backwards, but was saved by an arm slid around his waist.

"I think you are done for today."

Catcher narrowed his eyes and stared at the clone speaking to him. He was dressed in the blue and white armor of the five oh first and there was a red medic insignia on one shoulder. This medic, whoever he was, was managing to both hold Catcher up and still fire at the Kaz'harians. He was a good shot, too, taking them down in just one blast.

"Can't," Catcher shook his head stubbornly attempting to straighten up. He only succeed in getting partway there as the pain from his side sucked his breath away. But, he was able to get one arm up and began firing again. "Have to finish the battle." He made a vague gesture in the direction of his team. He knew that Travis, Torch and Dart were back there. And, by some miracle, once again, Blaze. "My team." He still had no idea where the ARCs had gone. But, he'd once been an ARC and had to admit he had a habit of doing his own thing when it suited him...

_Travis!_

The thought hit him like a blaster bolt.

"My Lieutenant went down," Catcher said suddenly. He tried to pivot around to get a glimpse of him, but couldn't between his injured side and the limited movement of his braced legs.

"I'll check on him. But, you need me more right now. You're losing a lot of blood."

Catcher shook his head, "I'll be OK for a bit. Check on him." He just had a bad feeling about Travis.

The medic glanced back quickly toward the fallen Marine. "Normally, I wouldn't take orders from _anyone_ with regards to a medical situation, even a Captain. _Especially_ Captains. I'm a _medic_. However, considering your Lieutenant hasn't moved at all, just this once, I'll defer."

Catcher was helped over to the nearest wall, and braced up against it. But, even so, it was very slow going, since they were under constant heavy fire the entire time. But, with two clones working together, they eventually made it. "Thanks." Catcher said as the medic immediately moved off towards Travis.

But, when he tried to step away from the wall, an increased hail of slugthrower fire kept him pinned against the sparse cover.

"Go," Catcher said, moving to push up off the wall, "I'll cover you."

"I have a better plan," the medic said, pressing the ARC Captain back into the wall with a gentle, but firm hand. "I made an interesting discovery regarding the Kazzies while defending your ship." He reached into his belt pouch, and handed a flashbang over to Catcher, keeping one for himself. "Signal the rest of your team."

Catcher stared at the flashbang in his hand for a moment, unsure at being given battle orders by a medic. After another second of consideration, gut instinct took over and he decided to trust this vod. "Alright. Tell me what to do."

# # #

As Shadow ran, he realized he had more pressing concerns than the old injury that had ended his career with the GAR.

His strength was draining.

His whole arm and shoulder had been aching with a slow fire ever since he'd taken that slug outside the labs.

His whole body felt _wrong_.

The heavy gunner knew the injury was likely festering and poisoning his blood. He'd applied bacta to it during their brief respite when they'd dropped the Jedi off at the shuttle. But, too much time may have passed since he'd taken the slug.

He took deep breaths working on keeping a steady cadence, just as they were taught in training. They'd spent hours just learning how to run.

_Just a little farther..._

His body was designed to take this type of punishment. He had been engineered for this. Shadow relaxed into the cadence of running. He loped around another corner and felt a sudden adrenaline rush as he detected the familiar sounds of battle. The rotary gunner felt a surge of anger as he saw a large group of Kaz'harians rushing forward to overrun the camouflaged forms of the scout team. Shadow recognized the scout team leader, Hok, Flex, and then spotted Sabre. He quickly scanned the area for the final scout, not seeing him, then realized he was down. Fighting alongside Flex were two clones Hok didn't recognize dressed in the distinctive armor of the 501st. They seemed to know what they were doing, though. They were putting up a hell of a fight.

He heard a sound behind him, and spun around him to see more Kaz'harian patrols coming up the hallway behind them.

"Shadow Squad! Attack formation!" Shadow dropped to a knee, getting his rotary gun into position. The large weapon roared to life and Hopper and Tuck simultaneously began firing, as well. He lost himself to the familiar feel of firing his gun and taking out targets. Their larger weapons outmatched the Kaz'harian slugthrowers. It took only seconds for the squad of heavy gunners to take out the group of oncoming warriors.

The three clones all spun around, weapons readied, but quickly realized they would not be able to take out the rest of the Kaz'harians in the same way. The Kaz'harians engaged in battle in front of them were engaged in close quarters combat with the scouts and 501st clones. If they used their large guns, they would risk hitting their own brothers. They would just have to battle it out by hand. Shadow gave a rare signal, one that he rarely had cause to use, telling the squad to drop their heavy guns. He set down his quad gun, an odd sensation, like he was leaving a piece of himself behind. He pulled his rarely used blaster out of his holster on own side, ejected his vibroblade, and charged forward into the fray.

_# # #_

Hok saw a single bright flash of blue light.

Suddenly, the pressure on his skull released.

He collapsed back onto the stone floor, momentarily stunned.

It took several seconds for the pain in his head to ease up completely. During that time, the reality began to sink in that just as with the Oppee, he had once again cheated death. He pushed up on his elbows, staring around him, and rolled away just in time to avoid the body of a Kaz'harian slamming into the ground.

His muffled hearing was just able to catch out a quick shouted apology, "Hey! Sorry 'bout that Hok!... Heads up! Here comes another!"

He stared up and immediately recognized Shadow, the heavy gunner, who was just running his vibroblade through the neck of another Kaz'harian. And, a moment later the body came crashing down. The scout leader rolled to avoid getting hit.

"Sorry, Hok!" Shadow shouted, "hard to aim these kriffin' things." He grunted as he jammed his blade into another one of the warriors, while artfully dodging a brutal side-swiping blow from another. "Heads up! Another one coming down!"

Hok rolled to the side again to dodge another of Shadow's fatalities, and quickly tugged off his helmet to inspect it for damage. There was a long crack running up the back and another along the left side, but it looked as the essential wiring along the front visor had been spared. He pulled it back on with a satisfied grunt.

"Watch!" Shadow yelled, just as another body was about to hit near Hok. Tired of dodging the dead Kazzies, Hok tried to get himself to his feet. But, it was a difficult task with his injured leg. Shadow glanced down and yanked him to his feet. Hok was amazed at the strength of the clone. He single-handedly lifted him and set him down again, before swinging around to take out another Kazzie. Hok noticed the gunner was primarily doing everything with just one arm, favoring the other shoulder.

"Duck!" Shadow yelled. Years of training instilled in him, Hok didn't hesitate. He dodged down just in time to see the gunner retract his knife and whip out his blaster. Hok tilted his head just enough to see that Shadow had just taken out a Kaz'harian that had been about to get the drop on the scout from behind. In one smooth move, the gunner holstered his blaster and grabbed Hok. He yanked him out of the way, pulling him out of the path of the falling simian. Once again, the scout was left reeling from the sheer strength of the heavy gunner who lifted him like he was no more than a sack of barkmeal.

"Thanks, Shadow," Hok said, struggling to find his balance after he was set down.

The gunner had already gone back to fighting, but commented, "The Captain sent us here to help." He blasted off several shots in quick succession, taking down a Kaz'harian with each shot. The scout sergeant never knew the heavy gunner was such a keen shot with a blaster, since he'd only ever seen him hauling his rotary gun. He realized he knew very little about him, and if they lived through this he'd make a point of trying to get to know this brother better. He seemed like a really decent vod. Hok positioned himself back to back with Shadow and began firing on the Kazzies surrounding them. They kept edging back until they were right alongside Hopper, Edge, Flex, Fives and Echo. The seven clones fought together as one and were able to push the warriors back enough to get themselves out of the closed quarters combat fighting and give themselves some more room to fight.

Fives put his hand up to the side of his helmet, as if listening to a comm, "Flashbangs," the ARC announced to the others. "Kix is here. He's with the team on the other side. He says Kaz'harians are over-sensitive to stun grenades."

He put his hand up to his helmet again, as if listening for a signal, "On my mark. We're coordinating with Catcher's team."

Hok cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. Of course! The Kaz'harians preferred darkened hallways. They could see in very low light conditions. However, this genetic adaptation could be a severe disadvantage if you could overwhelm their senses temporarily.

"Get your filters turned up to max!" the ARC warned. Hok immediately complied, darkening his helmet and increasing his sound buffers. But, the latter was likely going to be negligible to a clone who was already partially deaf. "If you have one, we're going to throw 'em on three." Hok reached into his beltpouch fishing around for a flashbang. Yes, he had one. He glanced over and noticed all seven of the clones had one. Oh, this was going to be quite the noise and lightshow.

They continued to fire on the Kaz'harians, waiting on the signal from Fives.

"Mark!" Fives shouted, lobbing his flashbang. Hok threw his stun grenade in the same general direction as the others and heard them hit one after the other. He ducked down as best he could with his injured leg, closing his eyes momentarily and shielding his head. The resulting initial explosion from seven flashbangs was impressive, plus all of those thrown by the team on the other side, producing a cacophony of noise that even someone as hearing-impaired as Hok could appreciate.

"Go! Go! Go!" Fives yelled, motioning with hand signals. He was sure that after that many flashbangs all of the other clones were as hearing impaired as him even with their filters turned up to max.

Hok shuffled awkwardly after the others, finding his leg nearly useless at this point. Shadow grabbed him with his one good arm and hauled him along. The scout sergeant was impressed with how the gunner always seemed to be keeping an eye on the vode around him. They reached the stunned simians and made quick work of putting them out of their misery. Flex seemed to take particular delight in taking out the helpless Kazzies. He kept putting more shots than necessary into each one.

"_Enough_, Flex," Hok finally ordered, calling off the scout.

Flex spun around, sides heaving from the exertion, "I was just settling it... For Sabre. For Jagger." He tilted his bucket down toward his shattered arm, "For me."

"Consider it settled, then," the scout leader said. He looked around the smoke-filled corridor. It was lined with the bodies of dead Kaz'harians. The scout leader didn't feel satisfied, just inexplicably exhausted. "Come on, Flex. It's over."

# # #

_A/N: There was actually still more to this scene that didn't fit into this chapter. It will be added into the next chapter which starts taking us into the final push into the dungeons. Thank you to the two readers who pointed that in Chapter 117 Blaze put on his helmet and continued speaking to Travis. (Since the Lieutenant had his bucket off in the scene, he wouldn't be able to follow the conversation at that point.) Great catch. The scene has been updated accordingly._

_With regards to Barriss' fate in WHTCR, there are no plans to switch her over to 'evil Barriss.' The TV show never expanded upon her character and showed her as a healer. (OK, they expanded upon her character and showed her as eeeeevil.) Her role as a healer only exists in the expanded universe, so I seem them as almost two separate characters. I enjoy writing "coffee" (Cody-Barriss Offee) and plan on continuing to do so._

# # #


	119. Chapter 119- Icy Cold Creeping Fire

_A/N: In this week's episode, the commando team heads merrily off to the dungeons, the scouts get playful, Fives gets angsty, and Kix engages in gossip. Hey, it's been a tough week with the cancellation of the Clone Wars, so, happy day, nobody dies this week. I was going to tease all of you and say that in light of the cancellation of the show, I have decided to cancel this story, too. But, I couldn't be that cruel. No, no. Only Disney could take that much fun out of the Star Wars universe. Sorry. Was that my outside voice? Guess I'm feeling a bit out of sorts. However, there is a good interview on Rebel Forces Radio with James Arnold Taylor where he does a sort of 'Obi Wan' thing and suggests channeling that anger. (It's kind of funny, actually.) And, since the cast and crew ARE still intact at the moment and finishing up that "bonus" content, it's a good time to send letters to Disney and Lucasfilm expressing your positive support for the show. Such campaigns have worked in the past with Disney (twice) in saving already cancelled animated shows. Addresses where you can send letters are on the FaceBook page for Rebel Forces radio._

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 119**

# # #

Jagger woke up quickly. He'd been creased along the side of the head with a bullet. Thankfully, his scout helmet had taken the brunt of the damage. Flex tended to his brother, mopping at a long bloody cut that ran from Jagger's ear to his cheek.

"Looks like you may end up with another impressive scar, vod," Flex teased.

"Just what I wanted," Jagger twisted his lips, sourly, and then grimaced as the cut on his face pulled. "Give me that," He tugged the bacta wipe from his brother and began cleaning it himself. "Go see to Sabre and quit harassing me."

Flex glanced back thoughtfully. "No. I think the ARC's got it well in hand. You're stuck with me."

Echo cocked his head to the side, and even through his helmet it was clear he was giving Flex a _look_. "The _ARC _has a name. It's Echo, vod."

Flex grinned, "Right." He leaned over and extended a hand, totally unperturbed by the minor correction he'd been given by the intimidating trooper, "I'm Flex. And, uh... thanks for saving our hides."

Echo shrugged, seemingly amused by the scout's exuberant personality, "Right. Well, you seemed to have it well in hand all by yourself actually."

Flex gazed down at his busted arm and his single usable limb. "Are you razzing me, ARC?"

Echo shrugged innocently, and turned his attention back to where he'd been inspecting Sabre's injuries. He was caught off-guard by the strong smack on the pauldron he got from Flex. "Hey!"

"Good one, ARCie. Nice to see you have a sense of humor under all that get up," Flex said, and then man-handled back the bacta wipe from Jagger and went back to tending his brother.

"It's _Echo_," the 501st trooper grumbled. But, he was drowned out by the loud conversation between the scouts.

"Ow! Ow! Easy Flex! That's my fekkin' head! Kriff!" Jagger winced as Flex continued to dab and clean at the deep bleeding gash.

"You're lucky you still have a head," Flex said, inspecting the wound closely. "That club would've caught you any different and we'd be short a terrains specialists right now." He dabbed in silence for a few moments, but the exuberant scout couldn't stay quiet for long. He glanced over at Sabre and whistled. "Now, that's gonna' hurt tomorrow." Sabre had been knocked out for the majority of the battle when he'd been tackled to the ground by a Kaz'harian. He'd suffered a severely bruised shoulder from a sideswipe from one of their clubs.

Sabre held still as Echo continued to apply bacta liberally to the entire area, "Not nearly as sore as you, vod. You still get us all beat when it comes to gettin' clubbed, Flex."

"Alright, I might have gotten clubbed. And, good," Flex allowed. He grabbed a fresh gauze pad and held it in place to help stem the bleeding on Jagger's head. He glanced back over at Hok, "but, I still think Sarge got it worse than me. He's still got a _slug_ stuck in him. If you ask me, I think he _enjoyed_ all of the attention he got with the Oppee. I mean, its even the same leg, mind you. What are the odds of that?"

Hok looked over at the team, and a weary smile crossed his features. It was a relief to hear them back to their normal bantering even if he seemed to be on the receiving end of it at the moment. "What can I say?" he tossed back over to the team, "Xyra loves a guy with impressive scars."

The other three scouts burst into laughter at this one. Fives glanced up sharply, "Who's Xyra?"

Hok turned his attention back to where Fives was tending to his leg, and bit his lip.

_Fek._

"Just a friend," he murmured, making a non-committal gesture with one-hand.

"Rrrright," Fives said, his tone indicating that he didn't believe the 'friend' osik for a micro-second. He looked up at Hok and met his eyes, "Well, you're lucky, vod." He glanced back at the other scouts, and then over toward Catcher, Travis and the rest of the team. "From what I've gathered, all of you are." His tone took on a sense of longing and a desire for something _more_.

"Fives," Hok began, not sure what it was he was going to say. He stopped. There was nothing he could offer the 501st ARC. He had everything back on Ando. And, from what he understood from Captain Rex, all of the 501st and the 212th were headed back directly into active service as soon as they left Darkknell. He felt his gut twist strangely. At one time, that was all that he had wanted.. what Fives had right now. But, then he met Xyra and lived for a time on Ando and everything had changed. He had a taste of a different sort of life and suddenly fighting somebody else's war didn't seem so appealing anymore. Everything he felt must have shown in his eyes, or at least some part of it.

Fives stared at him and his expression grew dark and cloudy. He scowled. "I get it, OK?" The 501st ARC said and he mopped at his brow. He quickly turned his attention back to Hok's leg, "I need to put a pressure bandage on this. The bleeding is not stopping. It's going to hurt." He tightened up the bandage with the efficient, practiced strokes of someone who had done the maneuver in the field many times. Hok sucked in his breath sharply at the sudden burst of pain.

His three team members stopped their light-hearted conversation and looked over at him in concern. He put up a hand indicating he was fine. He blew out a long steadying breath.

Fives glanced back at the scout team, and then spoke in a low voice to Hok, "They're a good group...your squad." There was something melancholy in his voice that indicated he had once belonged to a similar group. Hok wanted to ask what had happened to them, but he didn't.

"They are," the scout sergeant agreed, looking over toward his team. Flex and Jagger were in the midst of a heated argument about _something_. He smiled, again, as he studied them, thinking how lucky he was to have his squad intact.

Fives voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, "But, they're right. Your injuries are worse than the others. You'd be best off seeing our medic, Kix."

Hok strained to see across the still-smoke filled corridor to where Kix was working on Catcher. The ARC Captain was lying unmoving on the ground. Hok wondered how badly he'd been hurt. Once the battle had been started, he'd been so distracted with keeping his team alive that he had no idea as to the status of the others.

"Alright," he agreed, "thanks for the help, Fives." Once again, he felt there was a great deal left unsaid. Fives gave him a curt nod and hauled him to his feet. They limped slowly and painfully across the corridor, making their way around the many bodies of the fallen Kaz'harians. There were corpses everywhere. At one point, Fives had to help him over a pile of the corpses. Hok tried to ignore their staring, glassy eyes and how human their hands seemed.

_Those same hands tried to crush my skull, _he reminded himself, focusing on his footing, so that he didn't stumble. He wasn't sure why fighting these Kaz'harians felt so different from fighting droids. His time with Xyra had changed him. Killing felt different now. There was more thought behind everything he did. And, thinking didn't make everything easier. He wondered if his time on Ando was starting to undo his flash training, and why that made him excited and terrified all at once.

Fives dropped him off over by the 501st medic. He couldn't stifle a groan as he slid down against the wall.

Kix glanced up at him. "I'll be with you in a bit."

"Alright, thanks," the scout sergeant murmured, leaning his head back against the wall. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the insistent throbbing in his leg. But, the sensation was so overwhelming, it was getting hard to focus on other things. It was different from the irritating prickling burn from a blaster. It also felt nothing like the injury he'd suffered to the same leg when he'd been attacked by the sea creature. When he'd first been shot by the slug, his whole leg had gone cold with a spreading icy numbness. _That_ part of it hadn't been so bad, except he knew at the time it was probably just a precursor to something worse. The icy cold change over to a creeping fire. He'd tried to drown out the sensation, and succeeded for the most part since he had so much battle-adrenaline rushing through his system at the time. But, now that the battle was over and his entire body was winding down, all of the sensations were much harder to ignore. Hok shifted again, trying to find a comfortable position to sit. There _was_ no such position. His head was pounding. His arms were tired. His leg felt awful. Even his shebs hurt. Fek. Everything hurt.

Kix's assessing gaze flicked over him with the practiced gaze of a medic. He always seemed to be hyper-aware of everyone around him. "How many stims and painkillers have you had?"

"One stim? No painkillers," he shook his head, "it's alright. I can wait." He pointed to Catcher, who was still lying prone and unmoving, eyes closed. He looked pale, showing obvious signs of having lost a great deal of blood. He didn't look good, at all. "The Captain-"

"He's stable," Kix said, putting a hand on Catcher's shoulder, "Don't argue with a medic."

Catcher's eyes flickered open and he glanced back at Hok, "_Don't_ argue with him, Hok. It's useless, anyway."

Kix glanced over at Catcher, "Shut up and rest." But, his light-hearted tone belied the rebuke.

The ARC Captain opened just one eye and then closed it again. His lips quirked in amusement. "Bossy medics," he grumbled.

"Stubborn Captains," Kix tossed back. He pulled an IV of plasma out of his med-pac, and then threaded it into the Captain's arm. He double-checked the line, and then murmured with satisfaction as he saw the fluids steadily running into Catcher.

He turned his attention toward Hok. "Bucket off." His voice had all the imperious authority of somebody who was used to being obeyed at all times. He quickly looked over the bandage that Fives had applied to the wound and gave a nod of approval at the work. Hok unsealed his scout helmet. The moment he did, he began coughing. He hadn't realized how much smoke had accumulated in the corridor. His helmet filters had been doing an admirable job of filtering the worst of it.

"That's the residual flashbang smoke. It'll take a while to clear. Try breathing your nose and take shallower breaths," Kix advised. He waited until the scout had stopped coughing, so he could jab him with a large sharp of painkiller. "I'm almost done with the Captain here and then I can take care of that leg."

Catcher's eyes popped open, and he immediately pushed up to one elbow. "I can start telling my team to prepare to move out, then?" There was eagerness in his voice, but also a sense of urgency that hinted at importance business left undone.

Kix frowned, "If you're asking my medical opinion, I think _you_ should be headed back to the ship with the amount of blood you've lost and that hole in your side. But, since you're determined to push on, yes, I'm almost finished with you. I just need to wrap your ribs." He gave the ARC a long reprimanding scowl, "You remind me of Captain Rex."

Catcher laughed, then groaned and put a hand to his injured side, "I'll take that as a compliment, Kix. Thank you. The Captain and I get along, well."

Hok put his head back, noticing that the pain had already faded, but the fatigue was still there. It had been a long day. Maybe they were already into their second day? Fatigue was throwing off his normally perfect sense of time. "Everybody gets along with Captain Rex. Oh, well, except... maybe for Lieutenant Travis."

Kix glanced up with interest from where he was applying a thick coat of bacta to the area around Catcher's ribs. "Huh... Sit up," he directed to the ARC, helping the clone up. He began wrapping bandages around his midsection. "So, the Captain and the Lieutenant butt heads?" the medic prompted, obviously as interested in gossip as the next clone.

The scout sergeant laughed again, "Butt heads? Like two raging tauntauns, I'd say."

The medic looked both bemused and puzzled as he worked to efficiently secure the bandage around the ARC's midsection, "Hard to picture. The Captain is tough on discipline, but he generally gets along well with everyone in the 501st."

"Aw, well, he gets along with everyone in the An-" Hok cut himself off abruptly before he said 'Andoan Legion.' The other three scouts on his team stared at him sharply. He glanced at them. He noticed Fives staring at him with narrowed eyes. He corrected himself and started again, "Uh... right..." He shook his head, feeling a bit flustered at his near slip-up.

_Gah! Get your head on straight, Hok! One mistake like that and the entire Legion is compromised!_

He took a deep breath, and started again, determined that he could finish the conversation and not reveal the secret location of their planet. He noticed that his team was watching him tensely, Fives was watching him like a Drayberian Hawk, and Kix just seemed genuinely interested in getting a good piece of gossip on the Captain.

"Ah... don't get me wrong, the Captain gets along with everyone," Hok continued, "He and the Lieutenant have this unusual relationship. Hard to describe. Guess you'd have to see them together. One minute they're fighting, and the next minute they're laughing. Apparently, they've known each other since Kamino. Command school."

Kix's eyebrows went up at this, "Really?" He glanced backwards surreptiously at where Travis was further down the corridor talking with the rest of the command team. "Huh."

Travis, whose helmet was still off, looked over at them, obviously wondering why everybody was suddenly looking his way. He quirked up an eyebrow their way in puzzlement.

Hok found that the talking was taking his mind off the pain in his leg. _He _was not normally one to gossip. After all, it wasn't a decent thing to be gossiping.

But, well, Kix seemed a decent enough clone. So, basically, he was just engaging in a bit of friendly conversation. All of the 501st guys were likable vode. He was just bonding with the boys in blue.

He leaned toward the medic. His voice dropping low to the point that Kix and Catcher had to lean in closer to hear him, "Rumor has it that he and the Captain were actually... _vatmates_." Hok pronounced each word slowly, drawing it out. Then, he paused and waited to see what effect it would have on the other two.

He did not have to wait long for a reaction. Kix's eyes widened, and Catcher gasped out, "Vat mates?"

Hok nodded, pleased with himself for his suspenseful delivery. "Yes. Got it from a most reliable source. Tek heard it from Gears, who heard it from Mako, who said he overheard it from Hodges." It was a rock solid source if he'd ever heard one.

"A vat mate?" Kix finished tying off the bandage, "We all had one at some point. But so many are culled off in the early stages of training that I don't know anyone who still has a surviving vattie. Extraordinary." He glanced back over at Travis again with new interest. "I wonder if its just a coincidence, or maybe the Kaminoans did something different and tampered with their genome..." His voice trailed off as he got lost in thought still staring at the Marine Lieutenant. It was obvious, though, that his interest had been completely piqued.

Travis seemed to have gotten fed up with being stared at. He stomped over toward Kix and Catcher. "Yes?"

Catcher glanced up, "Ah... Kix? You're about to let me go? Right?"

Kix sighed, "Against my better judgement, yes, I just need to give you final instructions."

The ARC nodded and then looked back up toward Travis, "Prepare the team to move out. I'll be with you shortly."

A pleased expression crossed the Marine's face. He was obviously just as eager to be underway again as Catcher, "We'll be ready." He spun on his heel and left to gather up Echo, Fives, Dart and Torch.

Kix turned his attention back to Catcher, "Alright, you need to take it _easy_ with this wound. Drink as much fluids as you can to replace all that blood you lost. Slugthrower wounds have a higher rate of complication than blaster wounds. You should spend some time in a bacta tank when this is done to reduce the risk of sepsis."

"But, we don't have a-" Hok started.

"Sergeant Hok," Catcher cut him off sharply.

Kix glanced back and forth between the two. He raised up an eyebrow, then put up a hand to wave off any further argument. "No. Wait. I already know about this one. Lance told me you don't have a bacta tank. I already had this same argument with him." He ground a hand into his eyes. "Sorry. Just tired myself."

"But, if it helps, we're working on stealing one," Catcher's lips quirked with a confident smile.

Kix's eyebrows rose, "I did not just hear that."

"We're not GAR anymore. Different rules," the ARC shrugged and then winced.

Kix shook his head at him, "So you all keep reminding me."

"Can I get up?" Catcher asked.

Kix nodded.

Catcher tried to sit up, but had a difficult time. The medic expertly wrapped an arm underneath and helped guide him to his feet. The ARC Captain hissed as he rose, but made it to his feet. He nodded to the medic who released him to stand on his own.

Kix gave Catcher a long, assessing look and the ARC returned his gaze. Finally, the medic nodded. "Alright, you can go. And, your plans certainly sound _interesting_. Wish I could help. But, I'm under orders from the Captain to head to the dungeons. Chief medic for the final battle." There was a touch of pride in his voice as he announced his position to the Captain.

The ARC Captain nodded, "We're headed that way now." He glanced over to where the medic still needed to tend to Hok. "We have to be moving on, otherwise we'd invite you to join our team. We're under special orders ourselves."

Kix nodded, "Understood. Good luck."

Catcher moved away and made a brisk hand signal to Travis and the rest of the team. Without another word, the commando team silently moved down the corridor and disappeared from sight. Hok felt a sense of loss as he watched them go, particularly as he saw the blue and white forms of Fives and Echo slipping away.

"You experiencing any numbness or tingling?" Kix's voice drew him back to the present.

"Uh..." Hok had to think long and hard about the question. Right now, his whole leg just felt something Xyra had decided to roast for dinner. "No. I don't think so. Maybe at first. Not really now. I guess." He sighed, and blew out a breath, running a hand through his short-cropped hair, "I'm not really being helpful, am I?"

Kix laughed, good-naturedly, "No. That's alright."

The medic pulled back the bacta patch that Fives had applied right after the battle had ended. Hok flinched as the patch pulled at the wound. The medic scowled, and began cleaning the area. "I'll admit I'm growing tired of pulling slugs out of clones. Blaster wounds are beginning to seem downright appealing at his point." After he cleaned the area thoroughly, he began probing it. Hok flinched, and grasped his hands into a tight fist. "Well," the medic said, after giving the area a thorough inspection, "the slug is still in there, and its deep. I'll say the same to you that I did to your Captain. "Your best bet is to head back to your ship and have this removed in a proper surgery by your medic. Yanking these slugs out here in the field carries all sorts of risks, namely some rather nasty infections. And, it's just the painful way of doing things."

"But, if I head back to the ship, then I'm done," Hok said, sparing a quick glance back at the rest of his team, before looking back at the medic, and then down at the leg wound, "if you pull it out here, then I can continue on, right?"

"Possibly," the medic conceded, "...probably. But, it's going to be painful. Both to remove it, and to walk on it." His interest was suddenly caught by the top of the oppee scar peering out above Hok's leg armor. "How'd you get this? It's recent."

"It is," Hok admitted, "giant sea creature. Called an Oppee. Nasty bite. They like to drag clones into the sea and chew them for a bit."

"Impressive," the medic said, "Oppee. Massive sea creature. Native to Naboo, isn't it?"

"Uh... well," Hok coughed, "they're... uh... all over the Outer Rim... I believe," Hok hedged.

Kix's eyes narrowed, then he shrugged, "Alright, how far down does that scar go?"

"All the way to my foot," Hok said, pointing.

The medic whistled and nodded, "Never seen an Oppee bite before. Seen lots of things bite clones, but never one of these. Teeth must have been huge judging by the gap marks here."

He glanced at his scar with new interest, seeing it from the medic's persepctive, "Didn't notice that at the time. I did notice that those teeth were awfully _sharp_."

The medic laughed, "Yes, I'd imagine so. Guess you're lucky to still have your leg."

Hok thought of Xyra, who'd leapt into the freezing Andoan ocean to save him from the enormous sea creature. He was lucky to have his life, no less his leg. "I'm lucky in a lot of ways," the scout conceded. He pointed back at the slugthrower wound which had started to seep blood again, "I'd be appreciative if you'd take the slug out here. I need to stay with my team."

"Everybody wants to do things the hard way," Kix rolled his eyes, "Fine." He quickly injected the scout sergeant with a second painkiller and then a stim. "You're going to need both of these before I'm done. Now, just hold still and think of something pleasant." Hok considered donning his helmet, so he could scream if need be, but Kix had already started working. The medic was incredibly fast.

_Fine. Better to just get this done._

He closed his eyes and thought of Xyra and her sister stitching up his leg back on the Manifest Destiny. He was careful not to let himself get too carried away in his imaginings because he didn't want his body to physically _react._ He badly missed his lover, and it didn't take much to remind his body that it had been too long since they'd last been together. The first thing he was going to do when he saw her again was-

_Gah! No! Don't think of that! You get tight in the armor, and Kix is going to think you're that kind of brother._

_Think about something else. Think Oppees. Kaminoans. Training drills at 0400. A few of my least favorite things._

Hok felt his body settling down.

There was a tugging sensation within the wound and the fire intensified. The scout sergeant clenched his fists, and his whole body tensed up.

"Almost got it," the medic said, focusing intently on his work.

The pain grew immediately worse, and Hok wanted to cry out. He bit his lip, and clenched his fists. He felt warm blood running down his leg and felt more tugging.

"Hang in there, its almost out," the medic coached, a line of sweat appearing on his brow as he worked.

Hok felt sudden sympathy for Kix, wondering what it must be like to have to do a job where you had to cause other brothers pain on a regular basis.

"Gah!" Hok couldn't hold back a final gasp as the medic gave a sharp tug. The scout felt a fresh gush of blood leaking down his leg.

"That was it. It's out," the medic said, holding up the slug. He quickly began working to control the bleeding and seal up the wound.

The scout sergeant leaned back, taking deep breaths.

"You, OK, Sarge?"

He glanced up and saw Flex kneeling down by his side, giving him a concerned look. Hok tried to speak, but all he could manage was a tired nod. Flex sat down next to him, and waited quietly, just offering comfort with his presence. Out of the corner of his eyes, Hok saw two more forms appear on the other side of him. He turned his head and noticed that Jagger and Sabre had taken a seat beside him, as well.

The 501st medic gave him an amused smile, "Your team, I assume?"

Hok nodded, trying to find the energy to speak. He took a deep breath, feeling pride in his team as he presented them, "Yes, finest scout team anywhere.

"Well, finest scout team anywhere," the medic finished tying the bandage off, "looks like you have your leader back." He cleaned blood off his hands with a wipe as Jagger and Flex helped Hok to his feet. "Don't overdo it. I removed the bullet, but it tore a hole right through your muscle. You're going to be feeling it."

Hok _felt_ it as soon as he put weight on his leg.

_Osik_.

"Lean on me, Sarge," Jagger said, grabbing onto Hok and throwing one of his arms over his shoulders.

Hok nodded.

He shifted his weight onto his other leg, and told himself if he could make it through an Oppee bit then he could get through a hole in his thigh. "Prepare to move out. We're headed to the dungeons."

# # #

Catcher was feeling it, as well, keeping one hand pressed hard over his thickly bandaged side, trying to find a comfortable way of walking that didn't pull on the injury.

"You, OK?" Catcher glanced over to find that Travis was walking alongside him.

"Yeah," he breathed out, rubbing at his side, "just sore." He gave the Marine a curious glance. "I saw you went down. What happened?"

Travis reached up and carefully removed his helmet, being carefully with the ligaments in his one hand. He clipped the headgear to his belt, and then tugged down his bodysuit revealing the extensive bruising on his neck.

"Impressive," Catcher said.

Travis shrugged, grimacing slightly from the gesture, and let the bodysuit slide back into place.

"And, your hand?" It hadn't escaped Catcher's notice the way the Marine was favoring the one limb.

"Those fekkin' clubs," Travis grumbled under his breath irritably. "I _hate _those things."

Catcher began to chuckle, the sound echoing around mechanically within the confines of his helmet.

Travis gave him a quizical look, "What's so funny?"

"Just knowing you're dating that doctor. Imaging her reaction. Better hope those fade." Catcher made a vague gesture with his hand toward the Marine's badly bruised neck, "Going to obvious you came _real_ close to dying." He shook his head in bewilderment as if it trying to figure out a strange concept, "The woman-folk seem to get all worked up over that sort of thing."

Travis nodded, "You're right. It is _very_ strange behavior." He sighed and rubbed at the marks on his neck subconsciously. Maybe with enough bacta he could get rid of the marks before they made it back to Ando.

Catcher sighed and decided to turn his mind to less confusing matters. "The dungeons, Travis. Let's go over the plan once again."

# # #


	120. Chapter 120- Regrets

_Revised April 29, 2013. Thank to CaptainRexisBest for catching a typo in this chapter. Much appreciated._

_I received requests for some more Ahsoka and a scene back on Ando. Both have been incorporated into this chapter. New artwork for the story! __The artwork for the story is now Andoan Legion member, Sparks, who features heavily in this chapter. Sparks was drawn by gloryBlaz. A link to all of the beautiful, original artwork that gloryblaz created for WHTCR can be found on my profile page._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 120**

Barriss extended her hand, "It's good to see you again, Ahsoka. I was so worried." She blew out a long shaky breath, "Everyone at the Temple has been in such a state since you and the others were captured."

Ahsoka gripped her friend's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, "I'm very grateful to you and the others for coming to my rescue. It is good to see everyone again." She studied her friend for a long, thoughtful moment, "Although, I sense something different about you. What's going on?"

The healer shook her head, dismissing the question, "Lie down and I'll check you over. You seem in better shape that Masters Kenobi and Skywalker, but undoubtedly this ordeal has taken its toll on you as well."

Ahsoka resisted lying down, "You're changing the subject. What is it you're not telling me?"

Barriss rubbed at her eyes tiredly. She hesitated, as if trying to decide how much to reveal, then hedged, "Much has happened. It has been several months since we have seen each other. What in particular do you wish to know?"

Ahsoka pursed her lips, "Your spirit is in turmoil. I can sense it. You weren't like this last time we saw each other. What is causing it?"

Barriss gently pulled her hand free from Ahsoka, and clasped it in front of her in her usual calm manner. Despite her seemingly placid demeanor, though, she kept a sharp gaze fixed on Ahsoka, "Before I respond, perhaps I can ask you a question?"

Ahsoka shrugged, "Alright. Fair enough."

"Did your Captain come all this way to rescue you after being thought lost and dead solely from loyalty?" Barriss' eyes pierced into Ahsoka's.

The young Togrutan got a far away look in her eyes for a long moment, and then seemed to choose her words with great care, "Rex is known for his loyalty. It is one of his many admirable qualities."

Barriss tipped Ahsoka's face with a slim finger so that her friend was looking directly at her. "Is that why you love him?"

Ahsoka emitted a startled gasp, "What?! How do you know?"

"I can sense this emotion in you," Barriss admitted quietly in a low tone, "because I have experienced it myself."

"You?" the Togrutan Jedi gasped out.

The Jedi healer looked affronted, "Why does it seem inconceivable such events would befall me?"

Ahsoka put up a hand temporarily forestalling the question, but indicating she might get back to it at a later time. "Who?!"

"_We_ came here together to rescue General Kenobi," Barriss said.

"Commander Cody!" Ahsoka exclaimed, needing no further hints. Her eyes crinkled with delight, "I should have known! You've always behaved differently when he was around!"

"Have I?" Barriss frowned, as if thinking through the repercussions of this tidbit of information, "I did not realize. I have been careless with my emotions. Master Luminara would not approve."

Ahsoka stared at her friend then shook off the remark, "Still, Barriss, this is wonderful!"

The Jedi healer frowned, again, "No. Ahsoka. It is not. There's more. It is not that simple."

Ahsoka reined in her enthusiasm, blowing out a sigh, "Yes, yes, I know. It is difficult for Jedi-"

Barriss cut her off and blurted out, "I ended my relationship with Cody. Just recently."

"What?" Ahsoka's voice made it clear she felt her friend was making a big mistake. "Why?"

"We are forbidden to have relationships, Ahsoka," Barriss admonished, "you know this. Although," the healer admitted, "saying good bye has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. It is not clean cut." She continued on, almost as if murmuring to herself, "Oddly, we keep getting drawn back toward each other even though I have said it is over."

"Maybe that's because you both still have feelings for each other!" Ahsoka said heatedly, "You _belong_ together!"

"You are seeing only what you wish to see," the healer admonished. "You'd be wise to discontinue your relationship. You're setting yourself up for a great deal of pain."

Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath, "I'm _not_ letting Rex go," she declared fiercely. "I cannot deny what I feel any more than I can stop from taking my next breath. Can't you say the same for Cody?" Her eyes bored into Barriss' eyes, demanding the truth.

A strong ripple of emotion passed over Barriss' face. She turned away and took a moment to compose herself. After several long deep breaths, she faced Ahsoka again, "_We_ _are Jedi." _Although soft-spoken by nature, her words were spoken with such conviction she may as well have shouted them from the highest spire in Coruscant. The steely belief in what she felt was evident in every word. "All we have are our beliefs, Ahsoka. Now, during this war, more so than ever. The code tells us that relationships are forbidden."

Ahsoka's montrals deepened in color and she responded heatedly, "I won't deny what _I_ feel."

"And what of the code?" Barriss challenged.

"I don't know!" Ahsoka admitted. She took a long deep breath, calming down. She had no wish to fight with her closest friend. Her tone softened as she tried to explain, "Rex... he was sent away just when we realized what we had. We've been separated ever since. There's been no time to explore any further." She gave Barriss an earnest look to encourage her to open up, "What of you and Cody?""

Barriss was quiet for a long moment before she finally admitted, "Cody... we... explored much."

Ahsoka said nothing for a long moment and just blinked as she took in the implications of what Barriss was telling her.

"Oh, you... uh... " Ahsoka lapsed into speechlessness, unable to verbalize any further. Cody and Barriss had progressed fully in their relationship, and taken steps that had been denied to her and Rex by their separation.

A long pause ensued between the two of them as Barriss proceeded on with the healing, pushing Ahsoka back into a lying down position. But, it was obvious the conversation was still stewing around in the Togrutan's mind. As Barriss finished, Ahsoka sat up, "After everything, you're still willing to walk away? How can you?"

"I am doing what I must as a Jedi," Barriss said with conviction. She glanced back toward Masters Skywalker and Kenobi. "I must get back to the others."

Ahsoka did not wish to hold up Barriss or monopolize her time. She thanked her friend and watched her walk back toward the other two Jedi. She lay back down again to rest some more. But, even as she closed her eyes, her thoughts kept swirling wildly. And, she felt a great unease of spirit wondering who was right here. Her closest friend was following the teachings of the Jedi code. Was Ahsoka wrong? Was she going to cause a great deal of hurt to herself, and Rex, if she continued on her current course of action? Was Barriss the one doing the right thing?

# # #

Sparks had one goal in the final battle.

Making it out alive.

He glanced up ahead of him where Hok and his scouts were leading the way. As soon as Kix had finished patching everyone up, they'd headed out again. He glanced back over at the 501st medic. Sparks had to admit that he found Kix easy to get along with and he'd been impressed as he watched him work. Kix had the same calm way about him that Lance always did, but wasn't so serious all the time. He was a good brother. He was glad he'd had a chance to meet these vode from the 501st. But, it didn't stop him missing home.

He missed Sophie.

She was the best looking girl on Ando. And, she'd chosen him. So, he _had _to make it back. He hadn't been that enthused about going on the mission. But, he felt he had to go. The rest of the Legion was going. It was more of a peer pressure thing.

One couldn't begin to understand peer pressure until they were a clone, he thought.

Then again, now that he thought about it, not all of the troopers _did_ go. That pilot who'd worked on the ship with Tek and Gears in the cockpit back on Ando, Razor, he didn't go to Darkknell. Granted, he couldn't _walk_. Still, Tank had only one leg and he was here with the others.

Sparks sighed heavily and glared at the drab grey walls. Every one of these shabla corridors looked like the last. He hated this place. It was a good thing he was following a bunch of scouts. He would've gotten lost long ago.

_Uggh. This fekkin' fortress is miserable._

He'd never even said good bye to Sophie. Just crept off in the middle of the night while she was still sleeping so sweetly in her bed. He liked to think of it as _their_ bed since more often than not he spent his nights there rather than at his assigned housing. What must she have thought when she'd woken up in the morning and he wasn't there? He hadn't left a note or anything. He had no idea if he was going to make it back. And, he couldn't reveal where he was going. So, what was there to say, really?

But, sometimes, he still thought that maybe he still should of tried to say something. He wasn't sure what, really. He just knew that he liked being around her and he always felt lighter inside when she was near. Food tasted better when he ate it in her small cheery kitchen. And, he never had nightmares when she was wrapped in his arms at night. She kept the bad flashbacks away. His arms always felt empty without her form wrapped tightly in them.

But, how did you put stuff like that into a note?

So, he just snuck off while the town was still dark and the only folks awake seemed to be the Legion. They were all creeping down the streets of Ando, just as he was, headed off to meet the Lieutenant for their early morning blastoff time. Nobody spoke. It was eerily silent.

Sparks sighed again.

_Where is this dungeon? Are we there yet?!_

He tightened a fist in frustration, and returned to his thoughts. He wondered what Sophie thought of him now.

She was the only good thing that had ever happened to him. He'd lost his entire first squad while still on training in Kamino. He lost half another half of a squad during the battle of Geonosis. He'd just felt like he was bonding and making friends again when an explosion, and the resulting burns and hearing loss, got him sent to Army-Med and then Kamino.

He _was_ luckier than most, though. He'd been one of the first clones on Ando to recover almost full hearing, and his injuries were responding well to Xyra's burn cream. He'd progressed so quickly that he caught Lieutenant Travis giving him a wry look when the doctor started making a big fuss over his progress. Everyone knew the Lieutenant hadn't regained any hearing. For some reason, the nerve regeneration wasn't working for him. Sparks sometimes felt guilty about this and wondered-

"What's up with you?" Kix's words startled Sparks out of his reverie.

"Huh?" it took Sparks a long moment to even register the medic's words.

"You," Kix said in his easy-going manner, "seems like something is bothering you."

Sparks bit his lip, remembering the strict orders from the command officers about not discussing anything Ando-related, "Oh... just the war." He gave a shrug.

"The war, really?" Kix responded, not convinced, "you mean the one you're not even fighting in anymore?"

Right. Kix had a point there.

Well, Sparks wracked his brain for a better response. He wished he could tell Kix everything. The medic would fit in really well back on Ando. He settled for telling at least part of the truth, "I don't want to be here," Sparks said with more vehemence in his tone than he'd intended.

Kix cocked his helmet to the side as he walked, regarding him curiously. "I imagine the captured Legions are feeling the same way. That's why we're all here."

Sparks winced, feeling like an idiot. His concerns seemed petty when he considered there were brothers who'd been held prisoner for over two months. He looked over at Kix, his eyes roving up and down the 501st blue that graced his eyes and legs. Many of those that were being held were likely friends of the medic.

"Sorry, Kix. A lot of those in the dungeons must be friends of yours. I shouldn't be lamenting my lot-" Sparks began.

The medic held up a hand cutting him off, "Don't apologize. I'm glad you're honest with me." He let out a short laugh, although there was no humor in it, "I don't even know who is down there." He stretched his back as he walked, rubbing at a spot in his spine, as if his whole body was sore and tired from being on his feet too long. "I was injured early in the battle." His voice reflected his feelings that he had failed somehow in being injured and that he should have been there longer. "It was later on that everything happened. The rest of the five oh first all ended up getting killed or captured." He shook his head, "I wasn't there."

"Kix," Sparks murmured, trying to comfort the other trooper.

But the medic continued on, still speaking as if he was trying to shake off a bad dream, "We've lost so many in our Legion. And, it keeps happening. I don't know how Rex stays sane."

Sparks remembered what it felt like when he'd lost his brothers during training. And, then again at Geonosis. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on Kix's shoulder. "I get it. I've been there." He wished he was better with words and could say something more. But, Sophie had told him that something just use the simplest words was OK, too.

Uggh. Why didn't he think of that and just use simple words in a note? Just thank her for everything she'd taught him? Tell her that he understood himself better now thanks to her and that he _liked_ himself better now because of her... If he made it back, he would tell in person.

Kix looked back at him. Something in Spark's tone must have been comforting. His simple words must have been come across alright. "Thanks," the medic said, and Sparks felt like their friendship had passed on to an even deeper level in that moment. He wanted to say something more back to Kix, but there was no more time.

Hok held up his hand and halted their column.

"This is it," the scout sergeant announced, "around that next corner is the dungeons."

Sparks exchanged a look with Kix before lowering his head a moment to take a deep breath. This was it. They were here.

# # #

Alone.

Why?

She'd awoken in the morning, and she was alone.

Sophie didn't know why Sparks had left. She searched the house thoroughly. He wasn't surprising her with breakfast in bed, like he loved to do, or diving headlong into one of his many projects to "fix the place up a bit."

Feeling the hackles rise on the back of her neck, Sophie decided to skip her shower. She grabbed clothes out of a drawer without even paying attention to what she was putting on. She quickly headed outside, still stuffing her feet into her boots, and tugging on her worn coat.

Odd. Where was he?

It was Benunday. And, the Legion did not train on Benudday. Sparks had told her that Captain Catcher had them on a rotation schedule with four days of training, and one day off. Sophie always had Benduday off, too, from her job working as a painter. She dreamed of making a living from creative art, but settled for the more practical day job of repainting the exteriors of the wooden homes around Ando. With the tepid salt air, the homes were always in need of repainting. She'd met Sparks thanks to her job. Her employer had heard they were looking to place clones in jobs around town and hired several clones onto painting crews. She'd been paired up with Sparks. It had only taken a few days of working together before she'd literally starting 'pairing up' with Sparks. The sparks literally flew between them right from their first conversation together. She couldn't remember anything about painting that day, but she remembered every detail of the roguishly handsome man assigned to work beside her.

Benunday. She and Sparks always spent the day together. Ever since they started dating. They had their traditions. Silly ones. Sure. But, they meant a lot, all the same.

Sparks liked to bring her breakfast in bed. He'd only learned to make the most rudimentary of dishes, but he was trying. What he lacked in experience, he made up for with enthusiasm. And, creativity. She smiled just thinking of some of the things he'd attempted to cobble together in their tiny kitchen.

When some of his cooking experiments failed, he'd quickly run out for food and bring it back. But one way or another, he loved spoiling her with a meal brought in bed on Benunday. They'd also started a garden together behind her little cottage. They loved working on the modest plot of land together after breakfast. Er, not right after breakfast. She smiled again. Breakfast in bed always led to... other things. And, food in the most interesting parts of her anatomy. She blushed just thinking about. Sparks was definitely _creative_. But, after cleaning up from breakfast, they would eventually make it out to the garden. And, spend the afternoon laughing and trying to coax plants and flowers out of the stubborn Andoan soil. Once they were done, they would always be in need of a shower. And, showering with Sparks was an activity that could last for a very long time. Usually right up until dinner. He was amazingly flexible. Although, at times she thought he would drown with his enthusiasm in the shower. She couldn't help but smile again. They were in the process of repainting the house. But, it was unfinished. Two painters living in a home that needed painting. It was funny. They often laughed about it. Somehow, the day always seemed to slip away from them on Benunday and the painting would get pushed aside. Oh, they laughed about everything. Dating Sparks had brought laughter and joy back into her life.

She lost herself in thought as she began walking through the streets of Ando, checking out all of Sparks' known favorite haunts. When he awoke early, he sometimes went for a morning run and finished up down by the docks. He'd often pick up muffins and caf at El'la's stand on the docks.

El'la's was a popular hangout spot for clones. The clones who worked at the docks congregated there, even on their days off, but in lieue of a proper tapcaf in town, the rest of the Legion would head down to the docks for a caf and some conversation, too. There had once been a proper tapcaf in Ando. Before the war, of course. El'la talked, sometimes, about opening up a bigger place again. With the arrival of the clones, everyone was starting to talk about _maybe_ reopening things. It was as if the arrival of Sparks and his brothers had somehow given everyone in the town permission to start dreaming again. To let go of the war and start thinking toward the future again.

_Oh, that's... strange._

Sophie felt a weird twisting in her gut.

She stood over the docks and caught sight of El'la's place. All of the overturned shipping crates where the clones normally sat as they swapped their stories and drank their caf were unoccupied. Sophie took the steps down to the docks two at a time, feeling the urgency growing in her more with each step.

El'la was in her usual perch behind the stand, busily wiping the counter. Or, trying to look busy wiping the counter. As Sophie approached, she could see the other woman was looking... worried.

"Morning, El'la," Sophie greeted, trying to sound as normal as possible.

El'la returned the greeting with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She wasn't being unfriendly. The two women knew each other going back to their school days and had always gotten along well. There was something worrying the small business owner.

"Uh, I was looking for Sparks. He hasn't come by this way, has he?" Sophie asked, again trying to sound perfectly conversational. She glanced the morning's selection of baked goods and noticed there were a lot more of them left than usual for this time of day, as if hardly any had been purchased. She considered buying one to be polite, but she probably wouldn't end up eating it. She had no appetite. She was used to eating all of her meals with Sparks and when he wasn't around, food just didn't seem to have any appeal. He always approached everything he ate like it was the greatest thing he'd ever eaten. And, his joy was so infectious. Sophie just loved that about him. There were so many things about him that she-

"No," came back the response from other woman, "I haven't seen him." She paused in her wiping of the overly clean counter, "I haven't seen _any_ of them this morning."

Sophie turned and stared around at the docks. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. Even though it was Benduday, and therefore not traditionally a workday in town, there would usually still always be a couple of people milling about and catching up on projects on their boats. She ended up buying a few muffins just to support El'la and so that she'd have something to give Sparks when she did catch up with him whenever he was about town. She bought extras, just in case he was hanging around with his brothers, so that he'd have plenty to share.

El'la thanked her. But, there was still an awful lot of unsold baked goods, even after Sophie's purchase. Had the caf stand owner just totally overbaked today, or had it really been that slow of a morning? She felt a general sense of unease as she continued on her way and continued looking for Sparks.

It was Xyra who broke the news to her.

The scientist had been one of the first ones to figure it out. Well, her and Karyn. Figures. They were like the smartest people in town. Everyone knew _that_. Despite being such a brainiac, Xyra had a good way about her and you couldn't help but like her.

She was in the center of town briefing a bunch of women on what had happened. And, when Sophie walked up, she patiently started all over again and retold the whole bit, even though she had just finished explaining it.

Sophie just stared at her, unblinking, refusing to believe it.

It couldn't be true.

Her Sparks wouldn't leave.

He wasn't the leaving type.

Maybe some of the others. Yes. But, not _her_ Sparks. She _knew_ him. He was happy here. They had something very special together. He had no reason to leave.

But, she stood there for a very long time and listened as Xyra carefully went through her explanation time and again for every new group of panicked group in despair. Until finally she could hear it no more and she walked back home.

Surely Sparks would be waiting for her when she got there and explain that it was all a mistake and he'd just been out... well, somewhere... and now they could get on with their Benunday. She could climb back in bed. They would work on their garden. Today, they would finally get some painting done. She'd already planned an extra special dinner for tonight. No special occasion other than she knew it was Sparks' favorite dish.

He wasn't _gone_. He couldn't be.

There was a perfectly good explanation. People who love each other don't just leave.

She loved him. She was sure of that more so than any other aspect of her life.

He did not just _leave_.

She walked home feeling so numb that she did not even remember the route she took to get home or if she spoke to anyone on the way there. She just suddenly found herself at her front door.

She keyed the lock and pushed it open.

It was all a mistake. Sparks would be-

She finished opening the door.

She could feel it right away. The house was empty.

He was gone.

She collapsed. Not even feeling it as body tumbled backwards into the soft tilled dirt of their unfinished garden.

# # #

Rex signaled to the troops to move on. He knew he was pushing the Legion hard. They'd hardly finished mopping up their most recent battle. They had no medic at the moment since Mako was back at the ship, Lance was injured, and Kix was still en route from the pirate raider. He told the wounded to "keep moving" and they'd "sort it all later." Harsh, yes. But, he'd done the same with the 501st many times when they'd been under similar circumstances. Sometimes, there was just no times for coddling. He wasn't treating the Ando Legion any different than he treated the 501st.

He sighed. Problem was he knew that things _were_ different. He felt different about this group of men than he did about the 501st. It was hard to explain. The 501st would always be his brothers and he was still fiercely proud to wear blue and white. But, having been sent to Kamino with this particular group of vode, he felt like he had a deep connection with them. The 501st kept _changing_. The only constant he ever seemed to have there was that brothers died, all the time. On Ando, he had _stability_. It was the same group of vode day after day and nobody died. It was real easy to get attached to that kind of life, and this group of brothers. Except for the fact... he looked back at the number of wounded behind him and cringed... he was now getting his brothers killed. Was he destroying everything that was good about Ando? Before this was over, would he ruin it _all_? Would it just be Teth all over again?

With a heavy heart and a feeling of acid in his mouth, he gave a curt wave of his hand and signaled the Legion onward.

# # #

_A/N: (my usual snarky commentary)_

_A bit stunned with the news yesterday that Disney closed LucasArts and laid off its employees. Uggh. There is news that Disney is considering opening a "Star Wars Land." Not feeling the love at this point and can't say I would go. I'm liable to kick Goofy in the nuts the moment I got through the gates._


	121. Chapter 121 The General

_Author's Note: I received a request for an update on General Unduli and her clone commando companion. This chapter gets into the mindset of the commando, Leon, as they advance toward the dungeons._

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 121**

Leon despised the fortress and everything in it. He just wanted to get to the dungeons, find the rest of his squad and complete the mission. The whole place reminded him that the mission had not gone as foreseen.

Defeat and failure hung at the back of his throat and tasted bitter. In the eighteen months of the war, he'd risen up through the ranks quickly by having a track record of one successful mission after another. His squad might annoy him, at times, but no one could argue with their track record. They were one of the best commando teams out there.

Until the mission to Darkknell.

He already dreaded how this was going to look on his record. Whilst incarcerated in the lab, staring at the ceiling for hours on end, he kept reviewing every decision he had made during the mission up to the time they were captured. As much as he analyzed the situation, he couldn't find where he'd gone wrong. And, this just reinforced how much he had failed. When asked to do a post-mission analysis, he wouldn't even be able to point out how he could have done better.

It was frustrating beyond measure.

And now, he was wandering through these endless grey corridors with General Unduli, his only weapons a few stolen tools from the lab. His hands kept caressing their sharp edges, drawing comfort from the familiar feeling of having at least _some_ kind of weapon in hand. He worked his hands down to the handles, feeling the weight and heft of each one. He ran through calculations of how much force he would need to penetrate a target. Weapons were something he understood intimately.

Since escaping, they'd successfully evaded four Kaz'harian patrols. These evasions often involved backtracking and heading in a different direction. The Kaz'harian soldiers all seemed to be in a hurry, as if rushing headlong toward battle. He wondered why that was and what threat they were interpreting. Other than the mysterious explosion in the lab that temporarily distracted his guards, all seemed quiet in the fortress. Occasionally, he would hear a distant boom and rubble that could be an explosion. But, perhaps that was just the Kaz'harians out doing target practice. As far as he knew, it was just him, the General, and a whole bunch of captive clones in the lower levels. He had no idea what kind of resistance they would meet when they reached the dungeons. He hoped their escape had gone unnoticed so they would at least have the element of surprise. He wanted to find his squad, protect the General, and figure out some way to report back to the Republic. Then, he would have fulfilled his mission parameters. He hadn't been assigned to free the Legions. He was to _locate_ the Legions, report back in and then those in charge would figure out what to do with the intel.

They continued to snake their way around the massive fortress. All their endless backtracking was throwing off even his impeccable sense of direction. It felt like they'd been wandering for days. He was hungry, thirsty and beginning to tire. He'd had inadequate nutrition while in captivity, and no chance for exercise.

_The facility must be massive_, Leon thought as they entered another long, seemingly endless stone corridor. He figured the place must be at least as big as a Jedi cruiser if it could house almost two entire legions of captive clones.

Leon once again heard the rough sound of Kaz'harian voices and his adrenaline pumped him into battle mode. His gaze whipped back and forth looking for cover. There wasn't much in these infernal hallways. He noticed one doorway that was more recessed than the others. It created a shadowy, dark spot even blacker than the already dimly lit corridors. He lightly brushed the General's arm to get her attention and pointed to the bit of strategic cover. Without speaking, they darted across the corridor into the recessed doorway.

Admittedly, it was a meagre bit of cover. But, it was the best he could afford her, even if it was a tight fit. In order to stay in the darkest part of the shadows, they had to press their bodies tightly together. Leon had surmised from the way that the Kaz'harians always kept everything dim that their eyes must be accustomed to low light conditions. In order to hide from these highly sensitized creatures in the dark, they'd have to press themselves as far back into the shadows as possible.

Leon tried to figure out where to place his arm so it wouldn't be in the way. He had to settle for wrapping it around the General.

The Jedi Master didn't object when his arm came down around her. She actually pressed closer into him, pushing them back slightly further into the darkness. They both held frozen in position as they waited for the patrol to pass.

It was a massive patrol. Rows and rows of the armoured simians passed by their position, their footsteps surprisingly silent considering their massive build. Leon breathed shallowly, trying to stay as silent as possible. As the patrol kept passing by, Leon was able to pick out individual voices amongst the low murmur between the soldiers. He focused intently trying to pick out words.

His talent for languages had saved him on more than occasion in the past. Most of what he was able to pick up seemed to just be idle conversation. The normal things that soldiers bantered back and forth when bored on patrol. But, then he picked up a few key words that made his whole body tighten up in response.

_Clone._

_Weapons._

The soldiers were in a good mood and as they discussed the weapons they seemed to be in good humor as if it whatever they had planned for the weapons was amusing to them.

He fought against the urge to lean forward in order to hear better. But, he'd heard enough. Part of the snatches of conversation he heard were about where weapons were stored. And, as he pieced it all together, he realized with a flash they were headed toward the location of their missing gear. Leon waited until the patrol passed by and then pulled them out of the alcove. His arm felt strangely bereft when he dropped it away from the General's side. He chalked this up to the fact that it was cold in these stone corridors and being close like that had raised his body heat somewhat. Leon used hand signals to indicate they should follow the patrol. The Jedi Knight gave him a puzzled look, however she must have trusted him, because she nodded and indicated he should lead the way.

_This General is alright_, Leon reflected, _she actually listens to clones and is as comfortable following orders as giving them_.

Her trust in him meant a great deal. It made the commando even more determined to keep her safe. Not all of the Jedi he'd been assigned to in the past year and a half had made a positive impression on him. They were such strange creatures and so different from clones.

But, somehow, this one was different.

He led the way, swiftly trailing the patrol. Leon wished he could take the time to explain what he had overheard. But with a patrol that massive ahead of him, he wasn't going to take any chances.

In addition to possessing keen eye sight, he believed the Kaz'harians also had superior hearing. Loathe as he was to admit it, their abilities seemed to surpass even the enhanced senses of a clone commando. His guards in the lab had always seemed been able pick up on sounds slightly before he did.

At one point, a guard in the back stopped and whipped around, looking behind him. It was only the lightning quick reflexes of General Unduli that saved them. She grabbed Leon and pulled him into the darkest part of the shadows in the hallway. Once again, she pressed her body very close to his their faces millimetres from each other. Leon took a deep silent breath telling his body not to react.

_Fek._

_The General was a woman._

That simple bit of knowledge hit him all at once.

She had just seemed so androgynous underneath her heavy Jedi garb that Leon had never given much thought as to what lay underneath. For the brief time they'd been assigned together before their capture, he'd just thought of her as "the General."

But, now she was just wearing a blue prison gown that came down to mid-thigh. It was impossible not to notice that his current commanding officer had... well, curves. Pleasing curves.

As she once again pressed her body tight up against his in the corridor, he noticed that parts of her felt soft. Others hard. The soft seemed to be in all the right places. It was not at all like being squished into a tight place with a bunch of his brothers who always felt rock hard pressed against him. He couldn't squelch his feeling of disappointment when she slipped away from him and gestured for them to continue on their way.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

_You can't be noticing these things about your General_, he berated himself. _Surely it is lines for a court-martial. __Stop thinking about her curves._

This time, the General was leading the way and he found his eyes drifting down from the slim line of her back to the lush curves below it. Judging by how well he could see those curves, he surmised that she was not wearing anything under the gown. He knew that they hadn't bothered putting anything else on him other than just the thin blue medical pants.

He was a commando who was most definitely _commando_. Knowing they were both practically naked, except for the thin coverings did little for his concentration.

They continued tailing the patrol until the patrol suddenly stopped. The General quickly tugged him back behind the nearest corner. They took turns cautiously peering around the corner.

The group of Kaz'harians had stopped in front of the many grey doors that lined the fortress. Leon exchanged a look with his General. He held his breath as he watched in anxious anticipation. He noted that the door was already guarded by at least half a dozen Kaz'harians. The lead simian nodded a greeting toward the guards, and then motioned to several of those within the patrol to head inside. The rest of the large group waited outside, standing at ease.

He craned his neck trying to see past the creatures and get a better view of the entrance. The General pressed herself up against his back, trying to see around the corner. He forced himself not to react to the feel of the front of her body pressed along the length of his spine.

He was eleven and a half years old, with the equivalent body of a twenty-two year old male. And, he'd never been with a woman. His body was screaming at him now that it was well overdue. He thought he'd long since accepted that such a thing would probably never happen for him. Such opportunities just didn't arise in the GAR.

His mind and his body seemed completely at odds with each other. He felt a hunger deep inside that was different from the ache in his gut from the meagre nourishment he'd been given while in the labs.

He closed his eyes for a moment and fought to get his body back under control. He snapped his eyes open again when he sensed an increase in movement among the patrol. The door was opening again and those in the corridor were shifting backwards to make room for those who were coming out.

Leon gasped, then winced, hoping that the sound had not been audible enough to be heard from a distant. The General regarded him steadily, neither approving nor disapproving. She was waiting for an explanation.

The commando mouthed the words: 'Our gear.' The Kaz'harians were emerging with their arms laden full of weapons. The lead Kaz'harian began barking instructions and the weapons were distributed among the patrol. The weapons being handed out were standard Republic issue.

The General leaned her head further around the corner trying to see for herself. Leon shifted his weight from foot to foot, feeling tense. At this rate, the General was going to get spotted if she didn't pull back.

With a crisp bark of commands from the lead Kaz'harian, the patrol moved on. None of them looked back his way. Leon noticed that all of them now had blasters tucked in a pouch on their chest armor.

_Fek._

_What are they doing?_

He pushed these thoughts aside and focused once again on the room ahead of them. The patrol was gone but the room, whatever it was, was still guarded. Leon eyed the half-dozen guards standing idly about in front of the door, some settling themselves comfortably up against the wall to lean back. The rest had already assumed a bored expression.

_Yeah, I can relate,_ Leon thought,_ guard duty is boring as hell._

Cheer up Kazzies. I'm bringing the battle to you.

Leon mouthed to the Jedi, "Stay here."

Before Unduli could object, he launched himself around the corridor and went running straight at the Kaz'harians. There was no sense trying to sneak up on them because he would be spotted well before he could get to them. His only advantage was the element of surprise. He came around the corner at a run and went sprinting headlong directly into the enemy. It took a good two seconds before they took note of him. His bare feet made no sound as he flew down the corridor, and he intentionally kept to the shadows.

_I can take these guys easily._

Once they did notice him, there was a general cry of warning and all the warriors turned and raised their weapons at him. Leon quickly unfurled the little wrapped bundle he'd been carrying with him since the lab. He dumped away the scrap of cloth that had held everything together, letting it simply fall to the floor as he ran. He was left with a handful of assorted lab tools that he'd originally used to free the General from her restraints. Without hesitation, he let the tools fly one right after another. He felled three of the targets before the warriors got wise and retreated back into the covered safety offered by the door.

He was worried they would actually head into the room and then lock it, which would end his attack, but, they didn't. They emerged from their relative safety a second later, the first of the warriors rearing his weapon onto Leon. At this point, he was almost upon them. He lowered down his head and threw himself into the fray of the three warriors. He was able to take another simian down this way, and he reached up with his last remaining tool to stab the warrior directly into the eye. The tool got stuck and embedded with an odd squelching sound and the Kaz'harian went immediately still.

Leon pivoted around to face the last two warriors.

He heard the slight sound of a door opening directly behind him. Four more Kaz'harians came barreling out of the room to join in the fight.

_Alright, now its six against one_, Leon thought as he stared at the huge simians in front of him. _Hardly fair for them when that one is a commando._

They were huge. Leon thought he'd gotten used to their size as he'd critically studied his guards while captive in the labs, but now, somehow they seemed even bigger.

His training took over, refusing to let him be intimidated in any circumstance. His eyes narrowed and his gaze immediately swept the enemy before him, scanning for weaknesses. He'd learned a lot from studying the guards in the labs. There had been little else to do during those endlessly long hours. All of the Kaz'harians, except for the ones that seemed to be scientists or technicians, wore some form of armour to protect their already broad and amply muscled chests. Their upper arms were massive and bulging with muscles. Their stocky legs resembled tree trunks. However, this still left plenty of vulnerable areas. Every creature had strike zones. Before the first day of his confinement was over, he'd already picked out the areas he was going to peg on these creatures. He always knew he was going to bust himself out. He'd just been biding his time and waiting for an opportunity.

One of the warriors in the back raised his weapon to fire at Leon. He was just preparing to dive out of the way, when another of the Kaz'harians slapped the weapon down with a barked warning and pointed back to the room from which they'd just emerged. He racked his brains for a translation, but they'd spoken too quickly. However, logic told him they were unwilling to fire because the room behind him might contain explosives.

_Beautiful. I love explosives._

Leon was more determined than ever to get into that room. He just needed to get through these six first.

And... however many more might be waiting behind the door.

He raised up his arms into fighting stance and the six glanced back and forth at each other. He picked up from their quickly barked conversations that they were trying to figure out the best way to take him down. He noted they were gesturing down to his blue prison pants from the lab. He wondered if they were going to foolishly try to recapture him. That would be to his advantage because then they would be out to disable him, and not kill him.

_Maybe they have standing orders to leave their lab specimens alive._

_Alive._

_No way they are taking me alive._

He had no such compunctions about letting any of the Kaz'harians live. Almost of his training had focused on fighting to kill. He had wondered about this sometimes, since he'd heard his Jedi Generals refer to themselves as 'peacekeepers' on more than one occasion. But, he was good at what he did and he just let that be enough for him. There was no place in his life to want anything more.

He critically eyed the Kaz'harian nearest him and picked out strike zones. Thorax. Bridge of nose. Temple. Base of the Neck. Ears. Groin. Kidneys.

_Wait. Do Kazzies have kidneys? _

They were all so humanoid-looking. He'd surmised that their chest armour had to be protecting something vital. He would have to slide his hands under that armour to twist his fingers into a kill strike. If he did the move wrong, one of the massive creatures could easily snap his arm in a single blow.

Easy enough. He would just make sure he did everything right.

The warrior in front seemed to be the leader, barking out quick instructions to the Kaz'harian directly beside him. He was rather amused to note that they seemed totally locked in a command hierarchy. The second-in-command would take the hurriedly barked instructions and turn to the other four and repeat them. The large warriors shuffled and assembled themselves into pairs of two, the two lead Kaz'harians up in front. They were determined to take him on in crisp military formation.

_I give them points for being well-organized._

This warrior caste of the Kaz'harians spent intense hours going through training just as he and his brothers had done. Out of nowhere, the thought hit him that maybe under other circumstances he and his brothers could've found common ground with these warriors. But, there was a war on and they were on opposite sides of it. These soldiers were Separatists and that meant taking them out. Leon liked the simplicity that following orders offered him. Too much thinking about the war always started to give him a headache. He'd given up pondering the right and wrong of things. He was a soldier. He knew his place, and he was the best at what he did. It was enough.

Eyeing their leader, Leon designated him as his first target. He reached down deep in his diaphragm and let out a trademark commando howl. All of the creatures startled and flinched as one. It was almost comical.

That sensitive hearing of theirs puts them at a disadvantage.

He'd seen many creatures throughout the galaxy with brilliant hearing that were overwhelmed at loud sounds. Taking advantage of the momentary distress caused by his attack sound, Leon threw himself at the leader. He angled his palm like a knife-edge and struck for the trachea. He heard a startled choking sound as he felt the sensitive neck tissue give way. Continuing his momentum, he spun around and leapt around to kick out the knee cap of the second-in-command. He heard a satisfying crack and the warrior went down with a howl. He continued his momentum, spinning around so that he could double-check on the first Kazzie he'd downed.

One of the key points from his commando training flashed in his brain.

Never assume your enemy is neutralized until you're sure they're dead.

It was a simple and clean rule. Leon had embraced learning all of the rules. It was his easy adherence to the regulations that had ensured his quick rise through the ranks. He was always being held up as an example of what a soldier should be by his superiors. He knew it was one of the reasons his squadmates always gave him such a hard time.

He dove aside to avoid being toppled by the command Kaz'harian who was collapsing to the ground, clutching at his throat. Sensing a shadow behind him, he whirled around to take on the next Kaz'harian. Out of instinct, he slammed his elbow back to jab the creature in the ribs. Leon grunted in pain.

_Fek. Chest armor._

He cursed himself. His entire arm tingled from the blow. He was hit with a wave of anger. The Kaz'harians were armored up and his gear had been taken away. Leon snaked his hands under the chest armor of the Kazzie he'd just whacked his elbow on. With a vicious twist of his hands, he went after what he thought would be the kidney area. The warrior howled and immediately doubled over.

_OK, turns out how the Kazzies do have kidneys. _

The action was so fast that Leon had to dive out of the way to avoid being inadvertently head butted. While whirling around to take care of the final three, he felt his arms being grabbed from behind. His nostrils were assailed with the overpowering smell of Kaz'harian fur as he was hauled up against the creature's chest, his arms pinned painfully behind his back. He bit his lip to avoid crying out as his arms were yanked so tightly it felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

He was trapped.

_No! No! No! This was not how it was supposed to go down! I must protect the General!_

The two remaining Kaz'harians stepped forward, both making a facial gesture that the commando could only determine as an eager grin. Suddenly their fists were hammering into his chest.

The first punishing blow knocked all of the air out of him. The second strike doubled him over, but the Kazzie holding him forcefully angled him up again so his chest was once again open to their fists.

The third blow really hurt. He heard a rib break.

_No. No. No!_

The fracture must have been very audible because he heard all three of the Kaz'harians start to make a harsh, lisping sound. They were laughing at him. The creature holding him shook slightly from his amusement.

Knowing he was being laughed at fueled a rage in him.

_Nobody laughs at a commando. (Well, except maybe for a fellow commando.) Enough of this._

Since he was being held from behind, he was able to lift his body as high as he wished, and the highly-trained commando used this to every advantage. His broken rib screamed at him as he catapulted his body upwards, but he was good at tuning out pain during battle. He caught the simian just in front of him was a kick so vicious that it snapped his head up and back. The creature stood frozen, eyes glazing over, before his head flopped awkwardly and he crashed backwards. He fell directly onto his comrade who'd been his turn to pummel Leon again.

The commando then turned his attention to twisting out of the grasp of the warrior that was holding him. He slammed his skull upwards as hard as he could trying to head butt the creature but the angles were against him. He was too short and the creature was too tall. He heard a crack and knew he'd broken something in the creature's face.

But, it wasn't a killing blow.

_Now, I just made him angry._

He felt himself get hauled up off the ground, and had no time to think or prepare before he was slammed head first into the wall. The creature still didn't release him.

Leon's vision was swimming with spots, and he could barely hear. He wasn't sure if his skull was fractured, or he was just concussed. But, he knew it wasn't good. He saw the wall coming at him again and knew he wasn't going to survive a second hit into the stony rock surface. Out of pure desperation, he lowered his head down and sank his teeth into the furry arm holding him like a steel band around the chest. He bit as hard as he could.

_Ugggh. Kaz'harians don't taste very good._

_I'll likely never get this taste out of my mouth._

He tasted blood, and unpleasant as it was, he kept biting down. The creature howled and reached out with his other fist to pound Leon in the stomach. He was punched in his broken rib and he was forced to release as he gasped suddenly for air.

The creature's arms came around him again, but this time he was grasped by the neck. The pressure on his throat was tremendous. The loss of oxygen was so startling and immediate that he felt himself losing consciousness.

His last thought was there could be more painful ways to go. He'd always figured he would die a painful and violent death. In consideration, this was such a bad way to go. He'd gotten to engage in a pleasing fight beforehand. He'd been winning for the most part of the fight. His eyes slid shut on their own as the blackness began taking over.

He accepted that the end had come. It almost felt peaceful as his body began shutting down. All of his muscles went slack. It almost felt like falling into a deep sleep.

Still...

He wished he could've seen his squad mates one last time. A sense of things left undone hit him. And, the General...

_The General!_

A surge of adrenaline hit his system at the thought he was failing in his duty to protect the General. He threw all of his remaining energies in trying to buck free from the creature choking him. He was smacked hard in the head again, and his body went slack as he reeled from the impact. Nausea and bile immediately rose up in his throat and had nowhere to go since he was choked. He wondered if he was going to die drowning in his own vomit.

"Release him," snapped an imperious sounding voice.

His arms were suddenly free and he crashed downwards, barely able to get his knees under him so that he didn't go headfirst into the stony floor. Bile and stomach acid came out of his mouth in a forceful choke. He desperately needed air, but couldn't breathe in while he was vomiting. Fortunately, there was almost nothing in his stomach. He was finally able to suck in a breath. He greedily hauled in gasp after gasp.

Part of him was dimly aware of the sound of a body hitting a wall. He'd heard that sound enough times to be intimately familiar with it. Heck, he'd been the heavy object enough times to know all about such things. He forced his eyes open.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Kaz'harian that had fallen underneath his comrade struggle to his feet. He wanted to show a warning. But, he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.

There was no need. This new threat also went careening into the wall. Leon heard a snap so loud that it made even him startle and then a heavy thud. He stared for a moment at the unseeing eyes of the dead Kaz'harian that hit the ground next to him. The creature's head was at an odd angle compared to the rest of its' body.

Leon wanted to push himself to his feet. But, he couldn't move. None of his muscles were responding properly.

Suddenly, there was a pair of bare feet right in his line of sight. Human feet.

Gah. His neck hurt. He tried to force the bruised area to move anyway, but when he did, his ribs protested sorely. He forced his aching neck to twist. He received a full on view of a long pair of legs and the bottom hem of that not-nearly-long-enough lab gown.

_The General._

He stared.

He couldn't do anything else.

His mind was not working very well. His breath was still coming in great heavy gasps. He continued to stare at the greatest pair of legs he had ever seen in his life.

_Legs._

_The General has great fekkin' legs. _

His brain felt completely muddled. He dimly registered that the General was still speaking to him. He focused hard, trying to make sense of the words.

"Do you plan on laying around all day?" Alright, he recognized that imperious Jedi accent. Definitely his General.

_Say something!_ He shouted at himself, trying to force his head to look up at her.

"Uhhh..." Leon mumbled, a large bead of sweat rolled off of his forehead and splashed onto his lip. Somehow the simple action was enough to startle him out of his stupor.

"Do you require assistance getting up?" the General was reaching a hand down to him.

"No," he managed to gasp out, although his voice sounded odd, even to his own ears. With a mighty heave, he attempted to force himself to his feet, but he was hit with a wave of dizziness and found himself stumbling backwards. He would have crashed into the wall, again, if not for the General catching him.

"You're injured," she said, in her smooth, matter-of-fact Mirilian tones.

"No," Leon protested, loathe to admit he was in anything but top condition. After all, how could he protect the General if he was injured? He struggled to stand upright on his own, but the strong Jedi held him firm back against her chest.

"I apologize for not coming to your aid sooner," the Jedi said.

Just what was his head resting on? It felt so soft and warm. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He decided he could rest perhaps for just another moment.

"I was busy dispatching the others that came upon us from behind," said the General's voice. Her voice was soft and low as she continued to hold him against her. She made the statement as casually as if she were telling him the state of the weather.

_Wait? There were others? _

Leon had left her in the other corridor so she would be safe! He pulled himself out of her arms and ended up grabbing onto the wall for balance. Still gripping the stone surface, he took two steps toward the other corridor so he could see for himself. He blinked in surprise. The entire corridor was littered with Kaz'harian warriors. All unmoving. He lost count after the first dozen. He tried to spin around to face the General, but the action caused overwhelming dizziness. He waved precariously on his feet, trying to stay upright.

Leon felt the General come up behind him and slip her arm around his waist again. "I saw you fight. You did well, Captain. Your hand-to-hand combat skills are impressive."

The commando wondered that she had time to take out all those soldiers, _and_ still watch him. His opinion of the Jedi General rose up another notch.

He wasn't sure how to respond to her words of praise. He wasn't used to kind words about his fighting abilities. Being the best had always just been expected of him. No, more like _demanded_.

He wondered if it was just his head injury, but he felt himself swelling up from the praise. Why should simple words of acknowledgement from the Mirilian mean so much to him?

"Uh..." he felt his mouth go dry, "you did well, too, General." His voice sounded off. He coughed trying to clear the raw feeling out from being choked, but winced as the action put pressure on his already aching throat.

The General glanced sharply at his face, then began steering him down the corridor, "We should go. Another patrol could come this way."

Leon pulled himself free again, and reached back to the wall to hold himself upright, "Our gear." He motioned with one hand toward the door.

The Jedi General scowled at the closed door, "Captain, we have no idea what lies behind that door. There could be another large number of them just waiting for us."

Despite barely being able to stand, Leon felt a grin tugging at his lips, "Then, we'll just have to take them down together, won't we?"

"You're reckless, Captain," the Jedi shook her head. She took a moment to consider, making a 'hemming' noise at the back of her throat. "However, in this case, I will have to agree with you. We would be at a considerable advantage if we were armed."

Leon thought of the large number of Kaz'harians the General had taken out in the corridor. He wanted to murmur something like, "Seems to me you're pretty lethal even when you're unarmed." But, he kept his comments to himself. He wanted to get his gear back, and the key seemed to be the room in front of them.

She propped Leon up on one side of the door, and took a position on the other. "You sure you're up for this?" the General asked, eying him critically.

Leon said with determination, "If it means getting my kit back, I'll gladly take on another horde of those guys."

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that," Unduli said in her overly practical way.

Leon make a quick series of hand gestures, just like he would with his team of commandos. He was pleased when the Jedi not only understood them all, but followed as crisply as any member of his team.

_Maybe Jedi are trainable_, after all, he thought.

He indicated they would go on his signal, and then motioned for Unduli to get the door. With a wave of her hand, the heavy door slid open.

_Handy_, Leon thought, _she's good_.

Part of him made a mental note that he and the General actually made a very good team. Then, he focused all of his energy on hurtling into the room and whatever battle might await them there.

# # #


	122. Chapter 122 Why Cody Punched Rex

_This chapter was revised on May 5, 2013. Happy Cinqo de Mayo everyone. Thank you Kelani-Ti for your feedback and suggestions on Leon's character development. So, I actually reverted this back to a slightly earlier version and took out a bit of the humor in favor of going for some more character development. Thank you to CT-782 for finding a typo in the chapter. Good catch._

_A new Clone Wars bonus clip came out this week. If you haven't seen it, I posted a link to it on my profile. You can also find this clip on Star Wars dot com under "Clone Wars Preview: Plo Kloon's Discovery." You just have to scroll down the page to find it. _

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 122**

As soon as Leon and General Unduli charged into the room they hoped contained the weapons' cache, they were attacked by a set of Kaz'harians. Knowing he wouldn't be able to stand much longer, Leon rammed into the nearest guard taking him down to the ground. He swung up and caught him with a hard upper block to the head, and the simian dropped. And, a second later, Leon collapsed. Whatever adrenaline had carried him through this far was gone. He heard the sounds of familiar sound of bones breaking and knew the General was fighting on. He wasn't concerned that the bones belonged to the Jedi. He'd seen her fight. He wished he could raise himself up and and watch her in action, but his body refused to respond to his command. His head felt thick and heavy on his neck. He closed his eyes and decided he would just rest for a moment.

Except... his stomach was roiling which he knew from past experience was a classic sign of a head injury. He'd been knocked on the head enough times. He was surprised he wasn't permanently brain damaged from the tinnies.

Part of him just wanted to black out, but there was no way when his stomach felt like it was trying to find a new home in his esophagus. He hadn't been offered any solid food since arriving on planet, just the liquid they'd pumped into his veins to keep him alive. He began dry heaving and it was a lot more painful than breaking the rib or getting his head slammed into the wall.

"Easy Captain." He felt a reassuring hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. Even through his misery, he registered that this was an amazing sensation. He couldn't remember anyone ever rubbing his back before. His stomach began to settle. He felt himself being gentled rolled onto his back by the Jedi Master.

"Captain, I am going to try to heal your injuries with Jedi healing. Just relax."

Leon felt a sense of calm descend over him the moment the Jedi's hands laid down upon his body. He wasn't sure if it was the start of the healing, or just the General's reassuring presence. He'd never experienced Jedi healing before, but he'd heard of it before from other clones and knew it was quicker than bacta.

Jedi healing was... different. Unduli pressed her hands on either side of his skull, and began murmuring to him softly while she worked.

Leon heard the Jedi's words, but he was so relaxed that he was falling asleep even as she spoke, "You'll have to forgive me. I do not have the same training as my padawan when it comes to the healing arts. No doubt she would be able to do this better and faster."

He wanted to reply back and thank her for her efforts. But, exhaustion was quickly claiming him.

"Rest, Captain. I'll be here when you awake," he heard the Jedi murmur in her reassuring tone. And, then darkness overtook him.

# # #

Leon's awakening was not nearly as pleasant as falling asleep. He opened his eyes groggily and found a Kaz'harian staring right back at him. The eyes were fixed directly on his, unblinking and unwavering. He bolted up dizzily and grabbed for his DC-17M. But, as his fingers scraped against just thin cloth, he realized in a slight panic that he was still unarmed.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and whipped his head around. It was not another Kaz'harian come to take him down in his sleep, but the concerned face of the General.

"Easy, Captain. I have finished your healing, but you need more rest. You have not been out long," Unduli pushed him back in lay flat position that medics placed head injured patients out in the field. Her demeanor was completely calm and serene, not what one would expect when surrounded by Kaz'harians. Leon stared up at the General in confusion. She laid a comforting hand against his bare shoulder, "Relax, Captain. I moved the bodies out of corridor so as not to raise any suspicions."

Leon looked back at the Kaz'harians. As his brain continued to wake up, he realized the simians were all unmoving and indeed very dead. He focused his attention back on the General who was still speaking to him, "We should not tarry longer than necessary. It will be noticed that the room has been left unguarded. Someone will likely come to investigate."

Leon agreed with her logic. He critically assessed the warriors. "How did you accomplish this? They must weigh 100 kilos each."

Unduli gave a dismissive gesture with the wave of one hand, "The Force. I floated them in. It was the most expedient way."

He stared at her in astonishment. "That's... uh... " He stumbled over his words awkwardly as he tried to think of an appropriate term, "er... nicely done, General." He then winced at his words, feeling awkward. He risked a glance at the Jedi, and she was smiling. But, it wasn't a cruel gesture. The smile tugged at her lips and extended up to her eyes.

He found himself smiling back. She had a unique ability to put him at ease. He usually only felt at ease around other clones, and that sometimes was pushing it. His squad mates were always trying to pull pranks on him, and while he tried to see it as a sign of affection, he didn't always get the impression there was a lot of warmth behind their actions. He wondered if he wasn't that well matched to his current squad. He cleared his throat, trying to chase away the dry tickle that seemed to have permanently lodged itself there since they'd left the labs. He only succeeded in making himself cough.

The General hauled him to a sitting position, moving him as if he weighed no more than a DC-17. She was immediately rubbing his back again and he almost moaned with the sheer pleasure of it.

"You should drink something," Unduli said, and he could feel her lips reverberating against his back.

_No. I think I'll stay thirsty._

"Do you think you can sit up on your own?" she asked, pulling back slightly. He resisted the temptation to lean into her touch again.

"Er... yes," and he did actually try to sit up on his own, but he ended up sliding drunkenly sideways when he was hit with another wave of dizziness.

"Rest some more. The healing is still not complete," the General commanded, pulling him back up against her chest. She reached around and held him secure against her body, preventing any movement. He forced himself not to sigh out loud with contentment, but couldn't help an involuntary shiver. She smelled like... the General.

"You're cold," she said, misinterpreting his shiver.

"Er..." Leon had no idea how to respond to that. Cold? Oh, he was feeling many things right now, but cold was not one of them. "I'm... uh... "

_I'm a bad commando. That's what I am._

He sighed again.

"Are you OK, Captain?" the General sounded so concerned that Leon felt guilty for how content he was in that moment. She adjusted her arms and it brought him closer up against her chest.

He gulped.

_Oh my._

_General_.

"I'm..." his voice came out as an uncharacteristic squeak, _I'm going to rot in the Nine Hells of Corellia for enjoying this so much._

She lowered him gently down to the ground.

_No. No. No. Pick me back up!_

"Just rest here another moment, and then we'll see about getting you back in your gear," the General informed him.

He was about to opening his mouth to protest the loss of his lovely pillow, er, pillows, when the word 'gear' completely derailed him.

_Gear?_

His ears immediately perked up Kashyyykian Kybuck and he sprang up, ignoring any lingering dizziness.

"Gear? Did you say gear?" His words echoed his eagerness.

He looked to his left and just saw the corpses of the Kazzies stacked up neatly against the wall. Then, he twisted his head to the right and gasped. The room was enormous to the point of being cavernous. He instantly took an inventory. The room stretched back as far as he could see. Metallic shelves were loaded up with gear and weapons in 501st blue and the distinctive orange of the 212th Attack Battalion.

Helmets were lined up on the highest shelf, one after another with their distinctive T-visors staring out just waiting for their owners. The next shelf held neatly folded bundles of body gloves, with the Republic logo face up, one after another, as far as the eye could see. And, below that, chest plates, back plates, spauldrons, rerebraces, vambraces, couters, culets, gauntlets and cuisses. The lowest shelf down held poleyns, greaves and pair after pair of scuffed armored boots.

"Fe-"

He stopped himself short of the obscenity he'd been about to let out. He felt all the wind be sucked out of his gut, and it had nothing to do with the blows to his chest he'd taken earlier. If he'd needed any further proof that the Kaz'harians had indeed managed to take down two Legions of the GAR's finest, it was right here.

He furrowed his brow as he stared at the methodically stored gear.

_Why hold on to all of it?_

_Why go to all of this trouble in their storage?_

_Why not just dispose of it?_

_And, what was with the blood tests he'd constantly undergone during his days in captivity?_

"General," Leon murmured, worrying his thoughts aloud, "why would the Kaz'harians need all of this? They have gear, armor and weapons of their own."

Unduli's worried expression mirrored his own, "I am not sure what the purpose of the labs, Captain. This is troubling indeed."

Leon pushed himself up carefully, pleased to find his dizziness was now completely gone. He walked over to the nearest shelf and picked up a scuffed blue and white chest plate, noting that it belonged to a pilot. He sighed, realizing it meant the owner of the armor must have been shot down during the battle of Darkknell and then captured along with the others. He looked above and saw the corresponding distinctive pilot's helmet, briefly admiring the artwork which had been painted with a hawk on either side. He studied it critically, "What good would this do to a Kaz'harian?" He looked back at one of the dead simians stacked up against the wall. "Neither the chest plate or the helmet would ever fit them. All of this is precisely made to fit clones." He looked up and down at the entire roomful of supplies. "They could outfit an entire army full of clones with all of this."

He continued to walk up and down the rows, searching for his distinctive slate grey commando gear. Unduli walked beside him.

"I don't see my kit," Leon said, discouraged.

"The Kaz'harians are most methodological," Unduli encouraged as they walked, "we will find your armor."

"The Kaz'harians are a lot of things," Leon grumbled, "and soon I will see them all dead."

Seeing all of the armor of his brothers like this, without his vode in it, stirred up a rage in him that he could not begin to express. He did not know if his squadmates or any of the other captives still lived.

The General suddenly paused at one shelf that looked slightly different from the others.

"Your lightsaber!"

She nodded, running a caressing hand down the metallic hilt. The motion did funny things to Leon's insides. He found himself staring. He tore his gaze away, and forced his gaze back to the shelves. His breathing felt hitched and ragged.

"The lightsabers of Knights Kenobi, Skywalker and Padawan Tano are also here," Unduli said.

Leon just nodded, unwilling to turn his head and look back at the General. "That is good, General. It confirms they are all here." His voice was rough, and he coughed trying to clear it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the General take several quick steps down to a shelf further down and grab a standard issue clone canteen.

"Water?" Unduli uncapped the container, and held it up to him.

He eagerly accepted the container, and drained most of it down. It had been so long since he'd had anything to drink. He felt his whole body relaxing with pleasure as it received hydration again. He pulled his lips back from the container and shook it experimentally to see how much was left. He noticed the markings on the side of the metallic container. It was stamped "CC-4729."

It was _his_ water canteen. He gasped with recognition, and then noticed the General was studying him with a pleased smile. She shifted to the side to reveal what she was hiding behind her person.

"My kit!" he felt a chill spread across his chest and arms at the sight of his armor and weapons and those of his squad mates that had nothing to do with the cool temperature of the room. He immediately picked out his armor by the scuff marks alone and begin picking up the pieces of it. His squad had chosen not to mark their gear and left it the traditional commando grey. But, even without markings, he knew every scuff on his squad's kit as well as if it was their skin, and maybe better, since they wore their armor more often than not.

He was going to immediately start gearing up, but was interrupted by Unduli's voice.

"You should eat," the Jedi said, handing him a rations bar. "I believe our captors were trying to keep you subdued through weakness and inadequate nutrition."

_Food?_

It had been so long since Leon had been given anything solid to eat. His stomach growled in immediate response as he accepted the rations bar, and he tried to resist the urge to shove the entire bar in his mouth at once.

_I must be starving. This rations bar is actually tasting good to me._

He ended up swallowing the bar in two huge bites and washing it down with the last of his water. Once he'd started eating, it was hard to stop. His body was so desperate for solid food. All too soon, the bar was gone. Another was immediately pressed into his hand by the General. He shot her a grateful look and then focused all of his attention on eating. He tried to slow down and eat in a more civilized fashion. To his relief, there was a third bar placed into his palm. He chewed this one more slowly and felt the edge finally come off of his ravenous hunger. He was handed another water container, and realized the General was offering him her own personal water container. He was going to object to using up her water supply, but she shook her head at him.

"Drink. That's an order," she said.

Leon gave a grateful nod and washed down the last of the rations bar. His body and brain felt like it was functioning the way it should again.

He gathered up his gear and quickly began putting it on. He quickly shed his upper tunic and began shimmying into his bodysuit. He stood up, his back to the Jedi, and began removing his pants, prepared to put on the lower half of the suit. He had the pants halfway down the hips, and it wasn't until he heard the Jedi make a small sound in her throat that it occured to him that one did not suit up in front of a female Jedi the same way he always done, thousands and thousands of times before. He froze, unsure what to do, whether to tug the pants back on or continue getting dressed.

_This has never been an issue before! How else is one supposed to get dressed?_

"Please continue, Captain, I will turn my back to give you some privacy," the General said in her smooth tones, although underlying her voice was... something else. Leon was not quite sure what it was. Amusement? Stress? He could not place it.

He found himself feeling awkward again, and it was an unfamiliar sensation to the normally confident commando. His fingers fumbled with the catches to his armor, which never happened before. He sighed with exasperation.

"Is everything alright, Captain? Do you require assistance?" the General called over.

"No!" Leon gasped out, and his voice did not quite sound like his own. The enormous room was starting to feel stifling and he suddenly just wanted to get back out into the corridor again and just start shooting Kazzies again. When had things gotten so complicated?

He turned and faced the General, fully suited up except for his helmet. He noticed her gaze sweeping him up and down. There was something in her gaze as she swept him up and down. It was more than just a critical assessment, but he couldn't place it. He sighed, confused and licked his lips which were still dry. He noticed the General's eyes darting to his lips.  
_ Odd_.

Their eyes met and the Mirilian Jedi flushed green.

"Are you alright, General? You're... green," Leon took a step forward, and reached out with his armored hand to touch the General's face.

The Jedi stepped back as if Leon was a threat to her. The look on his face changed to one of even more confusion, and he froze in place. His hand dropped to his side, and then clenched into a tight fist.

"Right, then," Leon said, hurriedly, he turned away, "I'll get back to..." his voice just trailed off and he knelt down and picked up his helmet.

Suddenly, there was a presence by his side, a hand covering his, and Leon startled at the touch. A tingling sensation went through his body.

"Forgive me," said the Jedi, "I am not... known for my skills with people." She put her head down and gave a small laugh, "I might be known as a skilled Jedi, but I will never be a master of words, or negotiations, like Obi Wan Kenobi. My padawan tells me all the time that I could use more... tact sometimes in dealing with people."

Leon had no idea how to deal with this confession. He was aware that Jedi had flaws, and was very fond of pointing them out in his own mind. He had just never met a Jedi that was willing to point out their own. This Mirilian was unlike any Jedi he had ever met. Still at a loss for words, he remained quiet and just stared at the General.

An awkward silence ensued between them.

"You look different again," he said, assessing her severe Jedi garb critically.

"I could not find my headpiece," the Jedi Master said, reaching a hand up to where her hair remained unbound.

Leon tried to restrain his smirk, and wasn't sure he suceeded. He had to turn his face partially away and pretended to be adjusting his couters.

_Thank you, Kaz'harians for destroying that monstrosity._

If they hadn't already killed the whole lot of them, he would thank each and every one of them for destroying that awful headpiece. "That's... uh... a shame, General."

But, the General wasn't fooled. She reached out a booted toe and gently nudged the gown she had left discarded on the floor, "You prefer I raid the dungeons in this?!"

He turned and faced Unduli, "What?! No! Of course not, General."

_Yes! Absolutely, General._

Deciding a change of topic was the safest best, he crossed the room and grabbed up his squad brothers' gear and weapons. It was heavy and bulky, but he was not leaving without it. He bundled it together and found some webbing amongst the gear that he could use to string it together. He strapped it to his back and gave himself a moment to adjust to the weight. "Alright, I'm ready."

He reached down and grabbed his familiar DC-17m, and in his other hand, he grabbed up one of the slugthrowers which he suspected might be more effective in taking down Kaz'harians. He was feeling fit again, and eager to test out his theory. "I am ready, General. Let's go."

# # #

# # #

Rex and Cody marched side-by-side leading the long column of soldiers headed toward the dungeons. Neither spoke. They had already gone through their battle strategy, at length, and discussed every contingency. There were no more words to be said.

But, idle dialogue had never been necessary between them. Cody had always been there for him. He guessed he shouldn't have been surprised that the 212th commander had showed up here now on Darkknell, just when Rex' shebs needed saving.

Cody had always been there for him.

It was the basis for their friendship.

He had been there for him after Teth.

After that fateful battle, Rex remembered night after night of not being able to sleep. He was in the empty barracks with just his five remaining troopers, Coric, Zeer, Attie, Nax and Del. They were awaiting their replacement troopers, but other Legions were also suffering heavy losses so there was a backup waiting for new clones out of Kamino. There was talk of graduating troopers early.

Rex worked with Coric and Zeer to clean out the bunks. Del came up with the idea of corralling the few meager possessions of their brothers into a small shrine at one end of the barracks. It was meticulously well-arranged. Rex couldn't bring himself to look at it, though. It hurt too much. Each item there represented a brother lost that he'd been responsible for and that he'd seen or heard die that day.

He lay awake at night, trying to take some reassurance in the steady breathing of the five who remained still being around him. But, it didn't sound anything like the cadence of an entire squadron breathing as one. In the absence of that sound, sleep wouldn't come.

He took to wandering the corridors of the ship at night, walking himself to exhaustion. When he could walk no longer, he would sit in the mess with a glass of water and stare into it as if it held all the answers. But, there were no answers to be found. Toward morning, he would switch over to caf and drink enough to keep himself going for another day. It was amazing how long you could go without sleep. The human body was nothing but resilient.

Occasionally, he would doze off for a minutes staring into the glass of water. Those were the good nights, and those few fractured minutes of sleep were better than none.

The 212th had just arrived back on board the Resolute. They had trained hard and Rex was exhausted. He stared into his glass of therapy, willing sleep to catch him for a minute or two.

But, the night was cruel and sleep wouldn't come.

So, he just sat in a weary, exhausted stupor.

When Cody placed a hand on his shoulder, Rex leapt up in surprise, knocking over the glass of water.

"Udessi, vod. It's just me."

Rex just nodded in acknowledgment of Cody's presence and went back to staring down at the table. The water had spilled into a wide reminded him of blood, the way it slowly spread out. Everything reminded him of Teth.

He dimly registered Cody walking away, and then returning to clean up the water. He nodded his thanks. He should have done that himself. He wasn't thinking clearly. Cody slid down into the bench across from him.

"You're a mess, Rex."

Rex nodded, too tired to argue the point.

"Your men say you haven't been sleeping," Cody began, in a voice gentler than Rex was used to hearing from the 212th Commander.

Rex glanced over at him, somewhat surprised the others had noticed his nightly wanderings. He always waited until he heard the others' breathing even out into sleep before he got up and began pacing. He hadn't wanted to worry any of the others into what was going on with him, particularly Coric.

"You can't continue on like this," Cody pushed on, relentlessly.

Rex lifted up a shoulder miserably, and just continued to stare down. He had nothing to add to the conversation.

"You're going to get yourself killed, Rex."

Rex just shrugged. True. Right now he was just still going trying to keep alive the five men, and the pilot, Hawk, that had survived the battle. But, part of him wondered if that was enough to keep him going day after day.

Cody continued on relentlessly, "Getting yourself killed is not going to bring them back."

"I know."

"It wasn't your fault, Rex."

Rex just grunted, not willing to concede _that_ point. He was their commanding officer. All of the deaths always lay on his head. There must have been some decision he could have made at some point during the battle that could have turned the tide. Somehow, somewhere, he had screwed up. He hadn't been able to spot that point yet, but he kept endlessly running through every detail of the battle in his head. If he didn't spot his error, how was he going to protect his remaining men, or the new recruits when they came? He'd just get all of them killed, too.

"Rex, you have to work through this. You're no good to your men like this."

Rex looked at Cody with exhausted, red-rimmed eyes.

"Cody, I don't think I can work through this."

"So, what then? You're giving up? Going to let a stray blaster bolt find you?"

Rex's eyes met Cody's. It was one of the possibilities he'd thought about during his long sleepless nights.

He was startled by the strong punch to his chin and almost fell backwards off the bench.

"Cody, what the hell?" Rex responded angrily, wiping at his chin. His hand came away with a smear of blood. Cody could pack a hell of a punch. He glared at his friend with fire in his eyes.

Cody grinned, "Good. I was wondering if you were still in there somewhere. Now, talk to me. Tell me what's going through your head."

"What's going through my head?!" Rex shouted at Cody. He then unleashed a tirade on Cody going into every detail of the assault on Teth. The lack of air support. Troops spread too thin. The whole battle planned poorly.

"By the time, the 212th and the 41st got there, my entire battalion had already been wiped out! And then, I found out the whole assault was just so we could rescue some shabla child of a Hutt. A Hutt baby? An entire Legion of my men in exchange for the sithspawn of a Hutt?! No, I can't sleep, Cody! My barracks are empty, and its my responsibility they're dead. All of them."

He was unprepared for another blow to the chin from Cody. It knocked him straight onto his ass. Cody leapt on top of him and prepared to strike him for a third time, but this time Rex raised up his arms, "Cody, stop!"

"Not until you admit it wasn't your fault!" Cody growled, drawing back his fist to strike Rex again.

"But, it was-" Rex protested, "gah!" His words were drowned out as Cody's fists pummeled him again. "This isn't fair. I can't hit you back."

Cody drew back his fist back again, "The benefits of being your superior officer. Now, admit it."

Rex leaned his had back against the hard floor of the mess floor, and closed his eyes. "It was a totally screwed up situation from the start." His voice was sincere.

The 212th commander let out a triumphant noise in the back of his throat and helped Rex up, "If I hear you blame yourself again, we are doing this again. Got it?"

Rex nodded, rubbing at his sore jaw, "Your methods of motivating the troops leave something to be desired, Cody."

"Come on, it's almost morning. Let's get some breakfast."

Rex raised up a skeptical eyebrow, "You think I could eat now? I think you broke my jaw."

Cody laughed, and reached a hand down and hauled Rex roughly to his feet.

They spent the day going through an exhausting series of drills and Rex thought he was going to fall asleep on his feet. That night, when he emerged from the refresher, he found the barracks completely full. Every empty bunk had been filled with a member of the 212th. That night, surrounded by the familiar rhythm of an entire squadron breathing together as one, sleep finally found Rex again.

He glanced over at Cody now, as they walked toward the dungeons, wondering just what his brother had been through during the months they'd been away. But for now it was enough that he was here.

# # #


	123. Chapter 123 Ahsoka Heads Out

_Chapter revised: May 29, 2013. Thank you for FreedomPhantom for catching that Mirilians flush green and not crimson._

_A/N: Just got back from New York and while it was a busy trip, I buckled down and wrote the ending to "Rex." Yes, the story is done. So, you will be getting "mini-chapters" every two or three days until the story is completed. They are all written. And, fun. Just wanted to say thank you once again to all of you who have joined us on this three year journey.  
_

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 123**

"I have to leave," Ahsoka rose up smoothly from where she'd been resting on the floor of the shuttle. Barriss was tending to the prone Jedi Masters, and Tuck stood by the hatch as a watchful silent sentinel.

Barriss stared over at her, repeating the word in puzzlement, "Leave?"

"Join Rex and the others."

"Ahsoka, no-"

The Togrutan held up a hand to forestall any more protests from her friend. "I appreciate your concern, and for healing me, but I can't stay any longer."

Barriss continued on in healer mode, "Ahsoka, you're clearly in no shape to rush headlong into battle."

Ahsoka set aside the blanket given to her by Tuck and stood up. "I'm five oh first. If they are about to go into this final battle, then so I am. My place is with them," she stood resolutely, and proudly. Then, cocked her head to the side and peered owlishly at her feet. "Although, THAT could be a problem."

Her feet were bare. She had trudged through the jungle in just her Kaz'harian-issue prison garb from the lab which was a gown and no shoes. She'd done an admirable job of trudging through the Kaz'harian jungle. Togrutans had naturally tough feet, but going off into battle was going to be more challenging. She was missing her supple, nerfhide Jedi boots.

Barriss just studied her for a long moment, scowling. "You're stubborn, know that?"

Ahsoka was about to open her mouth to issue a retort, but had to swallow it and gasp instead when the first of two boots came sailing her way.

"Wha-" she caught the first one, and then spun slightly to the side to catch its' twin.

The healer stretched her black stockinged feet wiggling her toes. "I know you, Ahsoka. Once you make up your mind, there is no talking you out of something. If you are going, you will need proper gear." She gestured toward the boots, "You will likely need to pad the toes. My feet are bigger than yours," She pointed a finger in the Togrutan's direction, indicating her "We should trade clothing, as well."

Ahsoka stared over at her friend, "I... Barriss... " her eyes misted over for a moment and she swallowed thickly. She was momentarily at a loss for words, as she clutched the boots. "Thank you, Barriss," she finally managed to get out. The words felt inadequate.

"You know such words are not necessary between us." Her friend smiled kindly, "However, you are welcome all the same." She reached down to her belt, and in one smooth, she unclipped her lightsaber, gave it a last almost mystical look and then sent the elegant weapon across the room to Ahsoka. "You will be needing this."

Ahsoka reached up and caught the hilt easily in her hands. She looked at her friend and lines of worry etched her face. "Are you sure?"

Barriss stared away for a moment, blinking, as if she had foreseen the future. Her eyes then suddenly snapped back into focus and she steadily regarded her friend, "Trust me. Take it."

"But, it will leave you defenseless," Ahsoka protested, holding the lightsaber in one palm, slightly away from her body, as if still reluctant to take possession of her friend's most prized possession.

"Take it," Barriss encouraged. "I will be fine."

"_Fine_?" Ahsoka chuckled with amusement at the term, "Now I know you have been spending too much time in clone company."

Barriss turned green with embarrassment, "Er, maybe." She coughed, and straightened her robes, trying to regain her dignity. She obviously decided a quick change of topic was the wisest course of action, "It is my duty to stay here and watch over the Masters. Just come back safe."

Ahsoka was visibly moved, and gave a deep bow of respect to her friend. Barriss stood, and returned the gesture.

"Tuck," Ahsoka addressed the heavy gunner standing on guard duty by the hatch.

"Commander Tano," the clone dipped his chin in acknowledgement.

"I will be joining the 501st in the dungeons," Ahsoka said, the words sounding both terrifying and right as she said them.

"Very good. Understood, Commander," Tuck acknowledged, with a dip of his helmeted chin, "I'll alert Hardcase, Denal, Gearshift and Hawkeye that you will be heading out soon." Right before he exited, he turned back and said, "Give you and the commander a chance to clothes, and all that."

Ahsoka was sure she heard a light-hearted tone of amusement in the gunner's voice.

# # #

As soon as Tuck exited, Ahsoka sighed and quickly shed her clothing. She was glad to be free of the lab garb. She glanced longingly toward the refresher. She would have loved a quick blast with the sonic shower, but there was no time for such luxuries. She had made up her mind to go, and now that she'd determined to she needed to help Rex she felt a pressing need to be there. Quickly.

She glanced down at the lightsaber which she placed down at her feet while she was getting dressed. Barriss' words rang kept echoing through her head again and again. She suddenly felt there was something important she needed to do in the dungeons and there was no time to waste.

By her side, Barriss was stripping down to the skin with the same Jedi efficiency, handing off her robe and belt to Ahsoka. The Togrutan felt a strong twinge of guilt as she handed back her grungy lab gown. The Kazzies had not been big on allowing them time in the sonic during their imprisonment.

Barriss picked up on the thread of her thoughts, "Ahsoka," she admonished, "a Jedi doesn't worry about such things."

"You're not the one who smells like a ripe Mynock," the Togrutan grumbled.

"I've smelled worse," Barriss grabbed the lab robe and slid it over her head. "Oh, wow. That is- pungent."

"Warned you," Ahsoka said, she breathed out a sigh of relief as she slid Barriss' robes over her head. "Your robes smell like-" she inhaled deeply, her head still stuck deepy in the robes as she pulled them over head, "well, they smell like you, but there is something else. It's hard to identify..."

"Ahsoka," Barriss warned, flushing a very deep shade of green again.

"What?" Ahsoka was completely oblivious as she studied the robes that now hung on her frame, too long and past her feet, "the smell seems familiar somehow, but I can't quite place it." She grabbed up a fistful of the robe and inhaled deeply again. "It's almost like..." Her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Ahsoka," Barriss grabbed the robes and pulled them out of her friend's face, "it's Cody, alright? Now stop smelling the robes." She blew out an exasperated sigh, then knelt down and picked up the lightsaber, "I need to trim them or you'll trip over your feet. Hold still."

There was the smell of burnt clothing in the air and Ahsoka wrinkled her nose, coughing for a moment at the acrid stench. "That's awful."

"Better than tripping over your feet," her friend said, and then murmured up her breath almost too quietly to hear, "and, it covers up the scent of other things, thank the Force." She gathered up the burnt robe pieces, "Here. Tuck these into your boots. I'm taller than you."

"Thank you for continually reminding me," Ahsoka mock-scowled and playfully poked her friend in the ribs, "_everyone_ is taller than me."

However, she wasted no time in stuffing the scraps into her boots. She was glad for her friends' quick thinking, and despite the light-hearted banter between her and Barriss, she was still mindful of the sense of urgency that was goading at her. She was sure it was the Force sending her a message. She pulled the boots on, and then tightened Barriss' Jedi belt around her waist clipping the lightsaber into place. The saber felt right and solid against her hip, even if it was not her saber and her shoto. It just felt good to be armed again as a proper Jedi.

"Now, you look like a Jedi once again," Barriss gave an approving nod. "Come on. Let's go. I'll walk you out."

# # #

Outside the ship, the five clones all swiveled their helmeted heads as one and stared over at the two Jedi as they emerged from the ship.

"Commander Tano," Hardcase said, stepping forward, "Captain Rex ordered me to stay with you. I will accompany you back to the dungeons. These three are going with us." He indicated Denal, Gearshift and Hawkeye. He pointed to Tuck, "The heavy gunner is going to stay here and continue to guard the Generals."

Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that the injured gunner was going to insist on coming back to the dungeons. His brothers were one step ahead of him and knew he was not in any shape to make the trek.

Tuck gave a slight nod of his chin and resumed his post by the hatch as sentinel. He might be currently weighed down by a chest wound, but he still wanted to pull his weight. It was hard-wired into him as a soldier. He could do no less.

"Good luck, Commander," Tuck said, with a respectful nod, and any disagreements they may have had before appeared to have been buried.

Ahsoka gave the clone a warm, sincere smile, quickly embraced Barriss and then turned to Hardcase. "I'm ready."

They took off into the jungle. The clones seemed to sense that Ahsoka was in a hurry to get back to the battle about to start because she set a blistering pace moving through the jungle. Ahsoka could not shake the sense of urgency and that lives were at stake if she did not get back.

No, not lives.

One particular life.

Rex.


	124. Chapter 124 Catcher- The Final Mission

_A/N: Hello All, here is our next "mini-chapter" as we spiral toward our exciting finale. _

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 124**_

Catcher was unusually grim as he led the commando team toward the dungeons. Travis kept close to his side and seemed to have appointed himself a protective shadow ever since the ARC Captain had been injured earlier. The rest of the commando team moved soundlessly behind them. Fives and Echo came next, weapons held comfortably to hand, but in such a way they could be called into action in a split second. Torch and Dart tred side-by-side, steps in unison with each other. The two had bonded as brothers over the course of the mission, and one could tell at a glance they'd reached that level of being able to communicate without speaking. Blaze took up the back of the pack. His visored gaze constantly swept back and forth in a fiercely protective manner as if he'd appointed himself guardian of the rest of them.

Catcher glanced back over his shoulder, checking on the team. He hissed as the wound in his side pulled uncomfortably. The ARC Captain knew there wasn't much holding him together at this point. He was going to need a couple days of rest when this was over.

But, for now, he had a job to do, and a ways yet to go. He assessed his team again. They'd lost Viper in the explosion outside of the morgue. The RC had been a vital member of the Legion. Catcher, Blaze and Viper had taken charge of a good portion of the training on Ando since Rex and Travis had both been out on medical leave. The Republic Commandos had a wealth of knowledge of tactics that they'd shared and passed on in training. Even Catcher had to grudgingly admit he'd learned a few things from Blaze and Viper, and combined with the ARC training tactics he put the Legion through, and the Marine stuff Travis came up when he was cleared to train again, they were one of the most colorfully cross-trained Legions he'd ever seen.

The main force of the Legion was with Rex so Catcher had not had a chance to see them fight together yet. They had more charges to set and ships to secure so the freed Legions would have a ride back to Corrie. But, if they could get all of that done, maybe they could still make it back to the dungeons in time to catch the tail end of the fight. For now, they simply how to assess the dungeons and report back to Rex. Then, they were to hightail it to the hangar and secure the ships.

His gaze took in the back of the team where Blaze was once again providing a reassuring presence. His armor bore testament to the explosion that had taken such a toll on the team. The RC's armor was blackened and scored with deep ridges running down it. He'd lost his helmet and was now wearing Viper's bucket. Catcher knew Blaze had been burnt in the explosion. But, he was glad to have back. Blaze was a good man. He couldn't afford to lose any more members of his team. He refused to lose any more.

His practiced gaze swept forward, assessing the 501st ARCs that Cody had "loaned" him. Sensing they were being watched, they pivoted their helmets and regarded him in unison. He nodded to them and then looked back forward again. He owed Cody big time and hoped he could repay him one day. Smart, experienced troopers often made all the difference when things got tough, and these ARCs were some of the best Catcher had seen. Realistically, he wasn't sure when and how he'd be fighting alongside the 501st or the 212th again after today. The thought gave an air of finality to everything now. Cody had pulled top-notch troopers off of his own team and given them to Catcher. It was a gift of immeasurable value. He needed to make sure these ARCs survived so he could return them back to Cody intact.

He breathed out, and rubbed at his side again, once again trying to alleviate the sting.

_Fek. These slughthrower wounds packed a punch._

The medic had given him a painkiller but his side was still throbbing mercilessly. He dug his teeth into his lip.

_Suck it up, Catcher. You're the one who insisted you had to keep going._

Catcher didn't regret his decision. His place was with the team. He felt comfortable with being in command and heading back to the ship and being laid up in medical before the job was done would've been the end of him. It had happened to him once before and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He put up a hand, calling up a halt to the line and signaled to Travis. Without any words needing to be spoken, the Marine immediately knelt down and began setting down a charge. Torch and Dart moved in to assist, and the three of them completely the entire operation in under 30 seconds. Catcher used the opportunity to lean back against a nearby wall and take a breather. He tried to do so subtly. But, his helmet com was immediately alive with clicks. He was getting signaled by every member of his team, except for the three working on detonation. He had no doubt he'd be hearing from them when they were done.

"You alright, Captain?" and "Captain?" and "You, OK, Captain?" and every variation in-between.

_Just Farkin' great._

He rolled his eyes in exasperation at himself, but wasted no time comming back everyone who had signaled him.

Yes, he was_ fine, _his responses were crisp and to the point, but with a no-nonsense commanding edge of reassurance. Catcher moved back to his place at the head of the line. The ARC Captain could feel every pair of eyes on the team on him. Even with his braced legs, he liked to think he'd figured out a way to walk with a confident clone swagger again, and he made sure that confidence was in his every step now. He checked the time and signaled impatiently for the demolitions squad to finish up.

Travis double-checked Torch's work and then nodded with satisfaction. In seconds, the team cleaned up their supplies, deftly packing everything away back into belt pouches for the next job. Catcher gestured for the team to move on. Travis slid right back into his place, seemingly permanently stuck to Catcher's side these days. The moment they started walking again, Catcher's comm lit up.

"Travis," the ARC Captain cut in on a private channel, "don't say it. Been hearing it from everybody else."

Travis tilted his head to the side as if he was going to argue the point, but then stopped and just nodded his helmeted head. The ARC Captain was amazed by that in itself. Travis had changed and was beginning to show restraint. His attitude was almost even bordering on being respectful. It was such a complete turnaround in his earlier behavior that it was unsettling. Sometimes he felt that Travis just did it to throw him off.

_Only Travis could turn respectful into something annoying._

Deciding to refocus his thoughts before Travis got even more under his skin, Catcher said, "How many more charges do you have left?"

Once they were in orbit, they would detonate the entire fortress and leave no trace of the cloning facilities or prison structure. The Separatists would never again be able to hold clones captive here. And, more importantly, the Kaz'harians would not be able to continue on with their work of trying to build their own clone army.

Catcher looked down at the metallic braces that allowed his paralyzed legs to move. Everything had come full circle since his initial mission here to Darkknell when he'd still been reporting into Commander Bly. Catcher had been the first one to discover these cloning facilities. Yet, he'd been denied the opportunity to finish his mission. He'd been dismissed and sent away without being allowed to report on what he'd seen. He was finally getting a chance to complete what had been left undone on Darkknell. It was a victory, to be sure, if they managed to pull this off. But, it didn't stop him from missing Bly. Thoughts of the past always made him miss the life and the brothers he'd left behind. He wondered what Bly and the others had been told when he'd been sent to be reconditioned. He wondered if they missed him. He wanted to think that life he lived before had at least some kind of meaning. He hoped _somebody_ missed him.

As a general rule, he tried not to dwell on the past. But, being back on Darkknell was a constant reminder of his life as an ARC- of what he was _before._ He just hoped once he blew this place to hell that he'd finally find some peace.

"Two more."

_Huh?_

He was so lost in his thoughts that he'd forgotten he'd asked Travis a question. The Marine was feeling around in his beltpack and checking how many dets he had left. "I have two more." He signaled to Dart and Torch to check their supplies of munitions. They signaled back to him with crisp hand movements, relaying numbers. "They have have five between them," Travis reported. "With what we've already set down, once we blow this rock, the civvies'll be able to see it from Corrie!" His voice relayed the grinning enthusiasm that all clones had for blowing things up.

"Alright," Catcher responded, although his mind was still elsewhere, "Let's just make sure we're gotten everyone well away from here before we blow anything up."

"Now, we get to steal ships!" Travis rubbed his armored hands together with enthusiasm, "we pulled the best part of this assignment. Rex is skulking around in the dungeons. We're blowing things up and stealing ships. I think he needs to work on his planning skills." There was a teasing undertone to the Marine's voice, but Catcher wasn't fooled. He had gotten to know Travis well enough, and could detect the undercurrent of worry there.

He paused for a brief moment, choosing his words carefully, "Travis," he began, "if we make good time in getting the ships secured, we could divide the team up. Maybe send part of the team back to help in the dung-"

"Yes!" Travis shouted out the word so loud that the ARC Captain winced. His filter hadn't had time to compensate for the noise. Being deaf sometimes the Marine didn't modulate his voice very well.

"There's no guarantee we'll be in time to do any good. We have no idea how this battle is going to play out."

"Understood," the Marine quickened his pace, "but, this is Rex we're talking about."

# # #

_Next up: As per a special request, we hear from Travis._


	125. Chapter 125 The Makings of a Leader

_A/N: This story focuses on Travis and reveals more about his past (what happened with Rex) and talks about his plans for the future._

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 125**_

There was a time when all Travis wanted to do was command. It was the entire focus of his life at Kamino. He was chosen for command school and the path of his entire life was set. He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get there.

And, throughout it all, he had one brother that was closer to him than any other. Sure, he and Rex argued about everything. But, there was no denying the bond between them. They would die for each other.

And, that's what Travis almost did just days before graduation. It was a live fire exercise. Travis was never exactly sure just what went wrong. Only suddenly that Rex, the di'kut, was out there exposed trying to protect members of the team. That's when he heard it. The distinctive whistling sound of artillery coming at them. The Kaminoans threw everything at them during these live exercises to see how they would react. These older style shells were primitive and slow, but they still made a hell of a mess if they hit you. Travis glanced backwards. He had time to get behind cover. But, Rex would never make it on time.

And, what he did next changed everything.

He remembered seeing Rex's puzzled expression as he registered the sound of the artillery coming and his helmet whipped up trying to track it. Then, there was the feeling of armor colliding heavily with armor as he tackled Rex down to the ground.

"Travis, what the-" he heard Rex protest and start to struggle. And, then the shell hit.

Travis had been hit hard before during training. They all had. But, this felt like something shattering. There was a searing pain all up and down his back and his left side. He tried to breathe, but his lungs wouldn't obey his commands. He tried to move and force himself into a position that would maybe get his lungs to work, but his body had gone numb. He felt Rex gently rolling him onto his right side, and he wanted to cry out in agony from just the slight movement. But, he couldn't get any sound out. Rex was pulling off his training helmet and saying something. The di'kut always had something to say. But, Travis couldn't focus on any words. He felt broken in a way that couldn't be put back together again. He knew something was seriously wrong. His vision began to tunnel and he heard Rex shouting his name over and over.

He had dim memories of being rushed into surgery, and then hauled into the bacta tank. He was in that shabla tank for a long time.

When he emerged from the bacta, he expected Rex to be there. He always was. You couldn't get rid of him.

Expect he wasn't.

Travis was totally alone when he was hauled out of the tank.

Nobody was there for him.

Not one single friend from command school. Not even the ones he barely tolerated hanging around just because they were part of Rex's circle of friends. _Everyone_ liked Rex. So annoying. But, no, not even one of them were there. And, he was feeling very vulnerable and alone when he finally got pulled from the bacta so he would have settled for just about anyone.

There was just a B-1 medical droid carefully monitoring his every movement like he might fracture any minute and a Kaminoan doctor who watched with such an unblinking expression that it gave him the creeps. He hurried through the checkout procedures for the medbay, only half-hearing he was to report back every day for the next two weeks for PT.

_Fine. Whatever. Just get me out of here._

He practically ran all the way back to the barracks, feeling shaky and ill by the time he got there. But, he ignored the sensation because he just had this bad feeling in his gut something was terribly wrong. The halls were too quiet.

It was as if the entire command wing of Kamino had been emptied out.

Fek.

What was the date anyway?

He hadn't thought to ask how long he'd been in the tank.

The doors to the barracks open with their characteristic swish. And, the noise practically echoed because there was no noise coming from within. The barracks were empty.

Travis' jaw dropped.

Wait. Not every bunk. In the far corner, he could see one bunk which still had a gear locker neatly stowed at the foot. His locker.

Everyone was gone but him.

No. No. No.

He spun on his heel and tried not to run all the way to his CO's office so that he wouldn't be too winded to speak when he got there. But, he was practically in a full-blown panic so he barely succeeded in slowing down and still had to take several great gulping gasps of air before palming the access panel for the door.

"Have a seat, Travis. I've been expecting you."

He was given a brief, efficient debriefing. Travis tried to focus on the words that were spoken to him in the next few minutes, but his brain wanted to shut down. He'd been stuck in the tank so long that he'd missed graduation. The next group of trainees was due to come in over the next day. He'd bunk alongside them while he finished up his PT.

The next words stole his breath away and it was even worse than when he'd been hit by the shell.

All of the postings had been given out. Rex had been assigned to the 501st.

The 501st.

Travis had always had his eye on the 501st. Rex _knew_ that. Travis felt like he'd been stabbed in the back by the one brother who meant more to him than any other.

No mention was made of what had happened during the live fire exercise. He was simply told that upon completion of his PT here on Kamino, he would be assigned to the Galactic Marines. He would be offered further cross-training and opportunities for advancements within the command structure. It was a good posting, he was assured. He'd be transported, alone, by special medical transport to his new assignment.

The rest of his graduating class had left together, on transports, weeks before while he'd been dangling in that shabla tank.

Travis said nothing during the entire briefing, just kept his jaw tightly clenched. But, inwardly, he was seething. He ended the briefing with a crisp "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." and walked woodenly back to the barracks. There was a small datapad left for him on his bunk, lit up red indicating it had a message on it. Travis recognized it as Rex's spare pad. He stared at it for a long moment trying to decide whether to play the message. Part of him wanted desperately to see his brother's face again. Hear his voice. But, he never played it. He took the datapad to the firing range and blasted it to slag.

He and Rex were through.

He would do his best as a Galactic Marine. He would be the best they had ever seen.

He made friends in the Marine Corps. They immediately accepted him. He excelled at all of the training. He found he was a good fit for the Galactic Marines. Maybe he even actually enjoyed it. But, it didn't change what had happened. He tried to ignore the reports he heard of the 501st, but it was hard. And, there was a small part of him that secretly cheered their victories and mourned their losses. But, he would never admit it. Not really.

Nor would he admit that he missed Rex.

The di'kut.

And, then fate brought them suddenly crashing back together on a snowbound planet after being attacked by pirates.

He sighed.

Being in command was all he'd ever trained for. All he ever wanted. He wanted the command that had been given to Rex. Fekkin' Rex. Golden boy of the GAR. But, then they'd both been kicked out of the GAR and everything seemed to change between them.

Or, maybe he discovered, after all this time, that Rex was still the same brother he'd always known. And, loved. And, was willing to die for. So, everything that was truly important hadn't changed at all. And, being in command of a Legion didn't seem as important as it once was. They'd crashed, (while Rex was doing something stupidly heroic, as usual, the di'kut), and Travis had discovered something even greater than the thought of commanding a Legion.

Ando.

He immediately began to wonder what was going on back home.

His mind began working through logistics of reorganizing the town now that they had the additional resources of the clones to supplement the depleted post-war economy of Ando. He purposely kept his thoughts away from Karyn. He knew she was going to being pissed at him for leaving so abruptly. And, he just couldn't deal with thinking of that right now. He wanted to think about something that calmed him down and thoughts of Karyn always worked him up in one way or another. He began working through sector-after-sector of the town in his mind, forming detailed plans and action items. He gave a contented sigh. He had years of work ahead of him when he got back. There was so much to be done. So much potential. He came to a mental pause when he started thinking of import/exports and how to boost the struggling economy.

Travis furrowed his brow as he began thinking of the ships he'd seen in the hangar on their first pass through. His eyes had widened with something close to glee when he saw their fleet contained a PLY 5000 luxury yacht. Say what you will about the Kaz'harians, but they had good taste in ships. And, he stood by his choice. With ray shielding, three fighter bays, a crew compliment of 30, and a top-notch medical bay, it was perfect for trading missions. Small trading missions. But, it wouldn't be enough, he realized. He had to think ahead to the future. They'd need a larger ship, too, a cargo craft. The Kaz'harians had a number of them. Since they were supposed to blow the place up after they left, including the hangar bay, it wasn't like they would miss them. Would be a shame to waste the craft, really.

He started to think about the various cargo vessels he'd seen in their fleet. None of them would have the speed of the PLY, but Travis could modify the engines to get the most out of them. He grinned as he thought of bringing Tek and Gears into the project. They could export Xyra's nerve remedy, along with the best of the fishing harvest, and then be able to bring in some vital imports the town needed. Travis was working through calculations about the depths of various cargo bays when Catcher's voice cut into his thoughts.

"Hold up," Catcher put up a hand, and the line silently came to a halt. "That's the entrance to the dungeons."

_The dungeons._

Travis slipped back immediately into soldier mode, pushing thoughts of Ando aside. He could do it easily when he had to and he knew he was comfortable with these two sides of himself. But, when it came right down to it, he knew now the man he wanted to be and what he wanted to do. There was a time when he wanted nothing more than to lead troops into battle. But, now he wanted to lead people. He wanted to lead a town into recovery. And, it meant more to him than anything he had ever done before.

They still had a job to do. And, then, they could head back home.

# # #

_A/N: Next up, the commando team enters the dungeons. But, something is wrong. Very wrong._


	126. Chapter 126 Entering the Dungeons

_Revised: September 10, 2013_

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 126_**

Catcher frowned within the confines of his helmet as they observed the dungeons from around the corner.

"I don't like it," he murmured to Travis, "it's too quiet."

The Marine rolled smoothly out to the side of him and peered around to take a long look. He scanned the hallway for a long moment, then resumed his place by Catcher's side, "It's not like they didn't know we were coming. I think we'd almost be disappointed if they didn't pull something."

Catcher turned his steeliest glare on Travis, "Really? Is that some kind of Marine Corps wisdom? Because I'm not finding that comforting right now."

The Lieutenant's voice remained frustratingly calm, "If it makes you feel better, I'll poke _my_ fool head in there first." To prove his point, he walked boldly around Catcher and began strolling toward the dungeon entrance.

"Travis!" Catcher snaked his arm out and grabbed him, "the hell you will!"

He bodily shoved Travis behind him. The movement took longer than he would have liked due to the restrictions of his legs. But, he still managed to put the Marine back in his place behind him and he grunted with satisfaction as he did so. Catcher gave an impatient signal to the rest of the team to fall into place. He heard Travis lightly chuckling, and wondered why it was his second-in-command always delighted in getting such a rise out of him.

It then dawned on him that Travis was beginning to treat him the same way he would have treated Rex. Catcher stumbled slightly with the realization, not paying attention to his footing.

"You, OK?" Travis was instantly by his side, gripping his arm. His touch was firm and steadying. Just when had the Marine managed to get under his skin and be such a good second-in-command? He had to be about the most annoying clones Catcher had ever met, but one of the most loyal.

"Fine, yeah," Catcher said, pulling from Travis' arm, leading the way toward the entrance with quick confident strides. Although, no matter how fast he moved, the Marine was right there with him, step for step.

_Yikes, but that Marine could be over-protective_, he grumbled to himself. And, even as he cursed his ever present 'Marine shadow,' it dawned on him how nice it was to have brothers like that again. It was something that he'd lost when he'd been torn from his Legion. He would always miss Bly and the close friendship they'd shared. However, he had to forge a new life now and bond with new brothers. And, like it or not, it appeared that this particular brother had latched on to him.

He scowled heavily, glancing over at Travis out of the corner of his eye.

_Suppose I could do worse._

Catcher threw a glance back over his shoulder at the rest of the team.

Fives, Echo, Torch, Dart, and Blaze.

Everyone was in perfect position and as they waited for Kazzies to attack them.

And, they met with absolutely no resistance. It was dark and eerily silent.

Catcher was actually relieved when he found the entrance to the dungeons locked. Everything up until now seemed too easy. His jaw was clenched so tight that he was sure he was going to fracture one of his teeth. He sighed. His teeth were about the only part of him that were still perfect.

Ashla liked telling him how much she liked his teeth all the time. And, his smile. And, his lips. And, fek! Why was he thinking about that now?!

"Captain, may I?" Fives said, stepping forward to take a closer look at the lock.

Catcher gestured for him to proceed. Fives glanced over to Echo who immediately slid into place beside him. The two worked soundlessly together as a team pulling tools out of their ARC belt packs, some of which were familiar to Catcher from his own training, and a few of which he couldn't even begin to identify. In less than a minute they had the panel off, disassembled, and reassembled again.

"Go ahead, sir," Fives said, stepping back with Echo. Catcher could tell how much he enjoyed the work he did. Whomever had promoted these two into ARC training had chosen well.

Catcher signaled to the rest of the team to get clear of the door. Everyone pressed up against the wall, dividing themselves evenly on each side. Catcher took a deep breath, then pressed the activation latch for the entrance.

With absolute silence, the door slid open.

_Fek._

In a way, he would have preferred a barrage of fire.

Slugthrowers. Blaster bolts. Anything, but this damnable silence was getting to him. The Kazzies were playing head games with him.

_No! He was taking this too personally. This had nothing to do with his last trip to Darkknell._

Catcher paused, probably a half second longer than necessary, and he cursed himself for the delay.

"Still willing to take point, Captain_-_ ?" Travis began on private channel.

Catcher cursed himself again under his breath. Travis hardly ever used his rank when speaking to him. His hesitation was starting to affect the rest of the team.

"Not necessary, Lieutenant. Let's go," Catcher growled out the words in a low undertone as he rolled his body around the corner, the movement not as smooth as it was before he lost the use of his legs. He had to think about each placement of his braced legs as he planted them against the stone floor, whereas before his body would just respond automatically. Even as he went through the movements, he wondered if he was living out the last few seconds of his life.

Catcher suddenly realized he was already full on in the dungeons, and no one had blown his head off. The first thing he noticed was the smell. On instinct, he immediately set the filters in his helmet on maximum.

_The smell in here is overwhelming. _

The standard setting on his bucket was not compensating. It was an overwhelming odor of too many bodies pressed into one place.

The next thing he noticed was the lighting.

The lighting inside was terrible. Catcher switched on his headlamp to try to cut into the gloom, but it made little difference. The dungeon facility seemed to stretch on forever. It was dank, dark and cavernous. Behind him, the rest of the team, followed suit, switching to night vision. The light beams bounced off the walls, but still had little effect.

Catcher coughed as the filters in his bucket struggled to compensate for the poor air quality. He breathed slowly and shallowly trying to work through the recycled air in his suit. He continued to look around the dungeons.

_Where were the prisoners?_

_There!_

He spotted the rows of rusted cells. Catcher raised a clenched fist and silently ordered his team to not approach. The cells were far off from the entrance and their mission parameters were to ascertain the prisoners were there, but not attempt to rescue them.

He could just make out huddled forms within the cells squinting back at them in the terrible lighting. He stared at them long and hard. Each of the cells appeared to hold clusters of troopers, four of five troopers apiece. The captive clones all looked dazed and confused. But, they also looked wary. Almost terrified of something.

_From this distance_, Catcher realized, _all they probably see is a bunch of bright lights shining at them out of the dark. __They have no idea yet they we have come to rescue them.  
_

"Travis," Catcher murmured, staring at the prisoners. They were here, as expected, but something is making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He continued to study them intently.

"I can't get clear readings in here," Travis said. He stepped forward and tapped the side of his bucket, "something is disrupting my HUD." There was a general air of uneasiness pervading encompassing the entire team at the equipment failure.

Catcher squinted into the gloom, and studied the prisoners for another long moment. He stared in puzzlement at the expression on all of their faces, at the fear. Terror. Why were they so frightened?

"I've seen enough," Catcher growled out and signaled to the team to retreat back out to the corridor, "let's get out of here."

# # #


	127. Chapter 127 Terrified

_Revised: May 21, 2013._

_A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are awesome! Here is the next mini chapter. There is so much fun action coming up in the next couple of chapters that I think my head is going to explode. As always, a million thank you's to Reulte for her ideas and inspiration._

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 127_**

Captain Catcher signaled the team to pull back around the corners from the dungeons and opened a comm channel to Rex. He had a hunch... and it was proved correct when the signal went straight through to the 501st Captain with no jamming.

"This is Rex."

Somehow hearing the Captain's voice just set Catcher's nerves more on edge rather than putting his mind at ease. Nothing felt... right.

He took a deep breath, and plunged into his report. "This is Catcher, Captain. We just finished our assessment of the dungeons. Clone prisoners _are_ there."

Rex drew in a sharply inhaled breath on the other end and Catcher wondered if perhaps the 501st Captain had been worried the prisoners might not be there, after all. It certainly had felt like a long journey to get this far though it had only been a day. "We could not get an accurate headcount. All HUDs were disrupted. Visibility is very poor. Fighting in there is going to be difficult. From what we could see, it appears to be just endless rows of cells with about five troopers in each."

Catcher paused, and gave Rex a chance to absorb this information.

"Could you tell anything about the condition of the prisoners?" Rex asked, after a thoughtful pause.

"Not good, Captain," Catcher replied back, "The ones we saw were still standing under their own power, and they're still alive. They're _clones_." There was a great deal of pride in the way the ARC Captain said the last word and it had even more meaning coming from one member of the Ando Legion to another. It meant that they understood better than anyone the resilience of clones.

"Understood," Rex said, and Catcher could tell from the tone of his voice that he truly did. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Catcher tried to emphasize what was bothering him in his gut, "the HUDs... we couldn't get accurate readings of anything while we were in there..."

"Noted," Rex interrupted, obviously a stickler for a clean report.

Catcher frowned, feeling like he wasn't getting through to Rex. He hadn't been able to give a full report on Darkknell his last mission and he wasn't letting it happen a second time. "Captain- ," he gritted his teeth and, in his frustration resorted to a first name basis, "Rex, listen to me. There's something going on in those dungeons."

"Such as?" the 501st Captain prompted.

Catcher hissed in frustration, "I don't know! It just doesn't feel right!"

"Alright," Rex reassured him, "your observations have been noted. Thank you. Proceed to the hangars."

Catcher knew he was being dismissed. He didn't care. He was equal rank to Rex, and while out of organizational necessity, Rex had been in charge of the Legion and Catcher reported into him, he wasn't above pulling some rank now. "Rex, you can't underestimate the Kaz'harians. These aren't droids you are fighting. They're insanely clever. The moment you underestimate them, they're going to-"

"Kick me in the shebs?" Rex supplied, sounding amused rather than annoyed by Catcher's persistent honesty.

"I'm concerned about you and the Legion," Catcher said, surprised how good it felt to admit his concern.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit concerned myself," and the truth was plain to hear in Rex's voice. "But we need to rescue our brothers. I'll take care of the dungeons and you get us some ships, alright?"

"Yes, sir, on our way there now," Catcher signed off knowing Rex had heard and understood his concerns. He pulled up the schematics of the ships they had selected on their first pass through the hangar. He scanned through them on his HUD, noting again how everything was functioning perfectly now that they were away from the dungeons. He pulled up the map of the fortress in another small screen on his display, double-checking their route, and continued to lead the way toward the hangars. He sent the schematics of the ships out to the rest of the team. He opened up a comm channel to the full team, "These are the ships we will be targeting when we reach the hangars.

There was a short pause as the team both walked and studied schematics, and then Echo's voice came on the line, "Wait? What's this one? A PLY-5000?"

"Just noticed _that_ one on the list," Fives joined in, obviously deciding he had to get his opinion in as well, "Are you planning on going joyriding on the way back to..." There was a pause as if the ARC was considering his words carefully, and then he finished with, "... wherever it is you are from? Seriously? A PLY?" The 501st ARC's tone conveyed his skepticism on the choice of the luxury yacht.

Catcher continued to flip through specs on his HUD, while still flipping through the map to the hangar, and also still puzzling through the mystery of the dungeon they had just left behind. The injury on his side chose that moment to let out a painful twinge as well. He rubbed at it to work out the sting, and sighed, "I'll let Travis explain the thinking behind the PLY."

"Catcher," Travis muttered warningly to him in a sarcastic undertone, but on private channel, "why don't we just give him the coordinates to our new home planet while we're at it?"

The ARC Captain blinked in surprise. Travis was absolutely right; not about giving away the coordinates of their planet. He was being careless in talking too much about strategy that was specific to Ando. Travis was obviously still very much in the mindset of protecting their new home planet. Catcher realized he was letting his worries of the upcoming battle in the dungeons distract him, and was not thinking as strategically as he should.

Travis stepped in and smoothly talked over his error. "We chose the ship because it has a bacta tank and our medic is injured," he continued on without pause, "The irony, huh? Our medic is going to be the one who ends up floating home in bacta."

Catcher shot Travis a grateful glance and realized the Marine had just covered his shebs for him like a good second-in-command did.

"That's assuming we get the ship," Echo pointed out.

"We'll get it," Fives said with confidence, "if we need the tank, then we'll get it. Medics are always putting themselves on the line for others."

Travis, Echo and Fives then began a detailed discussion of the schematics of the various ships they had noted as troop transports. Catcher monitored the conversation carefully, but didn't participate. He was grateful to Travis for handling everything so skillfully. He let his thoughts wander slightly back to the situation in the dungeons, while keeping a watchful ear on the conversation.

He could hear Travis describing the engine design of the transport ships. They were all of Kaz'harian design, and the Marine seemed quite impressed with them. He began discussing estimated prisoner counts with Fives and Echo, trying to calculate just how many troopers might have survived Kaz'haria and could still be in the dungeons. Catcher let the numbers float over him as he still replayed in his mind everything he'd seen in the dungeons.

Twenty thousand troops in a legion. Four thousand estimated survivors of Kaz'haria.

Dart, Torch and Blaze joined in on the conversation as they began looking at the ships again, assuming that large numbers of the troopers had managed to survive two months imprisonment, how many ships and how large would they need to get them all back to Coruscant. Information flashed through his HUD at rapidfire speed as the six other team members kept trading schematics back and forth arguing about different ships. He kept the fortress schematic overlaid on top of everything else, as he led the team, winding them through the tunnels and back to the hangar.

"Stay sharp. Distance!" he glanced over his shoulder at the team and noticed they had automatically bunched up closer together as they were talking. It was unnecessary with the helmets but was a human habit Kamino had been unable to delete. "We're still in prime spots for ambush here."

The team immediately corrected themselves and put some spacing between each other so they couldn't be picked off so easily if caught in a crossfire or ambush.

"The large Kaz'harian troop transports are ideal for getting the 501st and 212th back to Coruscant," Travis was arguing, pointing out the various features of the ship like a used speeder salesman on a desert lot. "These two can carry both Legions back to Coruscant. Shab, one of them is probably large enough to carry everyone if you don't mind a tight squeeze."

"I think after the past two months, the 501st Legion has probably had more than enough of being squeezed together," Fives commented, unable to keep the bitterness of out of his voice.

"Two transports _would_ be better," Echo argued, "Check out the canons on those troop transports. If we come under attack while en route to Corrie, one ship could rally to the defense of the other one. At least those things have some decent fire power on them."

Catcher continued to listen in on their conversation as the conversation turned to Kaz'harian physiology and how compatible the food and medical supplies onboard might be. His thoughts immediately turned back to the conditions in the dungeons and the troopers they had seen. Their health seemed poor, as one would expect after two months imprisonment. But, there was even more going on with those troopers, though. There was something about that look in their eyes; the way they'd been staring back at the helmet lights. Terrified. Confused. Yes. But, there was something else going on...

_Terrified. _

Catcher shook his head. Clone troopers didn't get _terrified_ for too many reasons.

The emotion was practically genetically bred out of them by the Kaminoans. And, what little fear might be left in them by basic human physiology was almost ruthlessly trained out countless hours of exposure to live weapons fire and explosion since they were toddlers. Clones were about as fearless as they came.

Clones could be angry.

Sorrowful.

Determined.

But, terrified?

What would make clones _terrified_?

On his last mission, he'd be shot, dragged himself by his arms through the jungle for days, and all it had made him was angry that he wouldn't finish his mission.

"You, OK?" Travis asked the ARC Captain over private channel.

"Travis," Catcher murmured, "were you able to look into the eyes of any of the prisoners?"

"Visibility was terrible," Travis began, "but, yes, I was able to see a few of them."

"What did you see?" Catcher prompted.

"Fear," Travis responded.

"Yes, I saw that, too," Catcher kept replaying the whole scene in his mind, trying to figure out the missing pieces. He then opened up the immediate override comm conversation to the entire team, he hit the kill switch, interrupting the talk about ship specs. "The dungeons," Catcher began, taking a deep breath, "none of our equipment worked. Yet, we leave and everything works. I can call out to the Captain, whereas before I can't get through to him. Why?"

"They've been jamming our signals," Travis said, thinking out loud.

"So suddenly we were unjammed?" Catcher said. "Why?"

"Seems too convenient," Fives agreed.

"They _wanted_ us to able to get through," Echo chimed in.

"Everyone, tell me what you saw in the dungeons," Catcher ordered, feeling that the answer was there just on the edge of his consciousness.

"Not much," Dart admitted, and his frustration was plain to hear, "scopes were useless. Only the first bank of cells was easily discerned."

"First thing I did was try to use my HUD to scan," Blaze added.

"But, it felt like they deliberately jamming our HUDs," Echo surmised.

"Why?" Catcher said, uneasily.

"Because there was ...something they didn't want us to see," Torch said in his quiet careful way.

It suddenly hit Catcher with absolute clarity.

Rex was walking into a trap.

The clones in the prison cells had been terrified because they had known the lights shining on them were lights coming off of _trooper_ helmets. They knew they were _the bait_.

They were not frightened of their clone rescuers; they were in terror of their brothers being slaughtered.

The one and only thing that could terrorize a clone was the slaughter of other clones.

The Kazzies were in there.

They were somewhere there already _in_ the dungeons.

"Rex!" he immediately tried raising him on the comms, but he was met with absolute silence. He tried again and again. "Travis! Try to raise him."

He paused the team in place in the corridor, unsure whether to go back or proceed on as ordered to the hangars. He and Travis both tried to raise Rex on comms, while the team shifted uneasily around them, waiting. Travis clenched his fist in frustration, "We're not going to be able to get through. They're jamming our comms. _Again_."

Catcher wanted nothing more than to turn the team around and run back to the dungeons. It would be so easy to just join in with the final battle. But, he had his orders and they needed to secure the ships in order so that the freed Legions would have a way off the planet. He needed to trust Rex to rescue the prisoners in the same way Rex was trusting him to provide transport.

Fives stepped forward, and Echo automatically moved with him, the two eerily in sync as always, "Captain, if I may suggest-"

"Go," Catcher said, make a curt hand gesture to him and Echo. No more words needing to be said.

_Warn them_, his thoughts screamed, as the entire team turned to watch the two ARCs running full speed back down the corridor and disappear around the corridor. _  
_

# # #


	128. Chapter 128 Blood and Brothers

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 128**

Echo never saw the shot that took him out.

"Echo!"

He and Fives were focused on reaching the dungeons in time to warn the Captain and Commander Cody. Echo was leading the way because he was always better at navigating than Fives. Sure, Fives had bravery in spades, but he had a way of sometimes letting his enthusiasm get ahead of his sense of direction. So, it was always better to let Echo lead the way.

They were still following all standard procedures for being in enemy territory. They'd halted at the latest corner, and Echo had rolled his body around the corner first, DC-17M primed, ready and in-hand. The first thing he saw when he turned the corner was a full Kaz'harian patrol. Echo heard the shot at the same time he twisted to shout a warning to Fives. He felt a piercing pain in his abdomen and he couldn't draw in a breath. He tried to return fire, but his hands were already going numb. His legs collapsed and he sank down to his knees.

"Echo!" Fives' shout of fear hurt so much more than the pain of the slugthrower wound. He felt Fives grabbing him under the armpits and pulling him back around the corner away from the patrol.

"Hang on, Echo. I've got you," Fives was using the voice he did when he was attempting to remain calm, but there was that slight quaver that showed things were _bad_. Echo's limbs felt dead and useless. Fives was strategically repositioning him on the ground and in one practiced move, lifted him up into the wounded man carry. Echo was hit with a burst of frustration that he had to be carried. He used what little strength he had left to clutch onto his DC-17m, desperately holding onto the weapon. His gut wound hit his brothers' spauldron and he cried out in pain.

"Sorry, vod," Fives' harshly whispered voice betrayed his anguish.

Echo squeezed his eyes shut against the pain which was now rolling through him in hot red waves. Getting gut shot _hurt_. But, more than anything, he was angry. He cursed himself for getting shot, and not being able to hold back his cry of discomfort. He didn't need Fives worrying about him.

"It's... alright... Fives," he managed through gritted teeth.

They were running away from the patrol. Echo could just faintly detect the signs of pursuit behind them and while he wanted to just pass out, he instead forced himself to bring up the map of the fortress on his HUD. It took him a moment to orientate himself on the grid since he was now reading everything upside down.

_Come on, Echo. Focus._

He couldn't do much in his current state, but he could still act as the team navigator. They still had a mission to complete. He _had_ to make himself useful. He tracked their progress as they ran. Fives was making excellent time.

But, they were going the wrong way.

Echo quickly ran through several complex calculations, all possible routes the patrol could take to intercept them and then the alternate corridors to the dungeons. They could still make it there from here. But, they were losing valuable time. Every minute they spent here in the corridors was another minute that Rex and the Legion marched closer to the dungeons.

The fortress was enormous and the lower corridors twisted and turned around in a labyrinthine structure. Echo gasped out loud from the pain of his wound as Fives threw himself back into an alcove, exchanging several shots with the lead member of the patrol. Then, they were off again, sprinting down the corridor and staying ahead of the patrol thanks to how fast Fives could run.

"Fives," Echo ground out, "take the... left corridor."

Fives obeyed without question, his breathing becoming labored from the additional burden of running and carrying Echo.

Echo kept checking the map. This was going to take too long. He could feel blood dripping down his bodysuit and he felt dizziness and nausea overwhelming him. He'd felt fiery heat in his abdomen when he'd first been shot, but now he just felt cold spreading all over his body.

"Fives," he groaned wearily. It was getting difficult to breathe. A shiver wracked through his entire frame, and that just made the pain worse. He couldn't stop the pained hiss that escaped from between his teeth. He felt nauseous and dizzy at the same time, and blackness was starting to encroach on his vision. He fought desperately against the encroaching darkness.

"Echo, hang on, _please_," Fives' gasping voice sounded terrible, and it made Echo _want_ to hang on because he knew if he died that it would forever change his brother. But, he could feel his life blood steadily dripping out of him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

# # #

Cody kept pace with Rex as they wound through corridor after corridor, relentlessly headed toward the dungeons. One part of his brain was completely locked onto the upcoming battle. But, there was another part that seemed determined to plague him with a certain a Mirialan Jedi Healer.

_Damn that woman. _

Cody closed his eyes for a moment; remembering the moment he'd covered Barriss' body with his own right before the two labs exploded. It was his duty as a clone to protect any and all Jedi.

_But, fek. Barriss._

He would protect her to the death a thousand times over. Immediately after the lab explosion, Barriss had started tending to a clone from Rex's legion. What had his name been? Hodges. Right. The bastard that had interrupted right when he'd been trying to squeeze in a moment with his Jedi girl. Cody sighed. OK. Couldn't really blame the trooper. He _was_ injured, and basically pinned underneath the two of them by the explosion. But, damn it all to hell. Getting moments alone with Barriss was getting harder and harder. And, speaking of which, he was feeling like he was about to- No! Definitely not thinking about now.

But, but his body seemed to have its' own agenda. Thoughts of Barriss stirred a traitorous amount of lust and longing that were hard to suppress. He couldn't help but picture the way Barriss looked as she bent over Hodges, tending to his injuries, her dark hair escaping from the confining head wrap she insisted on wearing.

_One day, when she's well and truly mine, I'm going to burn that thing. _

Cody blinked in surprise, and then felt a wellspring of anger at himself.

_She's never going to be mine. She's made that clear. She has chosen a life with the Jedi over me._

He jammed his hands onto his belt, feeling for his blasters, suddenly eager for the battle to begin. Taking out tinnies had always been a good way to work out frustrations.

_I must have a lot of frustrations because I worked my way up to Marshal Commander._

_No tinnies today. Just these Kaz'harians. But, maybe taking out a whole horde of them will have the same effect. Maybe then I can get Barriss out of my mind once and for all. _

# # #

Cody glanced over at Rex, and picked up from his body language that he was on a comm call. They were expecting a check-in from Captain Catcher. A moment later, Rex confirmed his suspicions. "Catcher just reported in," Rex said, his voice sounding pensive and deep in thought.

Cody waited, knowing Rex was still processing all of the information he'd received and translating it into what it would mean for their battle plan.

"What are we looking at?" Cody finally prompted, when Rex remained thoughtfully silent.

"The Legions _appear_ to be there," Rex began, "but their HUDs stopped working immediately upon entering. They couldn't confirm anything with scans. Sight visibility is poor. Fighting in there is going to be difficult." There was another pause, showing Rex was still working through strategies.

Cody waited patiently.

"Captain Catcher has a bad feeling, it seems," Rex said after a long thoughtful pause.

"A bad feeling," Cody echoed, immediately getting a sinking feeling in his gut, knowing that clone intuition was not something to be taken lightly.

"Mainly due to the HUD failure, I believe. Their equipment failed immediately upon entering the perimeter of the dungeons," Rex reported, "then he was able to get a clear signal upon retreating to the hallways."

"These Kaz'harians," Cody said quietly, after a long thoughtful pause, "they're messing with us."

"Agreed," Rex's deep voice was grave and solemn.

They walked on in silence, the Legion, and Cody's forces following behind them. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, the 212th commander asked, "Do we know anything about their command structure? Echo couldn't find anything in his research."

Rex shook his head, "Unfortunately, no, we couldn't either. In Catcher's debrief he describes this place as politically unstable from their civil wars. They were a prime target for recruitment by the Seppies."

"Wish we had better intel," Cody said, his voice tight, "we don't know what were going up against in there."

Rex gave a long searching glance back to his Legion, then took a deep bracing breath, "We can handle this, Cody."

In that moment, Cody suddenly had a brutal flashback to the Battle of Kaz'haria and the moment right before he stepped onto the minefield with his entire 212th Legion behind him. He had been confident in his troops, as well. His men had believed in him, just like now with all of these troops following behind Rex.

And, just what had his confidence gotten him?! He'd gotten the entire 212th captured, killed or fragmented to hell with minefield fragments. "You weren't there at Kaz'haria, Rex!" Cody said, angrily, unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone. The sights and sounds of that battle suddenly hit him all at once in a harsh wash of images. He raised a hand to the back of his head, as he felt a phantom pain of shrapnel paralyzing his neck again, "it was a bloodbath!" Realizing what he was doing, he immediately dropped his hand to his side, and he clenched it into a tight fist.

Rex stared over at him. He reacted to Cody's words and flinched as if he'd been struck. There was an awful silence for a moment, then he quietly responded in a dignified way like only Rex could, "You're right, Cody. I wasn't there. I would have given anything to be with the 501st at that moment."

_Fek. Fek. Fek._

Cody immediately regretted his remark. Rex had been terribly injured, dismissed from the GAR, sent away and declared dead, and Cody was yelling at him for not being _there_.

"Rex-" Cody started, trying to figure out how to make this right.

"We'll discuss later, Cody," Rex's voice was flat, calm and devoid of emotion, but Cody knew him too well. He could detect just the slightest undertones in there because he knew _that_ voice. It was _his _voice, too.

And then in a voice so quiet that if Cody didn't have clone hearing, he would have missed, Rex mumbled, "If there is a later."

Cody had no idea what to make out of that comment. It was totally out of character for Rex to think he wasn't going to make it out of a battle alive. Cody cursed himself again and wondered how everything could go so wrong before the battle even began.

# # #

_A/N: Many thanks to Ialoga, Reulte and Dryad Warrior Queen for their invaluable feedback and ideas._


	129. Chapter 129 Blood in the Corridor

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 129**_

"Echo!" Fives called out to his brother but there was no response to Fives' calls other than his own, heavy breathing.

The ARC kept running, his armored footsteps desperately flying down corridor after corridor. Between him and Echo, Fives had always been the fast one. Echo had been providing directions as they dodged the patrol. Now, Fives sorely missed the guidance of his brother. It hit him suddenly. What would he ever do without Echo?

"Echo!" he called again, trying to get a response out of his brother. He flew down another corridor, feelings his lungs pounding from the demands he was placing on his body.

"Fek, Echo, don't do this to me! Come on, answer vod!"

Fives desperately wanted to stop and check his brother's wound. He wanted to do _something_ for him, but the Kaz'harian patrol hot on their heels had different plans. There was no way he could stop now. Fives kept running but it was an eternity outrunning his pursuers. He desperately kept going, the unconscious form of his closest brother clutched close to his body. He could feel the stickiness of Echo's blood steadily dripping out of the wound and soaking onto him. As he rolled around the next corner, he found himself face-to-face with a DC-15.

"Fives!" It was a familiar voice and the deece was quickly lowered.

It took Fives a moment to register that he was staring into the distinctive square shaped scout helmets of Hok's squad. He and Echo had left the scouts behind when they'd gone on ahead to recon the dungeons with the commando team. Some of the scouts had been injured and were being tended to by-

"Kix!" Fives shouted, the words torn from his throat in a desperate cry as two of the scouts reached to gently lower Echo from Fives' shoulder. "Where is he?"

The medic stepped out from his place at the back of the scouts. "Right here, Fives."

Fives heaved out a sigh of relief, never so glad to see fellow five-oh-first blue in his life. "Kix! Echo, he's been-"

Already positioned by Echo's side, Kix had slid his medkit off and was assessing Echo's condition. "I can see that Fives. I'm on it."

"I'm being pursued," Fives forced the words out, finding it difficult to speak because he was so winded from a full-out run with Echo on his shoulder. "Full Kazzie patrol."

At his words, Hok made a gesture and the scouts immediately took action. Fives noticed that even Flex, with his wounded arm strapped down, moved with fluid efficiency as the scouts slid into defensive battle positions at either end of the corridor. After the team had taken their places, Hok gave a nod to Fives. The ARC dipped his chin in approval to the scout then returned his attention to the medic, feeling reassured the scouts had his back. He allowed himself to drop to his knees, falling a bit heavier than he would have liked, and began assisting Kix in removing the armor from his brother's limp form.

Fives took a great gulping gasp to force air into his lungs, as he tried to speak and work at the same time. "I have to go... need to warn the Captain... he's walking into... a trap." The ARC panted then coughed from the effort of trying to speak too quickly after having run all-out too far with a burden. Fives stared down at Echo and was torn between his immediate need to complete his mission and the bond to his brother which made him want to never leave Echo's side.

"Hydrate, Fives. Now." Kix ordered in his stern medic tones as one hand reached into his kit for more gauze while his other was held over Echo's abdomen. "And slow your breathing. You're about to hyperventilate."

Too exhausted for the immediate moment to move anyway, Fives numbly obeyed the orders. He reached up with unsteady fingers and popped the seal on his helmet, then pulled the durasteel water canister off his belt. But his breathing was still too erratic to drink anything.

"Breathe, Fives," Kix coached, not even looking up from where his hands were rapidly working to stop the bleeding on Echo. "Slow, deep breaths."

Fives coughed again, and then closed his eyes, battling to get his breathing under control.

"That's it," Kix said, still without it even looking up. "Now drink."

Fives was going to retort something about 'bossy medics,' but didn't have the energy. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he started drinking. He recapped the canister and was trying to draw up enough air into his lungs to speak, when Kix spoke again.

"Get his helmet off," Kix ordered, his attention focused on getting the bleeding stopped. His hands were a whirlwind of efficiency as he worked. He reached into his kit for a a painkiller and pressed it up against Echo's neck.

Fives glanced down at his brother. Echo's face was pale and lifeless.

One of the scouts returned, Hok, still limping from his injury in the earlier battle but managing to move quickly nonetheless. "They're coming this way," he said. "We'll draw the patrol away from you two." The scout sergeant gave a solemn look down to the injured Echo and a respectful nod to Fives. "Old scout trick." He signaled to his team, and the four scouts re-formed positions, falling in line behind Hok. A moment later they were gone from sight.

"Help me get Echo out of sight," Kix said, motioning to a darkened alcove. "Then, get going."

Fives opened his mouth to object, knowing the medic was right but still unwilling to leave Echo behind. Kix turned his gaze on Fives. "I'm not going to leave him." His tone was filled with confidence, and the ARC felt immediately reassured. "Now, let's move him to the alcove."

Fives gently lifted his brother's while Kix carefully picked up the unconscious trooper under the armpits. They pulled him backwards out of sight.

There was no sign of the patrol for the moment. Already the scouts were out of sight and beyond Fives' hearing.

"Now _go_," the medic ordered sternly. "There is nothing more you can do for him."

Fives grabbed up his helmet and as he slid it on, he cast a thoughtful look at Kix. There was something different about the medic. A new level of confidence in barking out orders. Something had happened recently that made Kix comfortable taking charge. When they got back to Corrie, he was going to spend some time with his brother and find out what happened.

"Thanks Kix," he said gruffly, his voice partially muffled as his helmet finished sealing into place.

The medic just cast him askance look that clearly said thanks weren't necessary. But, a moment later that look softened for just a moment to say the gesture was appreciated all the same. Fives slid his DC-17 into his hand and took off, knowing the delay with Echo's injury had already cost him dearly in terms of getting a warning out to the Captain. He just hoped he wasn't going to be too late.

# # #

Echo opened his eyes blearily and looked around in confusion in the dimness. He stared upward and tried to figure out where he was. He grasped around for his last memory.

_A Kaz'harian patrol! Fives! He had to warn Fives!_

He immediately tried to sit up and his gut exploded in pain.

"Echo, fierfek! Hold still!" Firm hands pressed his shoulders back down again, and he blinked quickly as he focused on the voice.

_No. Not Fives._

He _knew_ that voice. It might not be Fives, but it was a voice he knew well and trusted.

"Kix?" Echo tried to clear his throat. His voice sounded raspy and barely audible.

"Yes, it's me. Fives brought you to me," Kix's voice was calm and reassuring as always. "Hold still. You took a slug. I'm trying to see if I can get it out. It's deep and the lighting is terrible," Kix was using his medic-in-charge voice. Echo knew better than to argue with that voice. He slumped backwards and realized portions of his chest armor had been removed and his body glove opened. The air of the dark tunnels felt cold against his bare skin. His whole body felt chilled.

Echo lifted his chin and peered around, "Where's... Fives?" His thinking felt a little slowed, and the wound didn't hurt as it much as it did before. Kix must given him painkillers, the good ones.

"I sent him on," Kix commented, not looking up from he was working, the headlamp on his bucket shining brightly down on Echo making the ARC squint as he looked up at the medic.

He closed his eyes as he leaned back and let the medic work, grimacing as Kix probe the wound. "That's... good," Echo said, relieved that Fives had gone on without him, relaxing again. Although, at the same time, he had to admit there was a selfish part of him that felt a sense of loss lying here wounded without Fives by his side fussing over him.

Kix wasn't fooled for a moment by Echo's brave front. "Echo," he began in a voice quieter and gentler than his medic voice, "he didn't want to go."

"I know," Echo swallowed past the lump in his throat, battling to get his emotions under control. Getting shot and waking up always left him feeling exposed and vulnerable. At the moment, he wasn't sure if he was more upset about the getting shot part, or the fact he wasn't with Fives, or that he'd cost them a delay in the mission, or... fierfek. He was confused and didn't feel like himself. He hated feeling like this.

Kix glanced at him, taking in the vulnerable expression on Echo's face in one appraising glance. "Right, then," Kix was back to being all business again, "Drink something. You're probably as dehydrated as Fives was." He shook his head in mock chastisement as he gave the ARC water from his canteen, lifting up Echo's head and cradling it onto his arm so he could drink, "Think you ARCs would know better."

"No time for... water breaks," Echo objected, but he was grateful for the distracting change of topic. He nodded his head in thanks after he'd had his fill.

"Like collapsing from dehydration is any better?" the medic scolded.

"On a mission," Echo mumbled. "Need to reach Captain Rex." He frowned as he realized the odds of making it to the final battle were low with a gut wound. He closed his eyes to keep himself calm, before opening his eyes and asking, "How bad?"

The medic continued working as he spoke, peeling back a piece of gauze, and pressing a fresh one across the wound. "The slug is deep. They caught you close range. Ideally, I'd wait and remove this thing back in a fully equipped medsuite with a 2-1B assisting me."

The ARC peered up at the medic and felt a surge of hope, "But?"

The medic scowled fiercely in a typical Jango expression that Echo knew very well. "But, these conditions here are far from ideal and I've been digging slugs out of troopers all day." Kix sighed as he gave the wound another long speculative look, " I just dug one out of Rex's ARC Captain that was as bad as this. If you're willing, I could try to pull this out now. But, as soon as we get access to a bacta tank, you're going in. Got it?"

Echo grinned, "Agreed!"

"Stop smiling. This is going to hurt, Echo."

Echo didn't care. Getting the slug out of his gut meant there was a chance he could get back on his feet, albeit probably not too steadily, but he could still catch part of the final battle. An ARC couldn't ask for any more than that. He couldn't stop grinning.

"This would be easier with a little help," Kix grumbled, as he set out his surgical tools. Echo glanced up at the medic.

"You alright, Kix?" he asked. The medic had his helmet off and there were deep lines of exhaustion under his eyes.

"Fine, Echo," the medic said, as he carefully being laying out probes on a steri-sheet. "Just a long day, you know?"

Echo heard the light armored tread of clone footsteps and then one by one the scouts slipped back into the corridor. Their reappearance was as silent and smooth as their departure.

"Those Kazzies will be wandering in circles for hours," Hok said, sounding pleased, and giving a satisfied nod toward his team. "We also picked up some new friends while we were out there." He motioned with his hand, and Echo glanced up in surprise, as 501st blue and 212th orange followed the scouts into the corridor. He stared hard for a moment until he figured out who all of the clones were in the poor lighting. Hardcase. Denal. Gearshift. Hawkeye. But, they weren't alone. The four clones were protectively surrounding a brown robed figure. Echo stared in confusion for a moment before he realized who it was.

"Commander Tano!" he found himself automatically wanting to sit up out of instinctive habit from Kamino. Be respectful to the Jedi.

"Stay still!" Kix hissed in annoyance, pushing him back down.

Much to his pleasure, the commander immediately came to his side and knelt down next to him. "Echo! Scout Hok told me you were injured." She smiled at him warmly in greeting and he found returning the sentiment, feeling like everything was going to be OK now. Then, she shifted her gaze to the wound in his gut, before looking toward the medic expectantly for an update. "How bad is it, Kix?"

"Hello Commander," Kix greeted the Jedi, taking in her brown robes with a quirk of an eyebrow then returned all his attention to Echo. "I was just about to remove the slug."

The commander nodded, the brown hood framing her montrals, "Could I be of assistance?"

Echo stared up at her, thinking this was a nice change of events. He hadn't been looking forward to getting a slug yanked out of him by Kix. He _still_ wasn't, but having Commander Tano around always had a way of making everything better somehow. The medic gazed at the commander in that way that he did when he was thinking hard about something, before he finally nodded.

"Can you use the Force to pull out the slug; just lifting it in a straight line?" He asked. "If I use a straight probe, I run the risk of pushing it further in."

Ahsoka tapped two fingers to her lips and blinked, which Echo recognized as her Jedi way of processing information. She stared down at the wound again, and then nodded. "Just tell me exactly what you need. I can help."

The next few minutes were a confusing blur. He heard Kix give an order to hold him down. The medic might also have given him another painkiller, but Echo wasn't sure. He was starting to feel dazed. He didn't want to pass out. He needed to get back into the battle.

"K-ix," Echo slurred out, not liking the way he was feeling.

"Little busy right now, Echo," Kix said.

There was a weight on his shoulders, and when he glanced up he saw that Hok and Jagger were pinning him down.

"Hold him securely," Kix ordered brusquely.

Echo wanted to object and say this was unecessary. Kix caught his eye and gave him quelling look. So, Echo just shut up and held still. He was just going to say that he was sure he could hold still on his own. Between all the shabla painkillers Kix must have given him and how tired he was, he didn't think he could move right now anyway. But, fine, no arguing with Kix. Got it.

He glanced up as Kix gave instructions to Sabre. He remembered then this was the scout that acted as medic to the team of four clones. Sabre was being tasked with monitoring Echo's vitals while they removed the slug. After that, he could hear Sabre's voice reading off of his vitals. He could feel that he had a small portable stasis monitor clipped to his upper chest and it pinched his skin. Then, he was sure the commander must have done something to help relieve his pain during the procedure. He was sure the whole thing would have hurt more. He felt pulling and tugging, and fek, it _did_ hurt. But, he also felt strangely calm and just wanted to focus on the commander. The entire time he just had this feeling like he could handle it. He was sure it would have hurt a lot more without the commander there.

At one point, he heard concerned shouting. Something about a "bleeder." Then, something about his vitals dropping. Blackness started encroaching on his vision, and he felt himself start drifting off.

"Echo!" It was Kix's voice. "Stay with us!"

He was _tired_.

"Echo!" Kix yelled again, and Echo wondered that he wasn't using his _calm_ medic voice. He liked that voice much better.

_Why is he yelling at me? I'm just tired. Just want to sleep._

_Just a few minutes, Kix._

He heard another voice in his head then. It was Commander Tano.

_'Echo. Come on. We need you. Focus on my voice. Stay with us.'_

He smiled inwardly at the warm tones in his mind, following the voice, not wanting to sleep anymore.

He blinked and tried to focus. "Wha-?" His voice sounded as weak as he felt. He found himself staring upwards in the bright headlamp of Kix's bucket.

"Fek! Echo! Don't do that again!" Kix sounded almost angry at him. He saw the medic glance over at Sabre. "Are his vitals stable now?"

He heard the scout respond, but couldn't quite make out the words. He blinked wearily, finding his eyes felt incredibly heavy. "Echo, stay awake! As soon as we get you wrapped, we need to move out," He felt a stim applied to his neck, and it was easier to focus again though he didn't feel much stronger.

"The slug?" he asked Kix thickly.

The medic nodded, looking even more tired than before. "It's out, Echo, you're good."

Echo felt himself gently lifted and his abdomen was swathed in bacta and layers of bandages. His ARC armor was put back – loosely – into place.

"Wait," he mumbled, lifting up his head and looking around. He knew he had it when he was getting through the corridors with Fives. "Where's my deecee?"

Kix gave him another quelling look. "You think you're going to be firing at Kazzies right now, Echo?"

"Never underestimate an ARC," Echo insisted stubbornly, still looking around for his weapon.

Kix shook his head and grabbed up the weapon from the ground behind Echo. He slid the strap over Echo's shoulder, so that it would rest against his back once they pulled him up.

"OK, let's get him back on his feet," Kix said, sliding a shoulder underneath Echo and expertly pulling him up. Sabre reaching down and grabbed him on the other side. He nodded over to Hok. "We've got him. Lead us out."

# # #

_A/N: In "Deadly Crossfire- Part 5," Fives and Echo saved the Scouts Team. Hok vowed to himself that he hoped he would get to return the favor. When he leads the Kazzie patrol away with the "old scout trick" so that Kix has a chance to treat the injured Echo he gets his opportunity to save the ARCs. Hence, he and Fives exchange a look of mutual respect in the corridor.  
_

_A huge THANK YOU to laloga and Reulte for beta reading this chapter and making it so much better than it was with their contributions!_


	130. Chapter 130 Maar'kux

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 130**_

Rex's knee hurt from too many hours of being on his feet without rest. He just wanted this day to be over. He wanted to go home. He wanted his men to go home as well; the 501st back to the Resolute and the Ando Legion back to Ando. Pain gnawed at him, making him irritable. At the moment, it took more concentration than he liked to keep from limping. Next time they stopped, he'd inject himself with a sharp to take the edge off the pain. He didn't like using the painkillers, but he couldn't afford to be distracted by the pain either.

_Kriffin' knee._

He sighed irritably, reaching down to tug at the custom brace Travis made for him, tightening it some more. The adjustment hurt momentarily, but helped by providing additional support to the fatigued muscles.

Rex couldn't deny, though, that he was completely in his element; surrounded by brothers, troopers and battle and just the right amount of unknown and chaos. In a way, it was almost perfect and a part of him never wanted this day to be over. The Andoan Legion and brothers from both the 501st and the 212th were with him. He had his first command to rescue; and he had Travis, Catcher, Kix, Mako, Cody, Fives and Echo. All fighting together as one. Once this battle was over, they'd all be parting and going their separate ways.

And then there was Ahsoka.

Rex momentarily closed his eyes in relief that he'd found her; that she was safe and he'd sent her back to the ship and out of harm's way. He hoped Commander Offee could keep her there. He glanced over at Cody, and briefly wondered if his friend ever worried over his own Jedi commander in the same way. It was an odd, almost discomfiting thought, and Rex was having difficulties picturing it.

As if having sensing Rex's gaze on him, Cody glanced over at Rex. "We're exactly four corridors out."

Rex glanced up at his HUD, double-checking their location. He nodded to Cody, and as one, they lift armored gauntlets, halting their combined forces. Cody posted guards fore and aft of the forces, while Rex signaled the men to take a short respite.

Rex gestured to Cody and the two command clones walked on ahead to check out what lay ahead in the next corridor.

There was only silence. Only emptiness greeted them.

It had been like that for a long while now.

"No activity. Just like Catcher reported in," Rex commented to Cody as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, staring down the long, poorly lit corridor. They turned around and made their way back to the others.

"That's what worries me," Cody voice was flat, quiet and calm and analytical. It was a tone he only used before battle. "It's too quiet." He sighed as he looked back toward their combined forces, signaling to Waxer, Boil and Trapper. The three 212th troopers come forward, saluted the two command clones and awaited orders. "Scout ahead," Cody said. "If there are any Kazzies nosing around, flush them out. I don't want any surprises when we bring the main force through."

The three scouts from the 212th took off down the corridor and Cody stood there watching them, his entire body stiff and tense. Rex knew what that felt like when you were sending men into the unknown when something just didn't feel right. He wanted to say something to make things better for Cody. But he knew there really wasn't anything to say.

He moved closer to the wall; if he didn't take care of his kriffin' knee he wouldn't be in the right shape to take care of anything or anyone for much longer. He slid his hand into his belt pouch and palmed a pain sharp. Rex angled his body away from Cody and toward the shadows of the wall, trying to get the sharp injected into his thigh subtly without attracting any attention.

"Your knee bothering you?" Cody's voice cut into Rex's concentration and he almost dropped the sharp.

_So much for being subtle_, Rex thought. He jammed the sharp into his thigh, wincing slightly as he did so and then sighed in relief as the painkiller hit his system.

He glanced over at Cody. The 212th Commander had removed his helmet and it made it easy to see Cody's concerned frown as he studied the brace that overlaid Rex's armor.

"Yes, it is," Rex admitted, too weary to cover up the truth and too close to Cody to be dishonest with him. "But considering what it felt like not too long ago, I'm not complaining." He tucked the used sharp back into his belt and snapped the pouch shut irritably. He was beginning to feel defensive on the issue of his knee, "I'm battle-worthy, just like all of these men."

Cody didn't dispute the statement, but his gaze pierced into Rex, "When this is over, you need to explain to me how you even ended up _walking_ into here."

"Fair enough," Rex finally said, his gut twisting with unease. There would always pieces of the story he'd have to leave out in order to protect Ando, even with brothers as close to him as Cody. Pieces he'd have to forget or push so far into memory that he wouldn't accidentally let them out. He decided it was a good time to exit the conversation.

Giving Cody a respectful nod, Rex walked back to visit among his wounded troops. He tugged off his helmet as he walked and ran his fingers through his sweat soaked blonde hair.

_It's too long. I never let it get this long._

He'd been too busy on Ando and pushed at the spiky strands irritably as he blew out a sigh.

Ahsoka liked it long, though. She'd said as much, teasing him about it last time they'd been on a long campaign and there had been no time to cut his hair. Whenever his helmet was off, she would always sneak up behind him with her Jedi stealth and run fingers through his too long hair. Even then, the sensation of it made his blood pound-

Rex pushed the thought away. That was the painkillers talking. They always made his mind wander more freely than it should. He forced himself to focus on the men as he began to walk among the troops. He couldn't afford to look like he was anything but completely focused and confident. He was the Captain. Weakness was never an option for a command clone.

He straightened his shoulders and greeted each of the men by name, checking to see how they were holding up. Tank had his gauntlet off and was leaning back against the wall for balance while Canta smeared bacta across blisters on his palm. Rex paused and peered at blisters with concern. "You alright, Tank?"

The gunner nodded, "Just feeling the effects of spending too much walking about on my hands." He gestured with his one free hand toward his crutch, leaning up against the wall next to him.

"Carry on," Rex said. He glanced at the crutch, then briefly done at his own knee before placing a supportive hand on the clone's shoulder, "you're doing _very_ well, Tank."

The gunner straightened up and glowed under the praise, "Thank you, Captain."

Ax was administering an antihistamine to Shred. This particular clone had arrived on Ando with severe damage to his lungs. The other brothers always watched out for him during training, knowing his breathing was easily compromised. Rex dropped down to one knee, his good one, where the clone was resting up against the wall. He waited patiently until Ax finished with the injection and moved away.

"How's your breathing, Shred?" Rex asked.

The trooper rubbed at the site of the recent injection, then took a slow careful breath, "All this is... tiring," Shred admitted, and his face and eyes showed his fatigue, "but I can make it through."

"Good man, Shred," Rex patted him on the pauldron and pushed up, moving on. His eyes scanned through the group as he moved on, looking for one squad of clones in particular.

"Kinks," he said, greeting the leader of the team of snipers Catcher had been tasked with training.

The lead sniper was reclined back against the cold, rough stone wall, checking the sights on his DC-15x sniper rifle. He immediately went to jump to his feet, but his movements were hampered by the full-leg brace that ran from hip to ankle.

"It's alright, Kinks. At ease," Rex said, giving Kinks' leg brace a cursory glance. He tapped his own, more compact brace designed by Travis. "I know how that feels." He gave the sniper a sympathetic smile, and eased himself down to one knee so he was on the same level as the sniper when they spoke.

"Captain?" Kinks' voice betrayed his curiosity.

"Your team ready?" Rex asked, putting a hand out asking to see the rifle. The sniper handed over the DC-15x and Rex checked the weapon over, expertly disassembling and reassembling it with crisp moves born of years of practice.

He nodded in approval, "Nice piece."

Kinks grinned, accepting the sniper weapon back and clutching it to his chest fondly. "We're ready, sir." Kinks gestured toward the other five snipers that made up his team. The snipers all pushed up from where they were resting, and eaves dropping on the conversation with the Captain, and quickly gathered around.

They were all mobility-challenged like Kinks, with some kind of leg, hip or back injury. But like all clones, they'd adapted; they had all figured out how to work around the injury. Rex had a soft spot toward the sniper team. For obvious reasons, they reminded him of himself.

"Red," Rex asked, as the snipers gathered around, "how is that leg?"

The sniper in the back of the group stepped forward, dragging his back leg heavily. "It's alright, Captain. Holding up better than I would have expected with all of this hiking about we been doing," he made a sweeping gesture with his hands indicating the fortress around them in general.

"Huii, Trail, Box, Ven," Rex greeted the rest of the sniper team by name as they gathered around. "The commando team reports visibility conditions are poor in the dungeons."

"Sounds like the ideal time to bring in snipers, sir," Kinks said with pride and enthusiasm and his men nodded eagerly.

Rex recognized that tone. They were ready to prove themselves as troopers again.

_Great attitude. Just wish things in the dungeons weren't so grim._

"My thinking exactly except Captain Catcher reports their HUDs stopped working when they set foot inside," Rex cautioned.

Some of Kinks' enthusiasm faded and his eyes narrowed, "Their HUDs stopped working?" the sniper repeated back the information, then made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat before tugging off his helmet. He had a long scar that ran from his jaw to his ear. It looked like it had been there for a long while, like a training injury, and Kinks ran the back of his thumb along the rough line of the scar while he worked through this new piece of intel. After another moment, Kinks said, "We can do this," the confidence had returned to his tone, "It will be just like the times when we trained without our gear on. The times when Captain Catcher made us train in our civvies."

Rex looked surprised, "He did that?"

Kinks nodded toward Rex's knee brace, "It was when you were out getting your new knee. Captain Catcher told us that since we were sort of like civvies now and didn't always wear our kit, we had to learn to fight without it. That way we weren't so dependent on our gear."

It made perfect sense. Rex was just mentally kicking himself that he hadn't thought of it.

"Captain?" Jesse came up behind and waited patiently.

Rex turned around, "What is it, Jesse?"

"Commander Cody is requesting your presence."

Rex nodded and left the small circle of snipers. He could feel six pairs of eyes on his back as he walked away.

_Fek_.

Why did he always feel like when he walked away like that it might be the last time he ever talked to those men? It was just pre-battle jitters. This was no different. As he walked by the other men of the Legion, he wanted to stop and talk to each and every one of them one last time; trade a few words of encouragement. But he was out of time now. He had to get back, talk to Cody and find out what Trapper, Waxer and Boil had scouted out.

For better or for worse, the final battle was about to begin.

# # #

Maar'kux was eager for the final battle to begin.

These clones had fought well.

He was surprised, actually, with how much of a challenge they had provided to his warriors. Considering how puny in stature they were, it was puzzling they were managing to put up such a fight. He could see now why the Separatists had insisted upon cloning them. Too bad they didn't come in a larger, more useful size. Like a Kaz'harian.

Maar'kux screwed up his furred face in thought.

_Make a clone that looks more like a Kaz'harian._

It was brilliant. He would bring it up with the Separatists. They had finally succeeded in making their first successful batch of test clones. How hard would it be to tamper with the genes and start making them bigger and more powerful?

Maar'kux focused his attention on the clone kneeling down in front of him. It was a pitiful creature, shivering from the cold of the room and staring resolutely at the floor of the dungeon, determined not to look up at him. He reached a hand down and grabbed the creature by the neck. Like all of the others, it was so thin that he could encircle its neck with one hand. They had to be so careful when handling these prisoners. Early on, they had discovered the creatures were fragile and broke easily when handled improperly. His warriors went through a startling number of units in the early days of settling in the prisoners before they came to the realization of exactly how fragile these units were without their white shells of armor. Now, they'd gotten better at not breaking so many of them as they took them to the lab.

The lab.

The upper level guards reported there was a great deal of damage to the upper levels, including some of the lab areas. Good thing all of their data was backed up in multiple places throughout the facility. Otherwise, the loss of those labs might actually be bothersome.

Now, they just needed to eliminate these clones who had decided to invade the facility. If nothing else, the whole thing had proved a good training exercise for his warriors, even if it would take a while to repair the damages to the place. It was a large place. They could rebuild. He had lost some good warriors, too. They would be missed. But, they had died in battle and a warrior could ask for no more.

Maar'kux looked at the clone held captive in his fist. He twisted his fist in the creature's hair painfully, until the unit had to make eye contact with him. The clone glared at him with hatred.

Odd. Two months in captivity and they still hadn't broken these creatures. For small creatures with frail bodies, they had a lot of spirit. He was tempted to snap this one's neck, just to alleviate some frustration and boredom. But, he resisted the temptation. He needed these units for now.

Maar'kux was looking forward to meeting whomever it was who was leading these clones; find out who his worthy opponent was. Right before he buried a blaster deep into the clone's chest and pulled the trigger. Using one of their own clone weapons. He could feel it. His finger was already itching to pull the trigger. This kill was his and his alone.

His fingers tightened lethally.

# # #

_A/N: Many thanks to Reulte for helping rewrite this chapter - twice.  
_


	131. Chapter 131 Killshot

_Updated July 17, 2013_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 131**_

Rex waited with Cody for Waxer, Boil and Trapper to return and report back in. Cody had removed his helmet and was idly rubbing at the back of his neck as if trying to relieve soreness from a scar.

When the 212th troopers burst around the corner, they looked as if they'd run the length of the four corridors to the dungeons and back in record time. Their sides were heaving with exertion even as they stood at attention before the two command clones. Boil tugged off his helmet and swiped with the back of his glove at a bead of sweat that threatened to trickle between his eyes as he launched into his report, "Completely quiet, Commander. Not a Kaz'harian to be spotted." He shook his head then the experienced trooper offered up his opinion, "It's too quiet. Doesn't feel right. Like we were being watched but they were avoiding us." He finished his report and gave Rex a respectful nod, "Captain." Rex noticed the 212th trooper was pale and wanted to ask him if he was OK, but now was not the time. He knew that Cody and the others had made their way from Ord Cestus Medical. It didn't look to Rex as if Boil had completely recovered from his injuries and he wondered how 'cured' the rest of Cody's team was.

Cody had already picked up on it. "Good work. Take a break, Boil."

The 212th trooper opened his mouth to protest, but Cody immediately cut him off. "Not a request, trooper."

Waxer grabbed Boil by the elbow and steered him away. Boil could be heard protesting the whole way to his brother that he was _'fine'_. Without missing a beat, Waxer responded, "sure you are." With the help of Trapper, he managed to manhandle Boil down to a resting position.

Cody watched his troopers with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips before returning his full attention to Rex to finalize strategy. "Thoughts?"

Rex took a moment to think. He pulled off his helmet and clipped it to his belt. The air temperature was colder than it had been just one level up in the fortress. They were now deeper underground and there was a pervading feeling of dampness everywhere. He welcomed the rush of cold air as his body had dampened with sweat despite his climate-controlled suit.

Rex rubbed the back one lightly armored thumb against his chin as he considered the information. Stubble had grown in since he'd left Ando and rubbing the grip of his glove against his rough chin helped him focus. "Based upon the intel from Catcher's and Boil's reports, there's no doubt the Kazzies are up to something," he began, knowing Cody would jump in and add his thoughts. They'd already talked through strategy extensively on the way here, but every piece of new intel meant more discussions and planning.

"Agreed," Cody said. "They are deliberately clearing the way for us to just walk right in there."

"Without better stats and intel out of the HUDs from the commando team, we are essentially blind going in there," Rex admitted. "I'd like to get a look first hand before we bring the forces in."

Cody cocked his head to the side. "That's taking a hell of a risk, Rex."

Rex wondered if he was about to get into an argument with Cody. "Are you telling me not to go?"

Cody shook his head. "No. Just telling you I'm going in with you."

"Cody-" Rex argued, his voice a low husky growl.

"We've come this far," Cody said in a tone that brokered no argument, "I happen to agree with you. But we'll do this together." He slung his rifle around from where it was resting on his back to bring it to ready and held it up for a moment in the dim light of the corridor to check the charge. Satisfied with the setting, he commented, "I see you brought snipers." He gestured to Kinks and his team, which Rex had moved to the front of the Legion.

He glanced over at his sniper team with pride before returning his attention to Cody, "Yes, I had a hunch they might come in handy," After a beat, he admitted to the 212th commander, "It allowed me to utilize troopers with mobility-issues that would have kept them out of training otherwise." Rex turned and made a spinning motion with one finger, giving the Legion a heads-up they were moving out soon. He then pulled out each of his blasters and began checking the charges in his normal pre-battle ritual. Satisfied with what he found, he gave each of the twin blasters a practiced spin before jamming each back into its holster.

When he turned is attention back to Cody, he noticed the 212th commander was studying the snipers thoughtfully with a look of respect and approval. In a voice so quiet Rex had to strain to hear it, Cody said, "Six weeks ago, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to sit up on my own again." Together with Rex, he watched the Legion make their final preparations to go. "What've you accomplished here is extraordinary. You've given all of these men back their dignity."

Rex just stared at Cody completely floored by the praise. The 212th commander was a strong leader and a good friend but he was never one to bestow praise lightly. Rex could think of no words to utter in response, and he knew his brother didn't expect any. Cody's words had been hard born, wrenched out of his own experiences. Rex didn't know all of what Cody had been through recently, but as Cody met his eyes he could see that his own recent past had been as painful as Rex's own. They studied each other for a long moment, with the gentle soothing noise of the Legion getting ready in the background. It was then that Rex realized that his brother understood what was at stake with the Legion. He exchanged a slow deep nod with his brother and placed a hand on Cody's shoulder. No words were necessary.

They broke apart a moment later and Rex finished gearing up. He unclipped his helmet from his belt. The click it made as his suit sealed into place was comfortingly familiar. He breathed in the recycled air and his own scent that permeated the suit. He'd be sealed inside his armor until the final battle was done.

This was it.

As one, the two command clones turned to face their combined forces and swept their arms down into a sweeping arc. Then they both pivoted crisply and led the troops down the corridor toward the dungeons.

As they walked through the final corridors, Rex had to admit it felt good to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Cody. There were still so many unknowns going into the dungeons. He wished they had better intel going in. He wished their forces were larger and he had a few ARCs and RCs here with them. He wished-

_Fek._

Rex forced himself to breath deeply and calm his racing mind. All these unknowns were making his gut churn and he could feel a cold sweat trickling between his shoulder blades. The droplet moved down uncomfortably to his midback and kept trailing down toward his buttocks.

As they moved through the corridors, Rex checked back periodically on the progress of the Legion. They moved through the corridors silently, following behind the two command clones. He felt a surge of pride. They were all clone troopers to the core, despite their challenges from their battle injuries.

Waxer, Boil and Trapper were directly behind Cody watching his back while Kinks and the sniper team were following Rex like a shadow. The rest of their forces fell in behind them, a colorful cross-section with armor and insignia representing almost every legion across the GAR. Despite the ripple and rainbow of color they made as they moved, there was a sense of unity and being one.

In that moment, Rex felt peace descend upon him again and his stomach settled. Everything was going to be OK. He had his brothers watching his back. As long as the brotherhood held, they would always be OK. Brothers from across the GAR were here to rescue brothers.

The four corridors to the dungeons passed by in a blur. Suddenly, he and Cody were staring at the entryway to the dungeons. The doors to the dungeons were unguarded.

_Of course they were._

Rex scowled, knowing he would have felt better somehow if he could've taken out a few Kazzies guarding the entrance on the way in. His palms itched and he wanted his blasters to be in them. Instead, the darkened entrance to the dungeons was just standing there like an open invitation. He blew out a long sigh as he and Cody halted their forces from a safe perimeter back, lining everyone up against the wall.

He and Cody advanced and slid to either side of the door, signaling to Jesse, Trapper and the sniper team to advance with them.

"They've already been wired," Jesse reported a moment later, "Looks like Fives' handiwork if I'm not mistaken."

Rex smiled behind his bucket at this small piece of evidence that the 501st ARC had passed by this way recently. He put up a hand to Jesse indicating to hold for a moment and then turned to the sniper team, "Remember, our HUDs will cut out when we get in there. We'll have to rely on straight visuals."

The snipers nodded in acknowledgement.

"Let's go ahead. Jesse," Rex said, his voice crisp, confident and commanding. Jesse covered Rex's back while Trapper automatically slid into place right behind Cody. The way the clones positioned themselves it was obvious they were willing to give their lives to protect their commanding officers.

Rex had only taken three or four steps into the dungeons when his HUD blinked ominously several times with bursts of static then went out entirely. It felt strange to look out with straight visuals without the usual overlay of information. Even though he'd been expecting the equipment failure, it still left him feeling disoriented while he adjusted to the loss of all the secondary data. He resisted the urge to put his hand up to his bucket and tap at the failed equipment. He had to appear strong and always in control in front of the men.

_Even during those moments when I feel anything but..._

Next to him, Cody was the picture of command, standing up strong and confident. Rex drew comfort from his presence. He wondered briefly if anything ever fazed the 212th commander.

_No. Cody is always calm. Never emotional. Never distracted by anything. Everything a command clone should be._

"Cody," Rex called out over private channel, hoping short-range comms were still working.

"Still here," Cody immediately responded, and then grumbled in a low tone to Rex, "and feeling blind as a fekkin' hawkbat without my HUD. Some frakkin' Kazzie techno-scientist needs to die for this."

Rex let out a short bark of a laugh at Cody's flippant comment and felt the knot of tension within his chest easing somewhat. He also blew out a sigh of relief. Short-range comms worked on different frequencies than the longer range transmissions and the rest of the HUD. It had been set up intentionally to prevent the Separatists from listening to coded transmissions and messing with their systems.

Like now.

As clever as their enemy was, they hadn't been able to jam their entire system.

Score one for Republic technology.

His eyes began to adjust to the poor lighting and he moved forward. Rex's eyes widened as he was able to make out the outline of row after row of prison cells.

_Finally. _

He could see there were clones in each of the darkened cells. They were restrained, hands lashed behind their backs. His eyes narrowed, and he wondered how the restraints were being done and what it would take to get them all removed. They'd been hoping to arm the prisoners to give them an edge in the final battle. Although with the jamming of longer range communications, he had no way of knowing if the weapons he'd sent with Tomm, Hugh and the scouts team were going to make it here on time.

He pushed the thought aside. Much as he hoped the team would arrive safely and that piece of their plans would fall into place, he couldn't focus on that now.

He scanned the interior of the cells, his eyes narrowing as he took in the gaunt forms of the prisoners. Some of them paled as they recognized him in his trademark armor. He couldn't blame them for their stunned reaction. He'd been declared dead two months ago when he'd been replaced by Appo. Now, he was walking into the dungeons to rescue them.

Yes, this was a first.

Still, though, their reactions were atypical. He took another step forward toward the prison cells.

"Rex," Cody growled in warning.

"I know," Rex murmured back, sensing it too. "Something isn't right."

Even considering they hadn't seen Rex or Cody in months, and the 501st Captain was supposed to be dead, their behavior was off. Not a single shout of greeting. Not one cheer at finally being rescued. Every trooper was holding unnaturally still, as if somehow frozen in place. They stared at the two command clones with anxious frowns, their expressions not happy to see their officers; as if not pleased at being rescued.

"This isn't right." Cody murmured. "Where are the Kaz'harians?" He slowly panned his helmeted head back and forth trying to see better in the terrible lighting. "They've had hours to prepare for our arrival. You'd think they'd be here in full force."

Rex did the same as Cody and tried to force his eyes to penetrate into the gloom. His gut began to roil and churn again, signaling to him that something was wrong. Dead wrong.

He felt his breathing go shallow, and the seconds seemed to tick by both too slowly and too fast all at the same time. There was this tremendous pressure to figure this out now. Rex stared at the captive clones again, knowing the key was there somehow.

Despite the clones emaciated state and poor lighting, Rex could already pick out his troopers from the 501st. Good men; battle-experienced troopers and promising rookies. In one cell was cluster of shinies that he and Ahsoka had trained together before his final mission with the 501st; the one to TriLuna. The shinies all looked older now. Trey, Ghost, Soap, Icepick and Killshot. They'd come in together from Kamino as a team of gunners to replace a team he'd lost in an AT-TE explosion on G'arcia IX. They'd proven easy to train with just the right blend of humor and seriousness that Rex preferred in a trooper. Rex had been made a note in Killshot's file, considering him for a future promotion.

Killshot abruptly shifted and caught Rex's eye. His voice was harsh as if he'd barely spoken in months but his words were shouted out. "Captain! Look out! The Kazzies. They're prudiise chur taab!" [They are shadows underneath us!]

The gunner barely got the words out before he was silenced forever. From the darkness of Killshot's cell, massive simian arms reached up and viciously snapped his neck. The sound was loud and startling in the complete silence of the dungeons.

For the briefest, time stopped in the dungeons. The ten clones froze in place at the sound of Killshot's life ending. Rex had seen only blackness reaching around Killshot before the 501st trooper had crumpled to the ground.

In the next breath, time started up again as they came under a hail of blaster fire from within the prison cells. Kaz'harians rose up from behind the prisoners like shadowy wraiths. The large simians were clad head to toe in black garb, completely obscuring their appearance in the terrible lighting of the dungeons; their appearance seen only as shadows within the prison cells.

Rex stared at them as his brain processed all the new information coming at him at once. Out of instinct, Jesse took to a knee next to Rex and was already returning fire.

"Hold!" Rex slapped down Jesse's rifle, "We can't risk hitting the prisoners! Snipers!" He motioned Kinks and team into place, and the six snipers immediately began taking down black-clad Kaz'harians with great speed and intensity. He grabbed Jesse and began pulling him back. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Cody had already done the same to Trapper.

Before he could make his way into the corridor, he could feel the sting of blaster fire burn into his armor. One shot struck him in the back of the thigh and another singed the back of his arm. He could tell right away that neither burn was serious. His armor has absorbed most of the hit, and the poor lighting was working both for and against the Kazzies.

Then it hit him.

_Burn_.

They weren't shooting slugthrowers. The shots coming at them were Republic blue.

The Kaz'harians were shooting at them with their own weapons.

Rex barely cleared the door of the dungeon before a stray blasterbolt took off a piece of his pauldron. Cody yanked him off to the safety by the side of the wall.

"Should we be insulted that they are shooting at us with our weapons?" Cody remarked, as shots continued to pelt out the door and hit the wall behind them. His voice was calm but held that lethal edge indicating he was furious.

Rex remained silent watching the blue bolts burn into the wall as his mind continued to rapidly process through everything he'd seen. After a beat, he turned to Cody and said, "We need to pull the snipers back."

Cody cocked his head to the side in puzzlement, "They're our best bet for taking down Kazzies and not hitting friendlies."

Rex stared back into the darkened interior of the dungeons at the flashes of blue on blue and his voice took on a low, menacing tone, "I have an idea."

# # #

_A/N: A huge thank you to Reulte and Ialoga for going through two rounds of major revisions on this chapter, and patiently wading through long discussions on how much Mando'a troopers could be expected to know. We came to the conclusion that the average trooper (not an ARC) would know some of the language (have a working knowledge) and yet not be completely fluent.  
_


	132. Chapter 132 Into the Darkness

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 132**_

Rex stared back into the darkened interior of the dungeons at the flashes of blue on blue and his voice took on a low, menacing tone. "I have an idea."

"Let's hear it," Cody demanded.

"Did you notice _how_ the prisoners were being restrained?" Rex asked. The image of Killshot's death flashed vividly in his mind. When the 501st gunner had been pulled up and forward and then dropped down again, Rex had caught a glimpse of his bound hands.

Cody nodded, "An electronic restraint system. Seen it before. Controlled by a Central Control Unit so they can deliver a nasty jolt to everyone at once if there's a riot or escape attempt."

Rex nodded, "Because of that CCU, it's possible to _deactivate_ them all at once. We free our men of those restraints, they can fight back. Get the 501st and 212th fighting with us, evens up the odds a bit."

Cody cradled his rifle, and folded his arms across his chest as he thought over the plan. "You're recalling the snipers because you're planning on using them to destroy this CCU?"

Rex gave a single crisp nod.

"It could work," Cody agreed, "but, it won't be easy to locate in the dark."

"My snipers can do it," Rex said with confidence, "we just need to give them time."

Cody nodded his approval, "Do it."

"Kinks, this is Captain Rex. Pull your team back," Rex stood by the door of the dungeons and awaited a response. Blue blasterfire continued to pelt back and forth and the 501st Captain worried that the jamming of the HUDs was preventing comms from transmitting even at this short distance. But, a moment later a response came back.

"Copy that, Captain. We're pulling back," Kinks responded. There was a short pause, and then, "Sir, we're taking heavy heavy fire."

"Understood. We'll cover your retreat. Wait for my signal." Rex waved forward Jesse, Hardcase, Wooley, Denal, Tank and Storm to provide cover fire for the snipers as they fell back. The clones lined themselves up, three abreast on either side of the dungeon door, Tank braced against the wall to compensate for his missing leg.

"Now!" At Rex's signal, five of the clones rolled themselves into the kazzie active line of fire; Tank, heavy gun in hand, let loose a barrage slightly above the clones' helmets and the retreating snipers merged in line with their brothers retreating back. Kinks had an arm under Hui who was clutching his chest while Box and Ven were dragging Trail, whose helmeted head lolled listlessly to his chest.

"Jesse! Get the doors closed!" Rex ordered. The 501st clone pulled the wiring on the door panel and the blast doors slid shut, preventing any more fire from hitting them in the hallway.

It was eerily silent now without any more shots coming at them. Rex's gaze swept over the sniper team. Their armor was battered from numerous close calls and minor hits. Hui and Trail had taken hard hits and weren't moving, at all.

Rex wanted to call out for a "Medic" out of habit. But, there were no medics anymore.

He shook his head, scowling, regretting sending Mako back to the ship. They needed more medics in the Ando Legion. When he got back to Ando, he would have to train more medics-

No, he wasn't going back to Ando; he was going to Corrie. That was the plan. Wasn't it?

Rex tightened his fists, and clenched his jaw in frustration. He shook his head and threw himself back into battle mode, concentrating on the task at hand. He was about to give orders for the care of the injured men, but Cody had already handled it. Rex relaxed for a moment as Cody's team handled the snipers. Hawkeye, Trapper, Gearshift and Wooley assisted pulling Hui and Trail further back against the wall. Cody offered up his own medkit and handed it to Wooley. The remaining 212th troopers immediately pulled off the contents of their kits, expertly sorting through them and working together in teams of two to deliver aid to the injured snipers. It soon became apparent from the hushed, frantic tones of Gearshift and Wooley that Trail was beyond saving. They checked the snipers' vitals, and then double-checked it again.

"He's dead, sir," Gearshift reported, the respect for the passing of a brother evident in his voice.

Rex and Cody each gave a solemn nod, acknowledging the death of the sniper.

Kinks turned away from the others at the news, taking a moment to absorb the blow in private. Rex reached out and put a compassionate hand on Kinks' shoulder, a brief moment of compassion for the losses he had suffered. They stood there for a long moment, no words needed to be exchanged, Rex's calm, strong presence was enough.

Cody indicated to the two clones they should assist Hawkeye and Trapper in working on Hui. The injured sniper was more alert now after the initial ministrations from his brothers. He was trying to sit up and swat their hands away, insisting "I'm fine." He was no match, however, for the determination of his brothers.

Kinks turned back and rejoined into the action- his brief moment for grieving was over. There was never time for anything more during a battle.

"Hui, hold still," Kinks ordered his team member and at the familiar voice, the sniper stilled.

Kinks removed his helmet, and blew out a long sigh as he ran a hand through sweat-dampened hair. Gone was the enthusiasm that always seemed to radiate from the lead sniper. He looked at Rex, and then at Hui and Trail. "They hit us hard. But, we took a lot of them down."

"Well done, Kinks. You're going back in," Rex said.

Kinks' eyebrow arched in puzzlement since he'd just been pulled _out_. Being a well-trained soldier, he remained quiet and simply listened expectantly.

Rex glanced over at Cody. He hadn't had time to brief the 212th Commander on the second part of his plan before they had to pull the snipers out. Cody was standing in his bemused 'I'm listening' pose, still cradling his rifle. Rex had come up with the rest of this idea on the fly so this would be the first anyone had heard of it. He hoped it would work. It was more like what Skywalker would come up with than his usual approach.

"I have an idea for you and your team," Rex briefed the sniper, "but it's... a bit unconventional." He glanced back at Cody, waiting for a reaction. The 212th Commander still looked patient and calm, seemingly content to trust in Rex completely on this one.

_This better work, _Rex thought. Then, immediately turned his attention back toward briefing the lead sniper.

"Sir?" Kinks' voice raised slightly in confusion.

"You'll need to take your armor off," Rex said, expecting a protest or a sputtered outburst. He gestured toward the three remaining snipers making it clear that this plan included all of them stripping down then glanced at Hui who gave a nod then grunted in pain as Trapper and Wooley continued to work on him. "And your buckets and your boots. Hand them over to Jesse and Hardcase." He signaled to the 501st troopers who came over to his side.

The snipers didn't hesitate at the unusual request. Kinks began shucking off his armored plates, one-by-one, pausing only to indicate for his team to do the same. "What's the plan?"

Rex was humbled by this expression of trust considering the beating the team had just taken in the dungeons. As the team stripped down, Rex explained to the team about the electronic binding system.

"So, you want us to find this control box and take it out," Kinks confirmed.

"It'll be a lot easier if Kazzies didn't see you doing it," Rex explained.

Cody stood back and eyed Rex's efforts with an amused, disbelieving expression. "I don't think that's ever been tried before." He watched as the snipers worked at stuffing pieces of armor inside their black bodysuits. The armor stretched the black material to the max. Once suited up, they looked like a team of bulky, oversuited bolo-ball players. Jesse and Hardcase were jamming their fingers in containers of DC-15 grease pulled out of their belt pouches and smearing it over the buckets and boots. As each piece was finished, it was handed back to the sniper with reverence. Hardcase seemed to take particular joy in his hand painted creations.

Rex and Cody looked at the snipers critically and then nodded with satisfaction. They were now in shades of matte black and armored from boot to bucket.

The 212th nodded at the now black clone troopers. "You're turning the Kazzie's trick right back on them. Making our troopers blend into the dark."

"Yes," Rex said, "make the darkness work for us, instead of against us." He turned to address Kinks. "How does it feel? Can you move?" Rex asked Kinks.

"It's tight, but the suit has a lot of stretch to it. I can move," Kinks said as he flexed his arms and legs experimentally.

"Alright, you're clear to go. Head back in there. Once the prisoners are released, the rest of us can get in there and do some damage," Rex ordered.

"Understood, sir," Kinks said. "The camouflage will help but it would help more if we had some sort of distraction going in so the Kazzies aren't even aware that we've slipped in there."

_A distraction? _Rex's eyes narrowed; trying to work out something that wouldn't lose him too many men.

"Rex?"

He turned as a familiar voice called to him from the corner. His eyes widened as the pauldroned form of Fives strutted his way through the sea of troopers in the corridor. Even here, Fives carried an aura amongst the troopers and they all looked up at the ARC as he passed by.

"Fives!" Rex's strode forward to meet Fives. He gave the ARC a brief slap on the back, "Good to see you." Rex stood back slightly and studied the trooper critically, "But, what are you doing here? Where's Echo?"

Fives put a hand up to forestall the question on Echo until later, "Captain Catcher sent me to warn you. You're walking into a trap." Fives looked around and saw the recent burn marks on Rex and Cody's armor and the two men on the stone floor, Trail dead and Hui injured but his blaster still in hand murmuring "I'll be up in a moment."

Fives' shoulders sagged with defeat, "I'm too late."

Rex gripped the ARC by the pauldron and gave him a sharp jerk to get his attention, "This?" He indicated the two snipers. "No. We were testing the waters. Thanks to your initial report, we knew they had something going on. Your timing is perfect, Fives. I could use a distraction and you are the master."

Rex quickly filled the ARC in on the plan to insert the sniper team into the dungeons as the first wave to free the prisoners. Fives' face instantly lit up.

"Flashbangs," Fives said, "Kix discovered the reason the Kazzies keep everything so dark here in the fortress is they are sensitive to light. Flashbangs overwhelm their senses. When they tried to take over the ship, Kix was able to take it back-"

"Wait-" Rex interrupted, "the Kazzies took over our ship?!"

"Tried to," Fives corrected, "Kix saved the ship."

"Sounds like I need to have a long sitdown with Kix. Alright, then, flashbangs," he reached a hand down to his belt pouch, "except... fek..." his hand came up empty. Rex heaved out a sigh. I haven't been to an armory since before my last mission."

Fives reached into his beltpouch and also came up empty. "I'm out." He signaled to Denal and sent him out to round up flashbangs from amongst the troopers. The ARC hummed thoughtfully, "We could supplement the flashbangs with a weapons overload. Just need a spare deece."

Fives looked around, and then his glance fell down to the prone form of Trail. Rex nodded his approval.

"Sorry," Fives whispered to the fallen brother, as he took the gun out of his unmoving fingers, "We'll be sure to take out more Kazzies for you."

"He'd like that," murmured Kinks, leaning against the wall and unfastening the metallic brace that covered his leg. He rubbed at his leg and grimaced.

Fives sat down next to the dead sniper while he worked on pulling the gun apart. He tugged off his gloves, and unclipped his enhanced ARC tool kit off his belt. He opened up the DC-15 and immediately began rewiring it.

Kinks eased himself down to the ground. After a moment, he said to the ARC, "His name was Trail. He was part of my squad."

Fives didn't look up from where his hands were flying over the task of rewiring the blaster, but his voice was genuine and filled with compassion. "Tell me about him."

The lead sniper paused to think. "A good trooper," he looked over at his fallen brother, "an excellent sniper. He was also... a good person. He had a woman."

"A woman?" Fives' voice conveyed his interest. He listened as he worked, listening to Kinks talk about his brother and remembering every detail.

# # #

It was one fight after another. No sooner had they broken through one Kaz'harian patrol than another was upon them. Leon was glad for the protection of his armor, even though he felt off-balance with the heavy weight of his brothers' gear upon his back. He just focused on continuing to move and fire, knowing the moment he held still he could be taken by a stray shot.

He was taken completely by surprise when the General went down. He had grown so confident in the Jedi's abilities that she seemed infallible. One moment she was holding her own against insane odds and then there was just a slight cry of shock and pain. He whipped around just in time to see her fall. She crumpled and dropped heavily to the ground, not at all like her usual graceful moves.

"General!" Leon cried out in alarm, staring at the club-wielding Kaz'harian who had taken her down. Beneath the Jedi's head, a pool of blood was quickly beginning to spread.

Leon didn't think. He just started to fire. One after another all of the Kaz'harians fell under his onslaught. He heard slugs pounding against his tough commando armor. He thought one or two might have slipped between the chinks between plates, but he registered it distantly and with no direct feeling attached. He could only see targets that needed to be eliminated. Targets kept coming and he kept firing.

Eventually, there were no more targets. Leon froze for a moment as his brain tried to switch gears from the destroy-all-targets mode he had been in. He blinked furiously, sucking air in and out, trying to get oxygen into his lungs.

_The General!_ He realized, as badly need air finally reached his greatly-overtaxed system and his brain moved from battle reaction mode to thinking. He focused on the prone form of the Jedi, and stumbled across the stone corridor to the inert form of Unduli.

He dropped down to his knees beside her, ignoring twinges of pain from his own body. "General? General?"

Leon shook her gently, and received no response. He tugged off his armored glove, and probed the back of her head. His hand came away wet and sticky with blood. He turned her head gently to examine the wound more carefully and cursed profusely. It was a vicious hit.

But at least it was still bleeding. Dead people didn't bleed. He began tugging med supplies off his belt, grateful he had his full gear back. Leon did what he could for the wound. Then, he picked up the General and settled her over one shoulder. He shifted to accommodate the extra weight, his knees almost buckling from the strain. He was already carrying the gear of his brothers on his back. Now, he had the gear of an entire commando squad _and_ one Jedi General. But, he was headed for the battle in the dungeons and nothing was going to hold him back.

# # #


	133. Chapter 133 A Strange Sort of Day

_**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex**_

_**Chapter 133**_

"This is all we have," Denal said, handing off two fistfuls of flashbangs to Rex and Cody. Rex accepted them with a nod and slid them into his belt pouch.

Cody kept a flashbang out and rolled it between his fingers as they spoke. He held the ordinance up and inspected it critically. "Flashbangs will temporarily disable our men along with the Kaz'harians."

"It will," Rex agreed, "But, based upon the intel Fives has given us, I am counting on our men being able to recover faster. It won't be pleasant for them, but we'll finally get them out of here." His voice was rock solid with conviction.

Cody gave a single brisk nod of his chin, giving his approval to the plan.

Fives gracefully pushed up from the ground, modified weapon in hand. "Done, Captain." He turned and reached a hand down to help Kinks up from the ground. The sniper stifled a groan as he put all of his weight on to his bad leg, bracing a hand against it to give it additional support.

"Thanks, vod," Kinks reached forward and grasped arms with Fives in the Mando'a way, but it was clear he was thanking him for more than just helping him up from the ground. Talking with Fives seemed to have helped with the pain of losing a member of his team.

The ARC nodded in acknowledgement as Kinks began re-attaching the durasteel pieces of his leg brace with efficient, practiced movements.

Fives turned his attention to the two command clones, "Send me in with the snipers."

Rex's brow furrowed, prepared to voice a protest. But, Fives had already prepared a counter argument. "I've got the most experience in deploying modified diversionary tactics."

Rex gave Fives' armor a critical look. "You should reverse your armor."

Fives shook his head. "No need. It will only take a few seconds to set the weapon off. If anything, I can draw their fire so the snipers have a better chance of being unnoticed. I'm fast and can avoid getting hit for that long."

Rex and Cody exchanged a long glance, both knowing what could go wrong in a battle in a matter of seconds. But, this was no ordinary trooper. Fives was an ARC trooper. And, he already showed signs of being one of the best. Fives stood before them confident and sure of himself.

Rex looked toward Cody for guidance. The 212th Commander nodded his final approval.

"Fives," Rex said suddenly, his voice taking on the tone it did when he was about to concoct one of his more inspired Skywalker-like plans, "as long as you're going in, I have an idea."

# # #

Leon heard the sounds of explosions reverberating throughout the lower levels and it gave a sense of urgency to his movements. His body was tiring but he continued to push himself onwards. He rounded the final corridor toward the dungeons and found himself surrounded by fully armored clone troopers. It was completely disorienting after being isolated in the labs and with only General Unduli for company. He was halted by an armored patrol guarding the end of the corridor.

The troopers' stared him down. He must have made an odd sight with a full squad's gear attached to his back and a Jedi slung over his shoulder.

"I'm Captain Leon," he said, trying to sound imposing so they'd let him pass. But, he was so winded he found that his voice just came out sounding wheezy. He tried to tilt his head to indicate the unmoving form but could barely tilt his head with the added gear attached to his back, "and this is General Unduli."

The troopers continued to stare at him. He was about to demand who was in charge, when the trooper on the left said abruptly to his companion, "Go alert Captain Rex."

_Rex?_

Leon startled, sure that he could not have heard that correctly.

"Who?" he demanded, almost coughing from the efforts of speaking. Fek. When had speaking become this difficult?

"Captain Rex," the trooper said, his chest puffing up with pride, "he leads this Legion." His voice took on a thoughtful tone, "Although now we have Commander Cody, too. Been a strange sort of day."

_A strange sort of day?_

That was an understatement if Leon ever heard one. He kept studying all the troopers he could see beyond the two blocking his way. There was something different about these clones. Their armor did not bear the single uniformity of any one Legion but a mix of colors and insignias from units across the GAR. There was no such Legion that encompassed every unit. What was going on?

He felt a strange sort of twisting in his gut when two familiar figures emerged out of the mass of troopers. He had never met them personally, but every clone in the GAR knew these two by reputation.

"Commander Cody! Captain Rex! Sirs!" Leon snapped out the best salute he could manage under the circumstances, and tried not to force his lungs not to cough from the efforts of speaking when he was still so winded.

The two stood stiffly in front of him looking him up and down critically then took in the form slumped over his shoulder.

"Who do you have there?" Cody tilted his helmet to the side, trying to get a better look at the injured Mirilian on Leon's shoulder. His shoulders had immediately tensed up and his voice had taken on a combative tone.

"It's General Unduli, sir," Leon said. He noticed as soon as he indicated it was Unduli, Cody seemed to relax noticeably. The tension eased out of his shoulders, and he went back to a normal command stance. Leon wondered at this reaction and who the commander thought the Jedi might have been that could have gotten him so upset. He tucked the mystery away for a later date and continued on with his report. "We were surrounded and she was struck on the back of the head by a Kaz'harian. She needs help." He forced his lungs to take in air as he spoke. Leon struggled to get the Jedi down off his shoulder. He'd barely begun to move before every nearby trooper reached out to help, and the General was eased down to the ground by a host of gentle hands.

Cody waved over Hawkeye and Trapper. "See what you can do."

As Unduli was laid out flat, her eyes briefly flickered open and she looked up in confusion. She stared up at the mass of troopers surrounding her, trying to focus.

Cody immediately knelt by her side, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Try to relax, General. You've got a head injury. We'll take care of you."

"Le- Leon," " Unduli struggled to mumble out.

The commando slid forward into her line of sight and knelt by her side, "I'm right here, General. You're safe now." His voice was raspy and harsh, from all his recent exertions, but he tried to make his tone gentle.

Unduli tried to smile but her lips barely managed to twist upwards before her eyes rolled backwards in her heads and she slipped unconscious again.

Leon looked at Hawkeye and Trapper in concern, "Will she be alright?"

The two clones whipped their heads back and forth exchanging a quick look even through their helmets that clearly said: _You're asking us?_

Trapper diplomatically replied: "Uh... we'll try our best. Our resources are limited."

Leon heaved out a heavy sigh, and hung his head down. After allowing himself just a brief second to rest, he pushed himself heavily to his feet. He staggered slightly under his burden before straightening up. He looked toward the entrance of the dungeons and said in a steely tone, "I need to get in there."

Rex put a restraining hand on his shoulders, "Easy. You'll go in when the rest of us go in."

"My team is in there. My men," Leon said, not liking the slight desperate edge that his voice had taken on.

"So are mine," Rex said, in a voice that brooked no argument. He nodded toward Cody. "Clone Marshall Cody is in charge of this campaign. Understood?"

Leon scowled. Rex was making it clear to him that despite the fact Leon was a Captain an a Commando that he was outranked here. By a longshot.

Yet, he swore he could hear a slight snort coming from the Commander's helmet as if he found something amusing about Rex's comment.

Leon deferred to the command of the other two officers, "Understood. I'll await your command."

Having nothing else to do, he began pacing restlessly up and down the corridor.

He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around to see that it was Rex who had grabbed him.

"Sit down and rest for a few minutes. You look ready to drop. We'll be going in there soon enough." the 501st Captain gripped Leon by his shoulders and firmly pushed him down to the ground. "Make sure you drink something. You have water?"

Leon nodded, his exhausted body suddenly grateful for the break. It wasn't exactly comfortable leaning up against the wall with the gear against his back, but it felt good just to sit. He looked up and noticed that Rex was still studying him critically. "You're bleeding."

Leon followed the 501st Captain's gaze and noticed there was a steady stream of blood seeping out from under the plates on his arm.

"Take off your vambrace," Rex said, kneeling down by his side and pulling off the medkit from his belt.

Leon raised up an eyebrow at this and wondered that the Captain of the 501st was suddenly playing medic to him.

"We don't have a medic right now," Rex said, as if reading his thoughts, beginning to clean the wound as soon as Leon had removed the armor plate. He applied bacta and wrapped the arm in clean gauze.

"Thank you," Leon said as he replaced his vambrace, never expecting the first time he met Captain Rex that he'd be patching him up in the field after miraculously returning from the dead. It had been a strange sort of day.

# # #

"You ready?" Kinks asked, checking in with his team. They looked different with their white armor stuffed inside their black bodysuits. It wasn't a bad look, necessarily. The extra padding tended to emphasize their bulky musculature and the matte black helmets looked downright menacing. However, the whole purpose of this exercise was not how they looked. It was to not be seen, at all. Inspiration could come from anywhere and the idea of hiding in the dark had come straight from the Kaz'harians. Clones could fight dirty, too.

Pulling up a visual on his HUD, Kinks sent it out to his team, taking advantage of the tech before they lost use of it in the dungeons. "This is our objective. The Kaz'harians are using our vode as human shield, restrained using a standard system. If we can take out the central control box then our brothers can fight back. We will have the advantage of numbers. There are two Legions of clones in there which we estimate to be easily upwards of 4000 troopers. We just have to give our vode a fighting chance." He turned to the injured member of his squad. "Hui, how's the chest?"

The injured sniper put a hand up and rubbed his chest gingerly, "Not going to be a problem. I'm ready to go back in."

Kinks gave him a long, assessing look, "When we go in, you stay by the door to cover our six. If I need you to move up, I'll signal you."

Hui nodded.

Fives came up to Kinks with Trail's deece. The snipers all gave the familiar weapon a long look. "Ready when you are. I'll go in first, fast and center."

Kinks nodded to the ARC, "Glad to have you onboard, Fives." He turned to the Captain and the Commander and signaled, letting him know they were ready.

Rex and Cody came forward to give final instructions.

"The moment that control box is down, we are moving in. Keep us informed of progress and casualties," Cody instructed. He placed a brief supportive hand on both Kinks' and Fives' shoulders, "Good luck."

Kinks and Fives nodded.

"Alright, Jesse," Rex instructed, "get the door. They're going in."

# # #


	134. Chapter 134Things that go thump at night

_Updated August 30, 2013_

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 134_**

"You need to leave," Lance announced without preamble.

Mako quirked up an eyebrow and gave his brother a questioning look that said 'now why would I do that?' Knowing his brother would explain himself in due time, he leaned back on the nearest empty bunk and scratched at the stubble that had grown in on his chin over the course of the mission. He yawned and stretched out his single arm, achieving a loud pop from his back. He noticed that Lance was just giving him a patient, but amused, look. "Sorry, go on. You were saying? Something about me _leaving_, which is not happening, mind you."

"My primary four vital signs have stabilized out. Same goes for Odds," Lance gestured to the injured pilot slumbering peacefully in medbay bunk next to him.

Mako frowned and moved in to more closely exam Lance again, "I'm more concerned about your fifth vital sign. Your pain levels. On a scale of 1-10, how bad would you describe your-"

"Oh, cut it out Mako and quit all your fussing," Lance grumbled. "You can't outmedic a medic. There is nothing more you can do for either me or Odds without a proper bacta tank. You need to get out of here." He blew out a slow careful breath then indicated the empty bed to the other side of him, "Griff has been hopping all over the ship helping Tek and Gears, leaving you only two patients in medbay. Your talents could be better utilized elsewhere."

"Elsewhere," Mako repeated slowly and carefully, "like back with Captain Rex?"

Lance just gave his fellow medic a measured look, not even bothering to answer.

"He gave me a direct order to come here," Mako said. He scowled at Lance, "But, you knew that already, didn't you? For someone who was supposedly unconscious and critically injured, you're up-to-date on everything."

Lance made a slight dismissive gesture with the one hand he could move without being in too much pain, "Battle always gets me hyperaware. Now, back to getting your shebs with the Legion where it belongs."

"The Captain assigned me _here_," Mako objected.

"As a medic I outrank everyone," Lance shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable in the medbay bunk. Prolonged laying down made his already sore body ache even more as his body protested the forced inactivity. He pivoted his weight again, attempting to find a position that didn't hurt so much. Mako automatically leaned in and used his upper body strength and one arm to help gently push Lance into a new position. The senior medic heaved out a sigh as the strain on his protesting muscles eased and gave a grateful smile to Mako. Lance picked up their conversation where they had left off. "You outrank them all too now, Mako. Comes with being a medic."

Mako leaned back and looked thoughtful. "But, that only has to do with medical matters."

"Rex has one medic that we know of for _three_ Legions. Is that not medical reason enough?" Lance said pointedly. "Kix is good, but even he has his limits."

Lance could see the point at which he completely won over Mako. A determined glint entered the younger medic's eyes and for a moment Lance envied him. Mako was headed back out to be amongst the vode. To be a medic. It was where Lance should be.

"Point well taken," Mako said, giving an enthusiastic nod, "I'll get my gear."

Lance sighed, trying not to be a good mentor to Mako and not be caught up in self-pity because he was stuck in his own medbay. But, he should have known that Mako would pick up on even the slight exhale. He was too perceptive.

_Shab._

The younger medic paused in the middle of checking supply levels on his medpack. "You OK, Lance?"

"Fine," Lance said quickly, "you have enough spray splints?" He tilted his neck, trying to get a better look at the kit. He hissed in pain.

"Be _still_, Lance." Mako pulled out a hypo from his kit and brought it over to the senior medic and injected him in the neck with it. He set down the used syringe and carefully sat down on the medbay bunk next to Lance. With his freed up hand, he brushed back Lance's hair from his forehead. Like many of the clones, Lance had started to let his hair grow longer than the standard military cut. He knew his hair was in complete disarray from being confined to bed. Mako reached one hand through Lance's long curls, attempting to push them back into some kind of order. "Doesn't feel right leaving you when you're so badly hurt, Lance," he said regretfully, "but I know I need to go."

"You're doing the right thing," Lance reassured him, putting up with Mako's fussing for just a moment. The human touch felt nice. Until Jade Rose, no one had ever touched him, except from the brief clinical touches of a fellow medic. Over the past two months, he'd grown used to the sensation of skin-on-skin contact and found he loved the sensation of being touched. It was not something he'd experienced at Kamino- a place of cold, white, harsh sterility. Mako's fingers in his hair were temporarily distracting him from the pain in the rest of his body. But, he knew he was being selfish. Mako had to go. "Stop using up your stock up on me and get off of here."

Mako gave a little snort of laughter and reached down to grab the used hypo. With a flick of his wrist, he aimed it at the nearest disposal unit. It hit the lid, which automatically opened, and then disappeared inside. "I should have played bolo," he mused, then gave a regretful glance at his missing hand. He stood up, crossed the room and returned to his packing. "Won't deny that I went through an insane amount of hypos and stimshots so far this mission. Need to restock those along with gauze and bacta." He dipped his face so low into his pack that his entire head was almost buried inside the medpak.

"You don't know what that final battle will hold," Lance advised. "Make sure you have enough." He began pointing out the various cabinets that held all the items Mako needed.

Even as Lance was pointing everything out, he knew he was doing it for his own benefit. Mako knew just as well as Lance did where all the inventory was stored. He had helped stock the medbay. But not only tolerated all of the senior medic's advice and instructions, he kept up a running dialogue, including his brother in everything he was doing. "I'd best pack extra C-bandages. I notice Kix prefers to use them. They'll work equally well on wounds from either a blaster or a slugthrower. Not sure what we'll come up against. Although, after some of these messy slug wounds I've been seeing lately, blaster wounds are starting to seem like the better option."

Lance smiled in amusement. Mako was definitely doing all of this for his benefit. He kept watching his brother work as Mako leaned his entire frame into one of the lower cabinets to tug supplies out of the back.

"Hey, Mako," Lance's softly spoken voice interrupted him from his work.

The younger clone backed out of the cabinet, handfuls of supplies tucked between his chest and his one hand, "Mmmmm?" He had a bemused expression on his face. His excitement at heading back to the Legion was obvious to see in the shine in his eyes.

"Be careful. Come back in one piece." Lance locked gazes with Mako for a long moment. Without words, Lance told the younger clone how much he'd come to mean to him during the time they'd trained on Ando.

"I'll come back," Mako's face lit up with a warm, reassuring smile. He slid the cabinet closed with his shoulder and neatly tucked away the C-bandages, filling up the last space in his medpack. Mako pulled on his medic's pack and then rolled his shoulders to get it adjusted properly in place. Lance couldn't help a tinge of jealousy at seeing his brother geared up to rejoin the Legion, signature pack in place. He forced himself to swallow the emotion, and just be happy for Mako. He nodded to Mako. "See you after the battle is done." The younger medic said as he gave a quick check to his blaster, and belt. With a final smile, Mako disappeared out the medbay hatch.

Lance couldn't stop the feeling of sorrow he felt in the pit of his stomach as he watched the younger clone disappear from sight.

"Be safe, Mako," the senior medic sighed quietly under his breath, even after his brother was long gone, feeling absolutely exhausted.

# # #

After Mako left, Lance finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

He'd been injured before. Plenty of times. Being a medic was one of the most dangerous positions in the GAR next to the bomb squad. He shook his head inwardly at _that_ one. Mako had moved up, but not much on the safety scale when he'd advanced from bomb squad technician to medic.

A sharp twinge of pain from his chest made it difficult to breathe. Again. He took slow shallow breaths and tried to just get his battered body to keep going a little longer.

_Gah._

Admittedly, this was the worst he'd ever managed to injure himself. Alright, getting up close and personal with a det might not have been the best idea he'd ever had. But, he would do it all over again to save one of his brothers. He hadn't even thought about it. The det had been tossed and he'd thrown himself over Travis. Maybe it was something that was flash-trained into him? He decided not to think about _that_ too deeply.

_I'd like to think that I did because I chose to do it and not because the Kaminoans have programmed me to behave a certain way._

_Gah. Whatever._

It wasn't worth thinking too hard over. It was done.

Lance yawned hugely and even that action _hurt_. Finally, overwhelmed with boredom and pain, his body finally gave in and he fell asleep.

He woke up some time later to hear an odd thumping noise coming from somewhere within medbay.

"That's odd," he said to himself, trying to figure out the source of the noise.

"Odd is what they call me," mumbled the injured pilot in the bed next to him, peering an eye open. His words came out slurred and Lance could tell he was struggling against the effects of multiple painkillers and sedatives. "Some say it is due to my flying style. Nothing wrong with the way I fly, I say."

"You're awake," Lance said in surprise looking over at the pilot.

"I heard someone call my name," said Odds weakly as he turned his head just enough so that he could look around.

"No... I said... uh... never mind," Lance slipped back into medic mode, "how are you feeling?"

Odds slipped a tongue onto overly dry lips, "Ah... not... uh... great." He managed to get his other eye to open and focused his gaze on Lance. "What... happened?"

"You were shot several times," Lance said gently, knowing disorientation and memory loss were normal after trauma like the one Odds had suffered, "you saved all of us from the final surge of the Kaz'harians."

"Aw, shab," Odds groaned as memories came rushing back, "the fekkin' Kazzies attacked. Chance."

"I'm sorry," Lance said, words feeling completely inadequate to console the pilot over the loss of his best friend.

"I should have reacted faster," the pilot said sorrowfully as a haunted look came into his eyes, "I didn't get the hatch closed soon enough."

"Odds," Lance said, struggling to find the right words, "you can't start thinking that way."

"He bled to death in my arms!" Odds said harshly and then cast an accusingly look at the medic as if to say '_where were you when I needed you most'_? Completely gone was the jovial tone that characterized the one-armed pilot. Now, his voice was bitter with pain and loss. "And, what's that noise?" Odds' breathing had become labored, and it was obvious he was blinking hard to keep his eyes open. In the background, there was a constant pounding that sounded like it was originating from close by.

"Not sure," Lance struggled to push himself up to his elbows, and then paled from the pain of his internal injuries. He groaned and fell back down, laying out flat again. "Not any more mobile than you."

He reached for the comlink that Tek and Gears had left him after the departure of Mako. With a pained grunt, he struggled to get it close to his face. Then, gave up realizing his limbs just weren't going to cooperate. "Tek, this is Lance," he said, leaving the activated unit on his chest and just relied upon the sensitivity of the mic to pick up his voice.

"Tek here. What's going on Lance? You need something? Gears and I are in the middle of a diagnostic on the clone baby tanks, but I could send Griff up."

"I'd appreciate it. Odds is awake. Yes, we could use some assistance." Lance said.

"Acknowledged," Tek said, "Griff is on his way."

Lance thumbed off the comlink, then blew out a breath again. The simple action had left him more exhausted than he wanted to admit considering he had just woken up.

Odds stared over at Lance and his face furrowed in confusion, "Did he say 'clone_ baby-tanks_?' Is that a new kind of weapon Tek and Gears are working on?"

Lance burst out into laughter and then immediately regretted the action as his internal injuries pulled, "Ow... no. As I understand, they're actual little clones. Haven't seen them myself. Small cadets or some such thing. Thirty of them total."

"Fek," Odds said, stunned by the news, "They found thirty cadets? And they brought them back aboard the ship?! You miss a lot being up in the cockpit." He yawned hugely, and then mumbled sleepily, "and, I always thought the view would be better as a pilot." He was asleep before Griff hobbled into medbay on a jury-rigged crutch devised for him by Tek and Gears.

"Hey, I hear that Odds is awake?" Gears said, cheerfully, as he came through the door.

"Just missed him," Lance said, lifting his least injured hand slightly to gesture toward the slumbering pilot. "Sorry."

Griff shrugged, "Ah. It's good to know he woke up anyway. That's a good sign. So, what do you need? And, what _is_ that noise?" He halted his steps and cocked his head to the side as a sudden pounding came from one corner of the medbay.

"That _is_ what I need," Lance said, "trying to figure out the source of that noise."

"Huh," Griff moved toward the sound, and as he went the final few steps, set down his crutch so he could draw his blaster and opted to just hop on one leg. He motioned back to Lance for complete silence. With hand motions, he indicated that the sound was coming from one of the many storage closets within the medbay.

Lance nodded, and indicated back with hand signals to open the closet but to use extreme caution.

Blaster pointed toward the interior, Griff yanked open the door of the storage closet.

With a small pile of pillows and blankets, out tumbled the irate form of Commander Appo.

# # #


	135. Chapter 135 Back on Ando- Women Warriors

_Revised 8/29/31_

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 135_**

Appo rolled out onto the blankets and pillows, struggling to untangle himself. He stared up at Griff. "What's your designation?" He stared closely at the clone's battered armor, taking in the three brown trefoils on the helmet hanging at the combat engineer's waist. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're not with the 501st or the 212th. Who's your commanding officer?"

Griff turned and cast a look back over his shoulder at Lance. '_Should we be concerned?_' he mouthed silently back to his fellow Andoan Legion clone, then gave a full glance up and down at himself in his 38th Armored Division gear before glancing back at Appo.

Lance nodded back.

"This is unacceptable!" Appo protested, still wiggling out against his cocoon of blankets.

"Griff," Lance directed calmly from his bunk, "bring me my medpack." He pointed toward the lower cabinets, his kit was sitting on the floor right next to where Mako's pack had been.

Griff slowly hobbled, retrieved the pack, shouldering the bag and worked his way over to Lance's bunk. He cast another glance back over at Appo. The commander was still struggling to rise. His recent injuries were slowing him down, but not stopping him. He had a plasticast on one arm and bacta bandages on the other shoulder from his recent bout with the Kaz'harians. Without adequate use of his arms, Appo was forced to wiggle like a Dashta eel to free himself.

Griff turned his full attention to Lance, thinking Appo wasn't getting up anytime soon. He tugged open the pack for the medic. "What do you need? Are you in pain?"

"It's not for me," Lance said, his voice just audible enough for Griff to hear. He reached into the pack and immediately found what he needed. Lance peered around Griff toward Appo. "Incoming. These five oh first guys are good." There was a grudging note of respect in the medic's voice as he watched the irate commander bearing down on them.

"The Commander needs _rest_," Lance slid the hypo into Griff's palm. His fellow Andoan Legion clone nodded and slid the hypo into the sleeve of his bodysuit, hidden away.

"Trooper, report," Appo commanded, bearing down on the two clones, his movements still stiff from his recent injuries and spending too long without moving around.

"And, _get it_ you shall, Commander," Griff said, heading straight for Appo.

"Now, if you'll just come with me, sir, to the briefing room, I will provide a full explanation of the events that transpired that led up to your being placed in that... uh... safe room," Griff made a gracious gesture with his hand that wasn't holding the crutch and indicated that Appo was to precede him out of the medbay.

"Safe room? You call locking me in some sort of closet a 'safe room?'" Appo's voice was getting louder by the minute.

"_That_ is a designated safe location, sir," Griff said, his voice rock solid with conviction. "Safest location on the ship." He looked back at the storage closet and then looked toward Lance. Both of the Andoan Legion clones nodded their heads in perfect unison as if this was infallible logic.

Appo just stared at them, as if he was sure whether he was going mad or if they were.

"This way, sir, we need to get our briefing," Griff cocked his head toward the hatch.

"Where's Commander Cody?" Appo demanded, holding his place and not willing to budge.

Griff made a show of raising his comlink to his ear. He listened for a moment, and then nodded his head. "Ah... Yes. Commander... er... Cody... is already in the briefing room. He's... uh... pleased to hear you are safe."

Appo continued to scowl at the two clones in a manner worthy of a pirate, but after a moment he relented and began heading toward the hatch. As soon as he had his back turned, Griff slid the tranquilizer out of his sleeve and with a bit of a flourish, jabbed the commander in the neck. Appo gasped in surprise, and then slithered to the floor. Griff dropped his crutch and caught the commander before he could hit his head. He eased Appo down gently the last few inches, then stood back up again.

"Suppose we'll need some help picking him up from there," Griff declared, looking down at Appo, "Now what? Do we put him back in the closet?"

"No," Lance blew out a long breath, as if trying to find inner-patience, "there are regs against such things. And, a briefing room? What self-respecting pirate raider has a _briefing room?"_

Griff shrugged, "I'm hoping the commander wasn't ever conscious long enough to realize he was _on_ a pirate raider."

Lance nodded, "Let's hope not. We've done a good job of keeping him sedated. But, we need to get him out of here. It's too risky. Last thing we need is the Commander of the 501st asking questions about Ando."

"Awww..." Griff's gazed down at the unconscious form of Appo, "Can't we keep him a while longer?"

"He's not an akk pup. He has to go," Lance said firmly.

Griff's face fell even further, "But, Tek and Gears have the baby clones. Why can't I have-"

"He can't stay, Griff," Lance blew out another long sigh, "That's final. Appo has to go."

"He's been fun. I'll miss him," Griff poked at Appo with his makeshift crutch.

"Stop poking him," Lance said, "he's not even conscious."

"But, he's always been the most fun when he's unconscious," Griff pointed out.

"Griff!"

"Fine," Griff grumbled. "I'll go talk with Tek and Gears." As he was disappearing out the hatch, he still had to get the last word in, "it will be boring around here without him."

"Boring?" called Lance after him, "we were invaded by Kazzies today. How much more excitement do you engineers need?"

"What's all the yelling about?" slurred Odds wearily, blinking against the overhead lighting in the medbay as he came awake.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you," Lance apologized, scrubbing his uninjured hand across the back of his face. "Griff had some colorful ideas about what to do with Commander Appo."

"Who?" Odds stared at Lance in confusion, not recognizing the name.

Lance sighed, "You were up in the cockpit when he was brought in. He's part of the 501st." He gestured with his good hand toward Appo.

Odds rotated his head gingerly in deference to his injured torso and looked at the unconscious form on the floor, "He's a commander?"

"Yes," Lance confirmed.

"Of _the _five oh first?" Odds was still studying Appo with great interest.

"Yes," Lance said, knowing what question was coming next.

The injured pilot's eyebrows quirked up, "So, why's he on the floor, then?"

Lance blew out a long breath, "Long story." And, then added under his breath, "At least he isn't in the closet anymore."

# # #

Karyn had to face the reality that Travis might never be coming home.

It had been four days now and there had been no word. She'd been visiting Razor, Tag, Sink and Saber and they kept encouraging her to not give up hope. Visiting them was as therapeutic as it was painful. She was glad to have something to focus on, and they were all doing well in their recoveries. But, there were many small ways in which each reminded her of Travis and that made the visits bittersweet.

It was something about Razor's deep voice when he was thoroughly intrigued with an idea and excited about the future of Ando. He could talk endlessly about his plans for the town and its future. His enthusiasm never failed to remind her of Travis and his vision for making things brighter. It was difficult to even be a part of these conversations with Razor without thinking: _'Travis should be here listening to these plans. He should be a part of this conversation.'_ But, those thoughts always grew a bit darker and degraded into something along the lines of: _'Damnit, Travis, where are you?'_

The four remaining clones were getting together on a daily basis to work on exercises together and they encouraged each in their progress. Auset had taken over as their impromptu physical therapist, since there was no one to fulfill that role. It was clear to see from the way that Sink and Auset interacted that there was a great deal of passion between the couple. The two practically _smoldered_ whenever they were together, and Sink couldn't take his eyes off of his woman.

Karyn wondered if Travis had ever given _her_ such a look. And, if he had, then, damnit, how could he leave her? She alternated between missing him desperately, and just wanting to take a blaster to him the moment she saw him again.

Out of desperation for something to do and in case the men did not return, Karyn began training her Women Warriors again. When she put out the call to assemble, she expected to get some of her former Warriors to attend the first practice out on Fisherman's Field. As she emerged from her speeder onto the mud and partially-snow covered field, she was surprised to see that almost all of her fighters had assembled.

Karyn felt badly she had neglected her duties as leaders of the militia, but she had just been so overwhelmed since Rex and the hundred troopers had arrived in town. It was all she could to do to keep up with the medical needs of the many troopers and the day-to-day running of the town. As she looked out over the field, she felt a swell of pride. There were close to a hundred women there, equally close to the number of male fighters they had in town. If their men ever decided to return.

_Take that, Travis._

Karyn pushed thoughts of the men out of her mind and concentrated on the task at hand.

"Thank you, Karyn," Rosetta said, a huge grin on her face, as she walked over with her ancient rifle resting on her shoulder, "I can't tell you how much I have missed this. Tending to my cattle is all well and good, but if I can't get out and shoot something once in a while, I feel like I'm going to explode."

"Going to explode, really?" tittered Kitta good-naturedly, "Maybe you need time with a man. A few hours with a good lover should straighten that out. I had an unforgettable night with that pilot Odds."

"You were with Odds? I spent a great night with him," Milla didn't sound jealous, more like she was comparing notes.

"Honey, half this town has spent the night playing on the joystick of that flyboy," Hanna cheekily added in from where she was working. The older woman was helping Sonora set out sandwiches. Her comment prompting gales of laughter from the assembled women.

El'le had brought fixings for food from her cart down by the docks but wanted to participate in the drills with the rest of the women. She left it up to those who weren't drilling today to assemble the simple fare. Sonora, who had a heart condition, was slicing up fresh rolls brought by the Andoan bakery. Hanna was happily chopping up nerf into her signature sandwich filling mixed with vegetables, humming under her breath as she carefully sliced and diced.

Karyn looked up from her datapad where she'd been planning out the next drill. Her tone took on the authority of both the town doctor and the leader of the town, "If you ladies are sleeping around, you better be using protection."

Jade snorted, "It's a good thought, Karyn, but this town is running _out_ of condoms. And, those we have are past their expiri-date. They're all from before the war."

The doctor just glared at the young woman. Jade put her hands up defensively. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not sleeping around."

Karyn gave her a skeptical look, as did several other women.

Jade grew defensive, "I'm _not. _I've changed my ways, alright? I'm holding out for the right one." She gave a sad sigh, as if convinced the day would never come and turned her attention back to checking the charge on her blaster.

Karyn turned her attention back to the group, "The last thing we need is a bunch of little boy-men carelessly spreading their seed in a bunch of meaningless one night stands." A few women in the group turned their heads away guiltily and two subconsciously reached a hand down to rub their stomachs. Karyn didn't notice and continued on, "We don't know where they've gone. We don't know know when they're coming back. We don't even know _if_ any of them are coming back." She slung her datapad away in frustration and walked away toward the small copse of trees that bordered the field.

The assembled women just stared after her, looking back and forth at each other unsure. This was their leader and their rock in uncertain times. Karyn _never_ lost it.

Ashla stepped forward and turned to the group and made a hand signal that said 'I'll handle this one.' She stopped to retrieve the dropped datapad and then went after Karyn.

Ashla stopped a few steps behind Karyn, "If there's any way possible, they'll come back."

"You don't know that," Karyn said, not turning around.

Ashla caught up to the other woman, and brushed bits of mud and slush off the datapad. She handed it back to Karyn. "I _know_ Catcher. He will bring those men home. He is a natural leader. Just like your Travis. Just like you." She looked at Karyn with eyes full of trust. "Come on, boss. Now, what's our next drill?"

"Ashla," Karyn confessed quietly under her breath, accepting back the datapad, her hand holding that of her friend for a moment, "sometimes I don't want to lead. There are times I just want to go back to being a doctor again."

"I know," whispered Ashla, "now of us asked for the war to hit our planet and for this to be our life. But, we're starting to rebuild now. It feels like things are starting to get better. Doesn't it?"

Karyn turned to Ashla, her eyes full of pain, "It started to feel like things were getting better when the clones arrived. They brought hope to this planet again. Now that they're gone, it feels our future left with them."

The other woman looked deep into her eyes, "I cry every night because all I can think about is Catcher and that he might be hurt and in pain and that he might not come back to me. And, then, in the morning, I still get up and go out on my boat." Ashla glanced back over her shoulder at the assembled women waiting for them, standing about in a nervous group casting glances their way. "Those woman are counting upon you to be their rock in uncertain times. You've always carried us through."

"I don't know if I can do it this time, Ashla," Karyn confessed in a broken tone.

"Yes, you can," the ship's captain said with confidence, "focus and get us through today. Now, the next drill." She pointed down to the datapad.

Karyn steeled her shoulders, took a deep breath, and focused her eyes down on the tablet. She turned around and walked with Ashla back to her Women Warriors. Ashla was right. They had survived once on their own, and if they need to, they would do so again. Her chest tightened and hardened at the thought, and it was difficult to breathe.

_Damnit, Travis. Where are you?_

She pushed the thought out of her head, and focused back on the drill. "Alright, everyone, we are going to work on distance targets down the range..."

# # #


	136. Chapter 136 Ambush on the Ridge

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 136_**

"What level of resistance do you think we'll meet at the hangars?" Travis was by Catcher's side, just as he had been since the ARC Captain had been injured.

Catcher glanced over at Travis as he considered the question. He had gotten used to having the Marine as a constant shadow. At one time, Rex's second had grated on his nerves. Now, he could see why Rex thought highly of the outspoken Lieutenant.

Catcher straightened up, trying to shift into a position that took pressure off his wounded side. He couldn't find a comfortable angle, so he put a hand to his chest armor to try manually shifting the plate. He saw Travis looking over at him and studying his movements. "Not much," he breathed out and then let out a pained grunt as he put too much pressure on the wound, "I suspect all of the Kazzies are down at the dungeons."

Travis put up a hand and halted the commando team behind them. He pushed Catcher gently into the scant shelter of the shadowy corridor wall. "Move your hand away," the Marine scolded.

Catcher felt his chest armor getting pulled off by Travis and he breathed an immediate sigh of relief as the pressure came off the wound.

Travis switched on his headlamp and peered down at the bandaged side. "The dressing that Kix applied is still holding up well. Not seeing any bleeding. You in pain?"

Catcher avoided answering the question directly. "My armor is digging in. I'll be fine. We need to move on."

Blaze, Torch and Dart all switched on their headlamps and took turns moving in closer to take a look so they could offer up their opinion. Catcher fidgeted and tried to push up off the wall. Being examined so closely under bright lights was reminding him too much of being a lab experiment in the medcenter. He'd been kept restrained and sedated while things were done to him against his will, and then he'd been discarded and sent to Kamino.

Catcher could feel his pulse racing, and a sense of panic coming over him.

"It's alright," Blaze said softly reaching forward and placing an armored hand on his shoulder. Catcher immediately focused on the battered helmet of the Republic Commando. Blaze seemed to intuitively understand that Catcher was panicking. The ARC Captain began to wonder what sort of experiences his brother might have gone through in the burn unit at the medcenter. It was a conversation that would have to wait until they returned to Ando.

Catcher took several deep breaths to calm himself and then looked around the corridor. Dart was down the corridor, guarding against Kazzies. Torch was beside Blaze, watching their backs from the other side.

Torch looked over his shoulder at Travis, "Try adding... another layer of packing." He reached down into his belt pouch medkit and pulled out a roll of gauze. He tossed it over to Travis who easily caught it.

The others all nodded their approval, and reached into their belt pouches to pull out more bandages. Travis had to tuck Catcher's chest armor under his arm so he could all the bandages that came flying at him from the others.

Catcher felt Travis tug off his backplate.

"Somebody hold this," Travis ordered, handing off the armor pieces. Blaze stepped forward and tucked the plates under one arm, the other still cradling his DC-17m.

It was quiet now in the corridor. Catcher looked over at Travis as he worked to quickly pull the wrappers off all the bandages. He stowed the trash neatly into his belt pouch.

Catcher looked over at Blaze and Travis, and then decided he would throw out the idea that had been nagging away at him, "We've finished wiring this place to blow. Once the ships are secure, we could head back."

It was about more than just the _mission_ now. Catcher knew he used to think like an ARC and be focused on himself. He'd been a selfish, inwardly focused bastard when he'd arrived on Ando. For some reason, Rex had seen potential in him and Blaze and Viper had supported him in the early days. His focus had shifted from himself to the Legion. He was feeling the strain now of being separated from them and not knowing their fate.

Both Blaze and Travis' helmets pivoted toward him and he could feel the current of energy and urgency that his words brought to both of them.

Travis spoke first, hope clearly in his voice, "Go back to the dungeons?"

Catcher gave a brisk nod, "_If_ we can secure the Kazzie ships. Ideas?

Travis 'hmmmed' for a moment, in the way that he did when he was working something through. "Encryption. It would lock them out the ships if they tried to take them back." He started wrapping gauze around Catcher's chest. The ARC Captain leaned in slightly to make the application easier, careful with how he moved so he didn't put pressure on the wound. Travis tucked his brother in against his chest as he reached around his back.

"It's a good idea," Catcher agreed, making a slight 'oomph' sound and sucking in his breath as the bandage make contact with his injured side, "can you do it? Quickly?"

Travis gave an amused snort, as if such work were not even a challenge for him. "Can't have the Kazzies stealing back their own ships."

"Or, come back to find them filled with Kazzies just waiting for us," Catcher said.

"Just had a vision of heading home and Kazzie's popping out from under the bunks in the middle of the night," Travis murmured as he worked, "Lance said they're strong enough to rip your arms off... like Wookies."

Catcher and Blaze both swiveled their heads to give Travis a _look_.

Catcher spoke first, "Thank you for _that_ image. I have enough shabla stuff to keep me up at night. Don't need anymore, you di'kut."

Travis laughed and then gave him a curious glance as if trying to figure him out. Catcher realized it was one of the first times he'd joked around with Travis. He had to admit it felt good.

Travis finished tying off the first bandage. It automatically adhered to itself. He began wrapping around the second one, directly on top of it, folding double layers to provide thick padding over the wound.

The Marine Lieutenant focused the conversation back on task, "We'd make better time doing this encryption if we split into teams. We'll be working on more than one ship." He gave a considering look to both the ARC Captain and the Republic Commando. "Both of you could handle this encryption. It must have been covered in your advanced training."

Blaze nodded in agreement.

"It was," Catcher admitted, "but, I don't always get along with technology." He looked down toward his high-tech legs.

"Spend enough time with me, and I'll teach you to love it," Travis said in the enthusiastic manner of one who was very good at what they did.

"Maybe my skills could use some... enhancing," Catcher allowed.

"Alright, you're done," Travis finished adhering the last bandage and then leaned back to admire his handywork. He glanced over at the rest of the team, who gave nods of approval. Blaze handed back Catcher's chest and back plates. Travis attached the armor carefully, watching for reactions from the ARC Captain. "OK?"

Catcher took a deep breath, and then gave a sigh of relief, "I'm good. Thanks, Travis." He gave a nod toward the rest of the team who'd glanced back his way to check on him.

He was lucky to have vode who were watching his back. It reminded him of the 327th and Bly. As he thought back to his original legion, he expected to feel a stab of longing for what he'd lost. But, the pain didn't come. Catcher still hoped to see Bly again. Hopefully, his brother could survive this war.

But, Catcher had a new place where he belonged now. "Come on, we're moving out," he ordered the team onwards.

# # #

It was nighttime when they emerged out of the fortress and began heading toward the nearby hangar.

"Switch to night vision," Catcher said as he adjusted his HUD for the shift in lighting from the shadowy corridors to the complete darkness outside, "keep your lamps off."

As they walked toward the hangars, Catcher peered into the dark gloom of the surrounding jungle. Having an enemy who could see at night was unsettling. He constantly scanned the jungle as they walked and noticed the rest of the team doing the same. He had no desire to get tackled by a Kaz'harian. He was still sore from the battle in the corridor.

They arrived at the ridge overseeing the hangars without incident.

"Spread out, but stay on the ridge. Give me a headcount of what's down there," Catcher ordered. The ARC Captain crept along the ridge and found a vantage point to wait for the reports from the team. Catcher carefully stretched out on his belly and observed all of the activity going on below, knowing the rest of his team were in similar positions around the ridge. He couldn't see any of his team members. Even with their white armor, they'd disappeared into the blackness of the night. Within a few minutes, all of his team members had reported in. There were only about a dozen Kaz'harians milling about the hangar. The Kaz'harians still left were mainly maintenance workers and a few sentries at either end of the hangar.

"Alright, there are five of us and twelve of them," Catcher said to his team. "Suggestions?"

"Torch and I are in the best position to take out the guards," Dart reported in. "That's four at the entrance."

"Travis and I can easily peg down down six of the maintenance workers from our vantage point," Blaze reported in.

"Alright, that leaves just two for them," Catcher says, "I can see them from here. I'll take them down. Wait for my mark."

He watched his targets through the scope of his rifle as he prepared to squeeze off the round. They were just crew hands, loading cargo on the ships. He observed them another moment. It reminded him of the work that many of his brothers did on the docks on Ando. He tore his thoughts away and lined his rifle up to his shoulder.

Delaying any further would do no good. Even if they weren't soldiers, they couldn't afford to let them live. He raised his rifle and took the shots.

From their respective sniping positions, the rest of the team took their shots. The Kaz'harians all dropped.

# # #

"Clear," Blaze reported, as he swept forward into the hangar area coming around a large Kaz'harian cruiser. He knelt down by the two Kaz'harians that he'd dropped and tugged their weapons out of their hands.

Torch and Dart, doing a sweep in tandem over to his left, both pivoted their helmets and gave him a curious glance.

"If we are headed back to the dungeons, the extra weapons might come in handy," Blaze said, "the Captain was talking about evening out the odds by having our vode fight back with us. The scouts found a weapons stash."

Torch and Dart exchanged a glance between them, as they absorbed this new piece of information. Blaze had been briefly been back with Captain Rex, whereas they had been separated from the Legion ever since landing on Darkknell. The lack of comms and contact had made any piece of news something of great interest.

Torch made an approving noise in the back of his throat as he thought through the strategy, "It's a good move... would put numbers on our side." The Lieutenant's speech fluidity was continuing to improve, although he still paused when he spoke. Considering the traumatic nature of his brain injury, Torch was holding up well with the rigors of Darkknell. It was obvious the command trained clone part of him was analyzing the strategy. "Would depend upon... how many weapons they obtained."

Dart pointed to more downed Kaz'harians, "Couldn't hurt to even up the odds some more." He headed over to gather up more weapons.

"Torch, cover me over here," Blaze said, heading around to check to another ship.

As he approached the fallen simian, Dart's thoughts were focused on grabbing the slugthrower. He didn't think to double-check the life signs reading in his HUD. The other Kazzies they'd checked so far had all been dead.

Torch and Blaze disappeared out of sight around the other side of the nearest ship.

The Kaz'harian had fallen facedown on top of his weapon. Dart couldn't tell where he'd been shot. He knew they'd all aimed for clean head shots. On this one, he couldn't see an entry or exit wound, but then again it was hard to see from the back and with their dark fur.

He grabbed a hold of one large shoulder and gave a firm tug, preparing to flip the Kaz'harian over so he could get at the weapon.

He was suddenly met with an explosion of angry and alive Kaz'harian. The ARC brought his weapon up to shoot the simian but with one powerful thrust a huge fist knocked the blaster out of Dart's grip.

_Fek! I can't believe I allowed him to disarm me!_

Even knowing how powerful these creatures were, Dart was infuriated that he'd lost his grip on his weapon. He balanced himself on the balls of his feet, preparing for hand-to-hand combat with the simian. He shifted his weight, trying to correct for his injured hip. He suddenly felt himself being lifted up underneath the armpits and had the sensation of being weightless.

_Oh, this is not good._

He was so close to the Kaz'harian that he could hear the creature's breathing right next to his helmet. Dart began to struggle in the creature's grasp as he was held aloft over the Kazzie's head. He ejected his vibroblade, but was at the wrong angle to get a cut get in.

Travis' colorful quip about Kazzie's ripping arms off flashed through his mind.

Dart hoped at that moment, he was at the wrong angle to get his arms ripped off. His thoughts flashed to Aen and Gemma. If he died now, he hoped somebody else would take care of them. He felt a deep aching regret that he would never see little Gemma grow up.

There was no more time for thoughts because suddenly he was flying through the air.

_Always enjoying flying,_ _but not like this_, Dart thought as he hurtled through the air and he wondered how much it would hurt when he landed.

_Fek. That answers that question._

The Kazzie had thrown him into the nearest ship.

_Nice aim, _he thought, heaving out a pained breath, trying to pick himself up off the ground, everything aching. He could hear the creature stalking toward him again.

His body didn't want to cooperate and he slumped out flat on the ground completely helpless.

But, then, he heard the best sound on Darkknell. His vode. His sensitive hearing picked up the sound of running footsteps just a moment before a blast shot rang out. The Kaz'harian collapsed.

"Dart!"

The ARC was finally able to lift his head and he peered up into a familiar red and white striped helmet.

"Oh, hey Torch," Dart said, as he started doing a mental assessment of the rest of his body.

"You alright?"

Dart felt Torch's hand lightly pushing down on him all over, searching for fractures. He lay still and let his brother check him over, but other than a huge mess of new bruises, he didn't think he had any serious injuries.

"I think I'm OK. My armor took the worst of it." He rolled over onto his side, and groaned as fresh bruises made themselves known. He accepted a hand from Torch who helped tug him to his feet. Dart put a hand to his hip and pressed down on it experimentally. Even his hip injury seemed to have survived the encounter. He nodded to his brother, reassuring him he was alright.

Dart glanced over at the unmoving Kazzie and ran his helmet scanner over him. This time he was definitely dead.

_Never assume an enemy is dead because they aren't moving._

The lessons drilled into him during his ARC training started flashing through his brain. Fek. That Kazzie had jumped him because he'd screwed up. He should've scanned him first.

_Mistakes get you killed._

Jango used to yell that fundamental rule at them everytime they screwed up. But, the second rule was: _Mistakes get your brothers killed._

So, the penalties for making any errors during training were very harsh. But, it was always made these lessons would save their lives later on.

Torch's voice interrupted Dart's thoughts. "You want... a painkiller?"

Dart shook his head, but reached for his belt pouch, "Could use a stim, though."

He needed to stay sharp so that he didn't make any more mistakes. He owed it to his team. Part of his brain was nagging at him telling him that maybe he'd already had too many stims. But, he tamped down the warning and grabbed the stim anyway. Rest could come later once the battle was won.

# # #


	137. Chapter 137 Fives

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 137_**

"Catcher, I see the can see the PLY from my position. Have you spotted the cargo ship?" Travis asked into his comm, sweeping around the nearest ship. The hangar was even larger than it had looked from the ridge. He glanced back over his shoulder, wondering what was taking Dart and Torch so long. He hadn't seen the two come around a corner for several minutes. He caught sight of Blaze and gave the RC a wave of acknowledgement.

"Not yet. Have to admit their fleet is impressive," Catcher responded and his words came up across the screen in Travis' HUD.

Travis grinned underneath his helmet. He'd almost forgotten the ARC Captain knew how to fly. Of course he did. All ARCs were cross-trained due to the solo nature of their missions. He looked around at the ships in the hangar with an all new appraising eye. An idea that had been nagging away at him suddenly became reality. Catcher and Dart could fly any number of these ships, maybe not with the same expertise as a combat-trained pilot like Odds or Chance, but they could certainly do it.

"I see it," Catcher reported back, "This is the freighter we're targeting?" He sent Travis through an image to his HUD.

"That's the one," Travis confirmed. He hesitated not sure how to bring up the next topic, "Catcher..." He belatedly remembered to use a title and threw it in after his name, "Captain?"

"Normally, it's Captain Catcher. But, I sense this isn't about you mangling protocol. Go ahead."

"I want another one," he rushed through the words, and since he couldn't hear himself he wasn't even sure if even spoke legibly.

"Repeat? I didn't copy," Catcher responded. OK, apparently not.

"There's a _third_ ship we should take," Travis said, more carefully. It seemed to take forever to get anything out of Catcher. He was beginning to learn that long pauses with the ARC were not always a good sign.

"Explain."

Travis launched into the idea that had latched into his head and wouldn't let go, "When we first checked out the hangar, I saw a fully equipped medship. Ando's medcenter was leveled in the war. We don't have access to any fekkin' bacta on planet. We wanted the PLY because it has a single bacta tank. This medship has a whole _bay_ of bacta tanks. The Legion needs this. The whole town needs something like this."

Again, there was just silence across the comm. Travis continued to sweep the hangar for Kaz'harians, coming around another ship. The ARC Captain was taking his time in responding. Travis focused on his work, and tried to practice some of the shabla' patience they forced them to master in training.

Finally, the response came back. "We only have two pilots, and we already have the raider, the PLY and the cargo ship to get home. Who will fly it?"

Travis sucked in a breath. Catcher was at least considering the idea, working through the logistics.

"We already figured out the first three," Travis reviewed, "PLY's a civilian craft. I'm taking that one. We split up Chance and Odds between the cargo ship and the raider. It'll be hard on them since they won't get a lot of breaks on the flight home, but hopefully they rested up while we've been fighting the Kazzies."

Travis wondered how the crew back at the raider was faring. They were probably bored with all the waiting and more than ready to head home.

"So, who would fly this medical ship back to Ando?" Catcher asked.

"You and Dart are both cross-trained to fly," Travis said carefully. He felt guilty for asking, knowing that Catcher had been awake for days like the rest of them. He'd seen the slug wound in the ARC's side and knew the Captain needed rest. Fek. They all needed sleep. Their bodies were brilliantly engineered, but there was a limit to how far you could push the limits before performance starting slipping.

Travis was trying hard to ignore all the accumulated injuries he'd gained so far in Darkknell. He could feel the heat of the burns on his chest from the blast that had killed Viper and critically injured Lance. His neck was raw and sore from where he'd been almost choked to death by a Kaz'harian. Everytime he squeezed off a shot with his right hand, he felt the tendons pull painfully. It was the same hand that he'd slammed into a tree the previous month. He wanted nothing more than to peel it out of his gauntlet and wrap it in one of Karyn's soothing icepacks. But, they were all _injured_, and they needed this ship. Ando had almost no medical facilities to speak of other than Karyn's small clinic. This ship could make a huge difference to the town now and in the future. Travis thought of Lance and the injuries the medic had sustained saving _him_. Not even knowing if Lance was still alive caused a painful clenching in Travis gut. They _needed_ a ship with facilities like this.

The long pause on the other end comm meant Catcher was thinking through every aspect of this decision. The response finally came back, "Alright."

Travis whooped, then immediately checked himself and abruptly cut the sound off. He had no idea how loud that came across in the comm. Shab. He switched his comlink off and cursed himself. When he was tired, he wasn't as good at compensating for his hearing loss. He let out a growl of frustration at his permanently silent world. Of course, he couldn't hear _that_ sound either, so it didn't provide any satisfaction.

He kept his eyes focused as he swept around the base of another ship, still looking for any stray Kazzies lurking in the hangars. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Catcher making his way around the base of a ship to his left. The Captain signaled to him and Travis made his way over him, searching the shadows for targets as he went. The hangar was lit by giant overhead lumens that cast sporadic light over everything. Catcher stood under an enormous troop transport, evenly balanced on his braced legs and studied Travis. Even in the uneven lighting, Travis knew his brother was puzzled.

"So, what's with you and that ship?" Catcher asked. They started walking side-by-side, automatically teaming up to do the next few ships as they talked. They worked well together, easily following each other's hand signals and cues as they worked their way around the massive Kazzie ships. Their conversation continued to flow over their comms as they cleared section after section.

Travis flipped on his headlamp on his bucket to get a better view of an area not well lit by the overhead lumens. He cleared the area, and turned his attention back to the conversation. "The medical ship? Ando needs-"

"Cut the osik, Travis," the ARC immediately cut him off. "You can be fekkin' brilliant with strategy. No denying it. And, there's a reason why they put you in command school. You have the qualities of a leader. But, I _know_ you, vod. what's with this ship?"

Travis startled, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected compliments from Catcher. Then, he focused on the question itself. "Right... er... " He reached a hand up to tug at his pauldron. His neck was beginning to both ache and itch at the same time from where he'd been choked. He gave up on trying to give himself more breathing room in his armor. "Ah... when we left Ando, I drugged Karyn."

"You did what now?" Catcher asked.

"I slipped her drugs from her clinic. I thought it best since I was leaving." The Marine stopped and thought back to that night, and the more he thought about it, that probably _hadn'_t been a good idea. He looked at Catcher curiously. "How'd _you_ get out of the house?"

The ARC Captain straightened up with pride, "I'm still stealthy. Would've expected more from a Marine. But, go on. I sense there's more."

Travis smarted as he envisioned Catcher and _all_ of his brothers slipping from their host houses undetected, and he'd gone ahead and drugged Karyn. "I left her vows."

"Mando vows?" Catcher asked.

"Yes," Travis confirmed, "Wrote them down. And... left. Disappeared."

There was another long pause. It was one of those pauses with Catcher that wasn't the good kind.

_Mental note. __Do not drug your doctor girlfriend. Do not propose life together and then leave planet not knowing if you'll ever return. Fek. Women are complicated._

"You left her the vows and didn't give her a chance to respond?" Catcher gave Travis a hard smack to the front of his helmet.

"Ow," Travis said, reaching a hand up to rub his head. Even through his helmet, that _hurt_. "Admittedly, I could have handled it better." He glanced at Catcher with all new respect. He would have expected a move like that out of Rex.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Blaze, Torch and Dart were on their way to intercept them and he knew their conversation was drawing to a close. "Does this change anything about-"

Catcher shook his head, "No, the medical ship_ is_ an excellent idea. The fact that it will get you back in good with your doctor girlfriend is irrelevant. I'm hoping, though, she kicks your shebs to the other side of Ando the moment we return home. You deserve it."

Travis heaved out a worried sigh, more worried that Karyn wasn't going to want him back at _all_. The arrival of the others drew his attention, and he knew he'd have to push his concerns away until the battle was won. He had the long flight home to torture himself about his stupidity.

As Torch and Dart drew closer, he noticed new scrapes running and up and down the ARC's armor. Dart was also moving a little more stiffly than before. He was moving at a good clip, but moving in that way clones did when they were trying to cover up how bruised they were under the armor.

Catcher caught it immediately. "Report," he demanded, addressing Dart.

"Found a live Kazzie. He got the jump on me. Torch got there in time and neutralized him," Dart gave a casual shrug as if the whole incident was of no consequence.

"You OK?" Catcher asked.

"Fine," Dart snapped, "Fek! Why do I keep getting asked that?"

"Dart," Travis stepped closer to the ARC and grabbed him by the pauldron, "cut the attitude. He's your Captain. Show some _respect_, vod."

Torch stepped in closer to Dart as if to lend comfort to his brother. The ARC glanced over at Torch, then back at Travis, as if he just suddenly realized he _was_ out of line.

Dart took several heaving breaths as if struggling to get himself under control. He finally seemed to win the battle, "Understood." He looked over to Catcher, "Apologies, Captain."

Travis let Dart go with more force than was probably necessary. The ARC stumbled, and Travis belatedly remembered that Dart had a bad hip. Torch caught his brother before he fell. He silently helped his brother straighten up again.

Travis looked over and noticed Catcher watching all of this in his silent, solemn way. "If you two are done now, we have ships to secure. Travis has decided we're also bringing home a _medical_ ship." The ARC Captain paused and let the others absorb this new piece of information. They all looked over at him in surprise.

"Who's going to fly it?" Dart immediately asked.

"Ah," Travis said, putting his arm companionably around the ARC, their disagreement already forgotten, "so, Dart let's talk about your flying expertise..."

# # #

"The moment the snipers take out the control unit, we're moving in," Cody said, standing at the head of the combined forces and addressing every trooper. Many of the men had darkened portions of their armor in camo patterns, breaking up the stark white of the plates. While not as completely camouflaged as the four snipers, it would still make them visually harder to track in the dark dungeons especially amongst the confusion of blasterfire. "Be ready."

"Kinks, are you ready?" Rex asked, looking at the all-black clone troopers. The four surviving snipers made for a fierce sight in their dark camo.

"Yes, sir," the lead sniper nodded, "send us in."

"Fives?" Rex questioned.

The ARC held up the blaster he'd rigged to overload in one hand, and his DC-17 hand blaster in the other. His voice was full of confidence, "Ready, Captain."

"Jesse, get the door," Rex ordered.

The troopers nearest the door automatically backed away, getting a safe distance back from stray fire that might come out into the corridor. All movement in the corridor came to a hushed standstill as everyone watched the team insert back into the dungeons.

The snipers slipped in first, their black forms immediately blending into the darkness. All remained quiet for the moment from within. No answering blasterfire came back to ricochet around the dungeons, or spill out into the corridor.

Rex pressed up against the corridor beside the door, between Fives and Jesse. With a single wave of a finger, he signaled for Fives to go in.

The ARC went sprinting in at full run.

Rex motioned for Jesse to exchange places with him. He peered around the edge of the doorway, glad he'd taken the time to darken the white portions of his helmet so his head didn't become a target. He tracked the progress of the ARC.

_Kriff. Fives was fast. _

_And, totally visible in his white armor. Just like he'd planned. He's like a running target. _

The Kaz'harians took the bait and shots began ringing out around Fives. The ARC began running in a zig-zag pattern, successfully evading the shots. More Kaz'harians began joining in and fire began peppering in on him from both sides. Fives threw himself to the ground just a micro-second before an entire barrage of shots would've reduced him to slag.

_Come on, Fives. Get out of there before you get yourself blasted full of holes._

Rex felt sweat trickling down his neck as he watched the action unfold. It felt like Fives had been down on the ground _too_ long, and Rex wondered if he'd been hit. Then, another flash of movement caught his attention. A number of large dark forms were moving directly toward Fives.

Kaz'harians.

_They're headed in to either capture him, or finish him off._

Rex wondered if Fives could see the danger he was in from his position. He felt his fists clench and unclench. His instincts to _do something_ were warring with his instincts to trust in Fives to do his job.

_If only we had comms. Come on, Fives..._

But, signals were still being jammed in the dungeons. Fives still hadn't moved. A large Kaz'harian reached down one huge arm to grab up the fallen ARC. There were at least dozen more directly behind him. Rex couldn't stand it anymore. He was ready to throw this plan to Corellia, and go charging in to get Fives. He started calculating the quickest path from the door to where the ARC had fallen, and began sliding his body into the dungeon.

"Sir?" Jesse questioned from right next to him, sticking to him like a second bodysuit, prepared to follow him anywhere.

A brilliant explosion of white light and noise in the dungeons caused Rex's visor to temporarily darkened to black to compensate, and then gradually lighten up as the threat eased. His dampers cut off the worst of the noise. Rex blinked, struggling to see focus on Fives and see what had happened.

All of the Kaz'harians were down.

And, Fives was up. His DC-17 was in hand and took out every Kaz'harian around him that had fallen for his trap, executing them with swift efficient shots, one after another. Then, he was running back toward the entrance in a full on sprint, as quickly as he had come in. Just as he made it out the door, the Kazzies began to recover from the effects of the improvised blast. Shots rang out just over his spauldron and turned the wall behind him to slag. Jesse activated the controls for the door as soon as Fives made it safely through. Fives threw himself next to Rex and Jesse, and pulled off his helmet.

"Fek," the ARC said, and doubled over as he gasped in heaving lungfuls of air. He reached a gauntleted hand up tug at one of his ears, "I think I've gone completely deaf."

Rex grabbed him by the arm, "Tell me you're kidding. Half my Legion is deaf, you know."

Fives just gave his Captain a _look_. "Yes." He tugged at his ear again, and then rubbed at the base of his skull, "My head is pounding and everything is ringing, but I'm not yet ready to head to that secret paradise where you're hiding clones and women."

Jesse's head whipped over and he took a sudden interest in the conversation.

Rex gave Fives a thunderous look, no matter that the ARC probably couldn't see it through his helmet. But, Fives was good at reading him through all his moods. "Careful, Fives." Someone had gotten too friendly with Fives and inadvertently let information slip about Ando. Rex suddenly remembered Kinks talking to the ARC. He had a lot damage control to do before they landed on Corrie.

"Captain!" Tank drew his attention back to the activity in the dungeons, pointing excitedly within. There was a spectacular display of a curtain of sparks, temporarily lighting up everything around it.

"That's our cue," Cody said, sliding his rifle forward from where it had been cradled up in his arms to down into his hands. The movement was smooth and comfortable and he took his place at the head of the line, preparing to lead the troops in.

Rex nodded to Jesse to get the door. He arced his arm downwards, signaling to the Legion they were headed in. "Let's fight."

# # #

_A/N: Regarding the conversation between Catcher and Travis: A note on traditional Mandalorian wedding vows. I have researched this topic everywhere I could find it on the web. The consensus seems to be that the vows can be exchanged anywhere, through any medium. Both parties have to mutually agree to the vows together before they are considered married, (the marriage is valid.) In Karen Traviss' novel 'Order 66,' Darman and Etain exchange vows over comlink. The conventional (older) tradition is to exchange the vows verbally._


	138. Chapter 138 Echo

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex"_**

**_Chapter 138_**

It felt good to be headed back into battle. Rex ran forward with his chin tucked slightly down and knew his HUD would cut out at any moment. The final battle was going to be long and arduous. The Kaz'harians had proven to be formidable every step of the way. But, Rex had brothers he trusted watching his back. Adrenaline was coursing through his body and he was ready. It felt good to be calling the shots without having to defer to the _wisdom_ of the Jedi Generals. Jedi could be useful sometimes, but they were not trained for warfare like clones.

In the beginning of the battle, it would about timing. The Kaz'harians liked to attack from the shadows. Jungle warfare. Rex saw a blur of moment in the dark off to his right just as shots came sniping at them. He heard a cry of pain behind him, but didn't take the time to see who'd gotten hit. There'd be time to assess casualties and injuries later.

They were still using their own blasters against them. It was just as insulting as the first time they'd done it. Rex dug into his belt pouch for a flash bang. If the Kazzies were close enough to shoot at them, they were close enough to be affected by the stun grenades. He lobbed it directly where he'd seen the shabuirs firing at them and followed it up a healthy dose of both his DC-17s blasting directly into the shadows.

_Here's a bit of light for your shadows._

The moment before the stun grenade landed, Rex's HUD went beserk. Catcher had forewarned them about the jamming, and they'd thoroughly briefed the men about it. Even with the advanced warning, it was still disorienting. Rex staggered a step and then stopped running completely so he didn't risk plough into Cody.

The flash bang went off a second later and Rex closed his eyes against the blinding light. He couldn't even tell if his bucket had functioned well enough to auto-correct for the change in lighting. He squeezed his eyes shut to avoid flash blindness. His ears were ringing from the intensely loud 'bang,' so he knew his dampers were not functioning properly. He understood now why Fives had problems hearing when he'd first come charging back out of the dungeons. Rex knew it would likely be several minutes before his hearing came back without the proper protection of his dampers.

_This is not good._

Rex's only consolation was the stun grenades would affect the sensitive Kaz'harians much worse than armored clones. Even with their HUDs malfunctioning, their buckets would still offer some protection against the light and the noise. It was going to be a severe handicap going through a battle without the benefits of his HUD. He was completely used to the communications, targeting, scanning and 360 wraparound view his bucket always offered. But, nothing could be done about it.

_Mental note. Need to start doing some training without the buckets, in the event they malfunction in battle. We're much too dependent on them._

Rex turned around to face the troopers behind him, pleased to see they'd all halted in place when he had. They didn't seem phased by either the HUD issue or the flash bang hitting right after the buckets started failing.

_Of course, half of them are hearing impaired. The noise isn't going to bother them._

The Kaz'harians had stopped shooting. Using hand signals, Rex quickly told the troopers behind him to fan out and get the cells open. He dug out the flash bangs he'd accumulated earlier and distributed them, making it clear that they were to be used _sparingly_. While the 501st had been good at responding to hand signals, the Andoan Legion was _epic_ at it. Travis had shown Rex a system of advanced field communications, based off of the standard hand signals that all clones knew. Travis said he'd learned it at ArmyMed and the hearing-impaired clones there taught it to one another. It worked so well that everyone in the Andoan Legion used it all the time. It was vastly superior to what they'd learned at Kamino. His troopers took his instructions and immediately took off for the cells. Rex nodded with satisfaction. He noticed Cody, Fives and the troopers from Ord Cestus giving him a puzzled look, and Rex quickly came up with a simpler form of what he'd just said, struggling to translate it back into standard hand signals.

_When I return to Corrie, I need to teach Cody and Fives some new skills._

He glanced back over his shoulder where the Andoan Legion was already ahead of the others. Rex knew there was nothing _impaired_ about his Andoan Legion. They were all greater soldiers because of their ability to adapt and innovate.

# # #

Echo made it halfway to the dungeons before his shabla legs buckled under him. Sabre, who was supporting him on one side, signaled to the other scouts, and immediately halted the others. The scouts all seemed to move and think as one. It was impressive to be around, but also made Echo miss Fives fiercely.

"Give me another stim, Kix. I'll get back on my feet," Echo insisted, even as the medic and Sabre lowered him down against the corridor wall. Kix made a derisive snort under his breath. Echo knew from past experience that sound meant his opinion wasn't worth spit right now. He looked around restlessly, blowing out a long sigh, as he felt Kix pull off his armored plates to check the wound.

"Stop fidgeting, Echo," the medic admonished.

Echo scowled, but tried to hold still while Kix worked. The scouts had slid into defensive positions at either end of the corridor. Commander Tano was conferring with Sergeant Hok. Even as she spoke, her body was in a pose that could easily switch to an immediate defensive mode in case of attack. It still seemed strange to see the commander wearing traditional brown Jedi robes. General Kenobi wore them sometimes, but Echo couldn't recall seeing the commander fighting in anything other than her usual more... ah... form fighting attire. She looked different covered in the nearly shapeless robes, older somehow and much less... curvy.

"Gah. Ow!," Echo protested, blowing out a gasp of pain as Kix pressed on a tender spot. His attention was wrested away from the commander and drawn back to the medic. "Fek! Kix, that krikkin' hurt!" The medic just nodded, seemingly satisfied about something. Echo kept his gaze sternly fixed on the medic to try and keep him from jamming his fingers into his insides anymore. But, Kix seemed to be done torturing him for the moment. He placed fresh gauze on the wound and replaced Echo's armor.

"Everything looks good. Bleeding has stopped," Kix said, quickly stowing his medkit.

"Fine. Great. Get me up," Echo grumbled, still cross about getting his insides poked by Kix. He reached an arm up so that the medic could help him up. He glanced around, wishing Sabre were there to also help him up, but he'd disappeared around the corridor. They must be doing some scout thing again, probably double-checking for lurking Kazzies.

_Aw, now, fek._

His legs gave out again almost as soon as he was up, and it was only Kix's fast reflexes that kept him from smacking backwards into the shabla wall.

"Echo," Kix said in that tone of voice that indicated he was about to say something the ARC didn't want to hear.

"Kix, come on, I haven't even had a stim yet," Echo immediately began counter-arguing.

The medic shook his head.

"I _have_ to make it to the dungeons," Echo could hear the pleading in his voice. He didn't care. He glanced around in a panic at the stone corridor. Surely they weren't just going to leave him behind? What was it Rex always said about not leaving brothers behind? Echo couldn't remember exactly. But, it wasn't done. Brothers didn't do that to brothers.

Kix looked down the corridor to Hok, who kept glancing back to check on their progress. His impatience to get moving was clear in his body language.

"I'm not leaving you, Echo, but you're in no condition to fight," Kix said, handing off his medic's pack to Sabre. He dipped his knees down, and without warning hoisted Echo onto his back in a wounded man carry. They set off again, the scouts picking up a brisk pace. Echo had to give Kix credit for keeping up with the scouts while carrying him. Shab. He couldn't believe the scouts could move _that_ fast. Hok had taken a slug to leg, and Flex had apparently had an early run-in with one of the Kazzie heavy clubs. But, they were flying through the corridors like they were out in the fields someplace on a scouting mission. Scouts. They were a breed onto themselves.

Echo quickly grew tired of watching the corridors whiz by upside down. There was something rather humiliating about being carried around like a spare piece of ordinance. Gah. Echo winced inwardly at his own joke. The scouts _were_ carrying oversized bags of ordinance on their backs, destined for distribution in the dungeons. Kix and Echo fit right in with their group.

Even if Echo had wanted to object, he couldn't get any air into his lungs. When he was flipped upside down, his gut pressed down on Kix's spauldron and it _hurt_. It wasn't as bad as when he'd been carried by Fives. Kix's shoulder armor was slightly more comfortable than grinding up against Fives' tough and rigid pauldron. He tried to ignore the breathlessness and aching in his gut. He could see little from his vantage point, even with the 360 degree viewpoint of his HUD activated. Roof. Floor. Kix's heels.

"I told Fives I'd take care of you," Kix said quietly into Echo's comm, breaking up the monotony and the silence and the aching. "But, even if I hadn't, there's no way, I'd leave you behind. Know that Echo."

Echo wanted to say something in response. His eyes felt suspiciously moist, and he figured it must just be the lack of air. Once they stopped, he'd figured out what to say back to Kix. He closed his eyes and his thoughts drifted back to the field surgery Kix had done at Echo's insistence. It had been close. Echo knew he'd nearly died. Somehow between the commander and Kix, he'd pulled through. He wondered how many times he'd taken the medic for granted. How many miracles had Kix managed to pull off for the 501st and they always just brushed it off, assuming the medic would always be able to do it again? Echo needed to set things right and properly thank Kix.

He opened his eyes again. His HUD seemed too bright after having his eyes closed. He dimmed the brightness until it was more comfortable and pulled up the fortress map. They were close.

As if to lend credence to his words, he was just able to make out the sounds of blaster fire and ordnance exploding. In such a confined environment with so many prisoners nearby, the only thing they could throw would be stun grenades. It would be absolutely disastrous to use anything more in closed quarters combat. His mind ran through every possible scenario going on inside the dungeons, and it made him all the more restless to help. He couldn't sit this one out.

# # #

Rex picked up his pace and ran after the Legion, knowing the Kazzies were going to start firing upon them again as soon as the flash bang wore off. They had a limited supply of the precious ordinance and an estimated 4,000 prisoners to rescue in cavernous facility. They were going to run out of stun grenades long before they finished pulling clones out of cells. It would quickly get down to a regular entrenched firefight. But, for now, they were trying to keep the Kazzies down and stunned while they pulled as many brothers as they could out of cells.

So far, the Kazzies had only come at them with clone blasters. But, they would tire of those pysch-games and resort back to their preferred slugthrowers and heavy clubs. They'd had enough warning and time to stash weapons all over the dungeons in preparation for the arrival of the combined forces. Rex knew from Blaze that the Kaz'harians were also using _flamethrowers_. Fekkin' lovely. The RC said the commando team had dubbed these the 'FireKazzies.' Rex allowed himself the barest hint of a smile.

_Travis must have come up with that one._

Thinking of the wise-cracking Marine gave him a pang in his gut. He missed his brother. Rex had gotten used to his constant company during their time together on Ando. Somewhere along the way, Travis had stopped annoying him and turned into a valued friend. Rex refused to think any further ahead and the inevitable separation from all of the men of the Andoan Legion that lay at the end of this battle. He looked ahead to where his Legion was charging toward the cells to free their brothers. They made a fine sight, in all of their colors, representing every unit of the GAR. Rex was past the point where he even saw any of the injuries on the men; he saw the finest troopers the GAR had ever produced.

Suddenly from within the cells, there was a burst of movement and blue blasterfire rang out. He heard some cries of pain, and knew there were more injuries but he had to keep going. He was just reaching for a flash bang, when one of the troopers closer to the cells beat him to it. The stun grenade went off practically inside the cells. The shooting stopped. Rex wished his HUD were working properly so he could set a timer and automatically keep track of each charge. A stun grenade was usually good for about ten seconds. But, Fives said they lasted longer with the Kazzies. He'd have to keep a mental count in his head and make the most of every second. He felt blinded without the constant stream of data his HUD provided, but ignored the feeling and focus on the single-minded objective of getting to the cells. He had to make the most of every second.

Rex's eyes were dilating from the most recent stun grenade and there were streaks at the edges of his vision. He smacked bucket-first into the metallic bars of the first cell he came upon. He rubbed at his sore forehead through the helmet.

_It's OK. Nobody saw that. _

He blasted the lock and yanked at the door. The hinges were rusted, and he had to muscle it open, noting how shabla tall the door was as he forced his way in. These cells had been designed to hold something bigger than clones. He slipped inside and was immediately assaulted by the sweaty odor of unwashed bodies. He recognized the stink as the one he and his brothers would get after too many days battling and not enough time for luxuries like showering, (or eating or sleeping, or any of those things that came with battle.) Mixed in was the distinctive furry scent he'd come to recognize as _Kaz'harian_. Rex instantly went on high alert. Every figure in the cell was down on the floor, taken out by close proximity of the stun grenade. Rex counted four grimy clones, and one huge hulking Kaz'harian.

Without hesitation, the 501st Captain took two steps forward and focused his twin blasters on the simian. With swift efficiency, he executed the Kaz'harian and left the cell. There was no time to check on the clones. He moved on to the next cell. He could hear blasts being fired all over the dungeon now, and realized his hearing was coming back. He gave just a cursory glance over to the other cells, and through the terrible lighting was just able to make out doors being blasted out and prisoners being freed.

There were only a few more precious seconds until the stun grenade wore off, and they didn't have much of the ordinance to spare. It had been months since any of them had been to an armory or been resupplied by the GAR. He blasted the next lock, and yanked at the door. He cursed when it wouldn't budge at all, and then yanked harder, grunting from the effort of moving the ancient door. The door finally gave way, and he squeezed inside. Feeling like time was running out, he charged into the cell and immediately looked for a Kaz'harian within. There were fives clones in this cell, just starting to stir weakly but no simian in the cell.

"You're free," Rex said, his voice sounding harsh, even to his own ears.

One of the clones pushed up to his elbows and stared at Rex in confusion, his eyes widened in shock, "Captain?!" He immediately grabbed at the clone next to him, "It's the Captain! He's come back to us!" His voice expressed his shock and disbelief. All of the clones just stared at Rex with shock and awe, their jaws dropping.

Rex charged back out of the cell. The mission came first. There was still a battle to be won, and lives at stake. He had to consider the lives of all the prisoners he was rescuing and the lives of all those who were putting themselves on the line to save these brothers. This cell _did_ contain a resident Kaz'harian and he was already starting to recover, grabbing at his ears and groaning weakly. Rex wasted no time. He took several swift steps, charged over and dispatched the suffering simian with two efficient blasts. He spun on his heel, intent on making it to the next cell, aware that he was being stared at by the clones in the cell.

"Captain!" he turned to see who had called out to him. He stared at the scruffy, bearded clone, standing next to four other troopers who also had shaggy hair and beards. It took a moment before recognition set in.

"Coric?" Rex said, staring at the gaunt bearded form.

Coric let out a short laugh and immediately strode up to Rex, "Your shock is nothing compared to how I feel seeing _you_."

Rex holstered one of his blasters and put a hand on Coric's arm. He squeezed lightly, alarmed by how thin the medic felt, but he said nothing. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise, Captain." there was a wealth of emotion in Coric's voice.

The sounds of blasterfire nearby interrupted the moment, and reminded Rex of everything going on. He pulled out his spare blaster and handed it to Coric. "I have to go." He put a brotherly hand on the medic's shoulder for just a fraction of a second, wishing there was time to say more and then took off at a run for the next cell.

He blasted the lock, and this time he threw his shoulder directly at the hinges. By the time the day was won, he'd likely be one big bruise, but he'd worry about that later. When he entered the next cell, the clones were up and standing so they cheered when he came in. He should've known that was a bad sign. The Kazzie on the floor exploded up in a blur of black fur, tearing into the cheering clones. Rex heard the sound of bodies hitting the metallic bars of the cell and he cringed as he distinctively heard bones breaking. He couldn't get a clear shot on the Kazzie without hitting one of the clones. And, then suddenly the Kaz'harian was upon him and he was down, hitting the floor of the cell underneath 100 kilo of massive muscle. The air left his body in a rush and his blaster flew from his grip. The Kazzie's face loomed above his and he realized the creature was about to smack their heads together. Even with his helmet on, getting hit by a creature of such size would be a fatal blow to Rex, (and likely do nothing to the simian.) Rex struggled under the creature, trying to get free. Before the fatal blow could strike, there was a flash of blue. A precise blaster bolt hit the Kaz'harian in the forehead and the creature dropped, a dead weight on Rex's chest.

_Fek. _

Not breathing was bad enough, but no oxygen and getting crushed was worse. A moment later, the weight was pulled off of him.

"You alright, Captain?"

Rex gave a smile of relief as his breath came back, and he stared up into the scraggly visage of Coric. "Nice shooting."

The medic was about to say something, but there was a blinding flash of light and a distinctive 'bang.' Rex squeezed his eyes shut and felt his hearing cut out. As soon as he could open his eyes, he saw that Coric had been taken out by the stun grenade. Rex cursed under his breath. Even knowing the medic would be fine and the effects were temporary, it was still hard to leave Coric behind. Rex rolled to his feet and forced himself to move on to the next cell. There was still a great deal to do yet before this battle was won.

# # #

Echo could hear Hok conferring with another clone and the sounds of blaster fire had grown considerably louder. He wished Kix would put him down so he could see what was going on.

"Echo, I have to put you down. There's other injured here," Kix said.

Echo still couldn't get any breath in from being pressed against Kix's spauldron. The medic dropped to a knee, and Sabre and Jag lifted him off of Kix's back. The ARC was set down against the corridor wall. As Echo felt the pain ease from his gut, he turned his head to thank the scouts. But, they were gone. He just caught sight of their retreating backs as they followed Hok into the dungeons, heavy bags of weapons slung across their backs.

_Best of luck, vode._

He turned to Kix, meaning to properly thank his brother, but the medic was gone as well. He looked down the corridor and saw Kix and Commander Tano working on a a Mirilian Jedi. It didn't look like Commander Offee, so Echo figured it had to be General Unduli. She wasn't moving, at all. That was never good.

Echo waved over the trooper who'd initially been talking to Hok. He gave the trooper an appraising look, taking in his distinctive brown armor. 55th Mechanized Brigade. He was getting similarly sized up. All of this took place over the course in less than a second, with just a look, as each trooper took the measure of the other.

"Sir?" the other clone said, speaking to Echo with the respectful tone due an officer. Being an ARC didn't always mean you had rank, but all regular troopers deferred to ARCs and commandos.

Echo shook his head, and put up a hand, "Just Echo is fine."

The trooper gave him a respectful dip of his head, "I'm Hodges."

"What happened to the General?" Echo motioned to the fallen Jedi.

Hodges cocked his head, and looked for a long moment at Kix and Commander Tano. Even underneath his helmet, he looked genuinely perplexed. "Sorry, sir- Echo. I'm not sure. Some commando came and dropped her off. Haven't seen him before."

Echo took in this new information with interest. A new commando? So, not Blaze, then. There was yet another RC running around Darkknell.

"He was carrying the General _and_ about a squad's worth of commando gear on his back," Hodges added in, obviously very impressed by this fact. "He reported in to the Captain. I'm not sure what was said."

"Captain Rex?" Echo asked, still feeling a ripple of emotion even saying the name outloud again.

Hodges nodded. He cocked his head to the side again, "You haven't seen him yet, have you?" There was something akin to sympathy in his voice, but also something else. Echo could detect some fierce pride and possessiveness when he spoke about the Captain. He wasn't sure he liked it. Captain Rex belonged to the 501st. These other troopers seemed to have laid claim to _his_ Captain. He changed the subject, and nodded his head toward the entrance of the dungeons, "What's going on?"

"Captain Rex and Commander Cody headed in several minutes ago," Hodges reported. "I was left behind to watch over the General here." His voice betrayed his feelings about being left out of the action in the dungeons. Echo sympathized with _that_ feeling.

"If you want to go," Echo said, sliding his rifle from his shoulder into a more comfortable position on his lap,"I can watch over the general."

Hodges gave Echo an assessing look for a long moment, obviously carefully weighing it through.

He looked longingly toward the entrance as the sounds of blasterfire continued to emanate from within. "All comms are still jammed. You won't be able to call for backup."

"I'm aware of the jamming problems," Echo said. "I was part of the original commando team that surveyed the dungeons with Captain Catcher."

Hodges head cocked to the side and he looked at Echo with all new interest, obviously still trying to figure out just who he was. "You're injured," he objected, pointing to the bloodied armor around Echo's middle. "Can you even get up?" There was no derision in his tone. He was taking his duty to protect the General seriously, and before he handed it off he wanted to make sure his replacement was suitable.

"I'm an ARC for fek's sake," Echo fairly growled, he snapped his DC-15A for emphasis and Hodges startled. "I can protect one shabla Jedi General." He moved his hand in a dismissive way toward the prone Jedi.

Hodges gave Echo one final appraising glance, then looked back toward the entrance of the dungeons. The sounds of blaster fire and distant flashes of lights and thuds continued to rumble out from within. It was too much for any trooper to resist.

"Alright, I'm going in," Hodges said, giving a respectful nod to Echo. He took off for the entrance of the dungeons without looking back again.

Echo gave a short huff of a sigh, and checked the sights on his rifle, trying not to feel sorry for himself. "Right, then," he muttered to himself, "I'll just stay here. Everybody just go into the dungeons."

He blew out another breath, lightly tapping his helmet back into the rock wall until it made a clunking noise. He glanced over to where Kix and the commander were working on the injured Jedi. They both seemed to still have their hands full with whatever healing they were trying to perform. Kix was in full-on medic mode, and the commander had that look on her face that she did when was being called upon to do some Jedi stuff. They didn't look like they were going anywhere for a while.

Echo looked around the corridor, and decided to do some scans with his HUD. When he'd last been here with the commando team, his HUD had stopped working when they'd entered the dungeon and then started working again when they'd come back into the corridor. His HUD was working properly now, so whatever it was that caused the jamming wasn't affecting him.

_It must be a uni-directional jammer, focused inwardly on the dungeons, _Echo mused. He had to hand it to the Kaz'harians for being clever, it was the sort of thing he and Fives would've come up with to muck up the works. Echo looked around the corridor with renewed interest, seeing everything now from a different angle.

_Where would one hide a jammer? _Echo continued to cradle his rifle as his mind worked through the specs of a jamming device. He'd taken a number of them apart, and constructed several on the fly during missions. Intrigued by the challenge, he continued to directly scan the rock corridor walls themselves, looking for any sort of anomalies. He kept recalibrating his HUD, and running more scans.

_Bleep._

His HUD pinged back picking up an anomaly in the rock wall directly across from the entrance to the dungeons. Echo glanced back at Kix and the commander. Still working on healing the General.

_So, the General obviously doesn't need guarding at the moment. _Echo figured he had a few minutes to assuage his curiosity and check out this anomaly.

He glanced down toward Kix again. The medic had shifted so that his back was now toward Echo. The ARC chuckled underneath his helmet.

_Oh, that's practically an invitation to go check this thing out._

His face screwed up into a determined expression.

_Er, that means I have to actually get to my feet. _

Echo rolled slowly and carefully to his knees, then pushed down on his rifle and used it as a brace to get himself up to his feet. He cut the sound from his helmet to block out his loud hiss of pain as he straightened up, but he was much steadier on his feet than before. His body was already healing and he felt stronger. He had to take small, shuffling steps, out of deference to his gut injury, but he could still walk on his own. He was pleased by newfound independence, and made his way carefully down the corridor, focused on the signal indicated by his HUD. His gloved fingers found the area indicated on the rocky corridor wall, and traced out a pattern that was meant to look natural. As Echo traced the line, he realized it was anything but a natural line. The area was recessed into a shadowy alcove almost directly across from the entrance to the dungeons. His fingers kept tracing around the line he found. It looked like a line in the natural rock, except it wasn't. He traced as far as he could without having to kneel, because he wasn't sure if he could get up again. But, he was sure it was an entranceway large enough to admit a Kaz'harian. The area was so well hidden wouldn't have found it if he hadn't been running the repeated scans on his HUD.

Now the question was, what lay beyond the hidden doorway?

Echo had no time to puzzle out the mystery. The door opened.

# # #


	139. Chapter 139 Fire in the Dungeons

**_"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_**

**_Chapter 139_**

Rex kept an eye on his Andoan Legion troopers as he worked from cell-to-cell. After witnessing the Kaz'harian tearing into the unarmed troopers, Rex fervently wished for a way to get weapons to more of the prisoners. He glanced around the darkened dungeons, trying to see through the occasional bursts of blaster fire. He'd known that sending Hok to the armory was a long shot. The scouts had to battle through an entire fortress of Kazzies to get to the dungeons with the cache of weapons.

_They might not have made it. _He tried to shake off the disparaging thought, but his mind immediately recalled the faces of every trooper who had been injured and lost so far on the mission. He never forgot a brother.

Rex felt a surge of anger that his brothers had been left to rot in these dungeons this long, seemingly abandoned by the Republic that had created them.

_Why should I be surprised? They abandoned me readily enough._

As he went from cell-to-cell freeing more clones, he started to see all of the clones in a new light. He kept a careful eye on the progress of his men from the Andoan Legion. They were making fast work of pulling men from the cells, working together in teams of two as they blasted locks, rooted out hidden Kazzies, and freed brothers. Rex wondered what Coric would think of Ando. Or, Fives. Or, any of these brothers he was pulling from the cells. He knew such thinking was dangerous. Ando had to remain a closely guarded secret for the safety of those brothers who were already there. But, still... he couldn't help but feel guilty as he looked at the gaunt forms of his brothers as he kept pulling them from the cells, and kept imagining them back on Ando. Would these brothers make new lives for themselves back on the snowy planet just as the others had done? Would they find happiness? Fulfillment? Love? He hadn't thought such things were important before his time in the post-war fishing village. But, seeing Travis, Hok, Lance, Catcher, and Dart with their women convinced him otherwise.

Honor. Duty. Loyalty. It was the backbone of a trooper's existence in the GAR. But, Rex realized now that there was even more to life than just fighting for the Republic. There were things more important than getting shredded to pieces by a fekkin' commando droid.

_Love_.

Rex's mind stumbled when it worked through _that_ concept. He knew what it was for the others. It seemed clear enough for the clones headed back to Ando. They were free of the constraints of the GAR. But, Rex had chosen a different path for himself now. He was headed back. In a way, he'd always known he was destined to head back. Love and the GAR were simply not compatible. It could not work.

As Rex blasted through locks, and pounded his shoulder through rusted hinges time and time again, he felt his stomach clench up with tension. He knew what had started on TriLuna had to come to an end. He could not live the type of life Travis was living back on Ando. All that laughter and joy and carefree sex.

_Fek. Travis had a lot of sex._

But, it was more than that. Any di'kut could see Travis' relationship was built on more than the fact the Marine liked to make the doctor moan about five times a day. Sometimes eight. Not that Rex counted, but they were just so friggin' loud sometimes. And, fek. In the kitchen. On the table. Some images just couldn't be erased from your brain no matter how hard you tried.

And, Rex would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't somewhat envious of what Travis had found. But, Rex was headed back to a life where there was no place for happiness and fulfillment. No place for something like _love_. There was simply no room in the GAR for it.

Honor. Duty. Loyalty. It was all he was, and all he stood for, along with the _brotherhood_.

Brotherhood held true no matter where in the galaxy a trooper might be. It was a bond so strong it had brought all of the Andoan Legion troopers here to Darkknell to rescue the 501st and 212th, leaving behind their women and new lives. It was a bond so strong that Cody, Fives, Echo and the others had gone AWOL from Ord Cestus. Rex fervently hoped that nothing ever unraveled the bond of brotherhood that held them all together.

Rex saw prisoners helping other prisoners off the floor, even though they could barely stand themselves. Every act of kindness he saw, as the combined forces gave out everything they had on their belts; rations, medpaks, spare weapons; was all brotherhood in action.

But, it still wasn't going to be enough. They needed more. They were fighting on cobbled together supplies, and they didn't have nearly enough.

_Fek. We need more._

Supply lines often won and lost battles. He blasted his way into another cell, ramming his shoulder into the protesting door. The aching joint protested more with each rusted hinge he attacked.

_My pauldron was never intended to be used as a battering ram._

Rex wondered when he'd last heard a stun grenade detonate. He'd long since run out of the ordnance. He had no more time to complete the thought.

As he ran into the cell, he was grabbed around the throat and slammed up against the metal bars. He felt his air supply get cut off. Rex struggled to get his blaster into a position to fire, but couldn't angle his arm at the right angle. He was slammed into the bars a second time, and the DC-17 fell from his grip. Rex immediately ejected his vibroblade and drove it directly into his attacker. He heard a deep grunt of pain and the pressure eased slightly on his throat, but it wasn't enough. He still couldn't get enough air.

Rex drew his arm back to stab again, but immediately felt his knife hand get pinned up against the bars. The grip was cruel and punishing, He felt as if the bones in his wrist were about to splinter from the pressure. He saw a blur of movement by his boots, close to where he'd dropped his blaster. But, he couldn't turned his head.

Rex was just desperately trying to figure out a 'Plan C' for getting this Kazzie off of him, when there was a bright flash of blaster fire directly in front of him. Once again, Rex missed the auto-correction his HUD provided when it was working properly because the blast seemed overly bright. He squeezed his eyes shut as he saw stars across his vision. The choking hand around his neck went slack and then released entirely. But, his wrist was still caught in a final death grip. Rex forced his eyes open again, as he struggled to get his hand free.

"Sorry, 'bout that, Captain. Didn't mean to blind you like that," Rex forced his attention to the speaker, as he blinked to clear his vision. The scarred face in front of him was covered with a grizzled beard like the others, but there was no mistaking the two mismatched eyes.

"Chopper?" Rex was unable to resist the smile that broke out behind his helmet, "You are a sight for sore eyes."

The scarred clone let out a harsh, grating laugh, "Good one, Captain. Especially from you. You do realize you're supposed to be dead, right?"

Rex nodded, kneeling down to double-check that the Kazzie wasn't going to be getting up again, "So everyone keeps telling me."

The scarred trooper put a hand on Rex's shoulder, and the 501st Captain tried not to wince from the bruises he could feel even under his armor. "Should've known they couldn't kill you."

Another flash bang went off somewhere in the distance, and they both winced from the light and the noise. The blast was far enough away that it didn't knock Chopper off his feet. Although, Rex had a feeling Chopper wouldn't have gone down regardless.

"I need to get moving," Rex gestured toward the many rows of cells still containing prisoners. He pointed to the dead Kazzie. "Thanks."

Chopper grinned and handed Rex back his blaster, "_That_ was a pleasure." As Rex turned to go, Chopper gripped his arm, "I'm coming with you. You need someone to watch your back."

Rex nodded, "Much appreciated." He pulled out his spare vibroblade from the back of his boot, and handed it over to the scarred clone.

Chopper hefted it and grinned, then made a gracious sweep with the hand containing the knife, "_Nice_. After you, Captain."

# # #

Calling it chaos inside the dungeons was putting it mildly. Hok led his team through the doors and even after wandering the dark tunnels, the near-total blackness of the dungeons was shocking.

"Switch to night vision," he ordered his team.

The scouts acknowledged the order, and switched their HUDs to night vision. This worked brilliantly for all of about six seconds until all their electronics went to osik.

Hok stopped short, stumbling on his injured leg. He was spared from falling, by Flex's lightning quick grab. The scout sergeant had no idea how Flex was even able to see him, but had learned that Flex seemed to have unusually keen senses no matter what the conditions.

Hok resisted the urge to tear off his helmet. He blinked and tried to reset his malfunctioning HUD. Shab. Shab. Shab.

He felt a hand tapping on his arm and looked through his plain T-visor at Flex, still blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the near dark conditions. Hok reached a hand up to switch on his bucket headlamps, pleased to see that _those_ at least were still working.

Flex was frantically signaling to him in clone sign language, doing an admirable job of it with one hand.

_'Kill the lights.'_

Hok reached up and switched off the lights, plunging them into darkness again, just as his brain caught up with the reasoning behind Flex's frantic suggestion.

Fek. Of course. He had just lit them up like targets. Hok spun around and signaled to the team, killing the lights on his bucket at the same time.

_'Move!'_

He took off at a run, not waiting to see if the team followed. He knew they would be right on his heels. Just as they cleared the spot, a huge burst of flamethrower fire erupted directly behind them.

_They brought their flame throwers. Just karkin' lovely._

Hok hot footed it across the dungeons, then winced at his own pun.

_Xyra would appreciate that one._

It was a long run to the prison cells. Hok tucked his chin down and focused on making it to his destination as fast as possible. He might have an injured leg, but he was a scout, and he prided himself on his speed. Hok could feel sweat streaming down his neck, and his mind automatically went back to the feeling of the cool winds aboard the _Manifest Destiny._

The days he'd spent helping out onboard the ship had been the best of his life. It hadn't just been the lovemaking in every spare nook of the ship. Sure, they could've been walked in upon at any minute by Xyra's sister or cousin, and they were always fumbling to their clothes back on before they froze. But, it was about so much more than the sex, even though sex with Xyra was... fek... there were no words in the galaxy to do it justice. It was the hours of hard work and the sense of accomplishing _something_. The feeling of a greater _destiny_. Something more than fighting and dying and getting shot and watching your brothers get hurt time and time again. Xyra was working toward _healing. _Hok knew she was going to achieve something miraculous with her research. When he was out working on the boat, affectionately nicknamed '_Destiny' _by the crew, he was part of that future.

Hok had been disappointed when Lance had declared him fit again to return to leading to the scouts. He felt guilty as hell over that, but he couldn't help it. Returning back to training meant he couldn't go out on the ship anymore. The _Destiny_ left before dawn each day and he had training in the mornings.

Maybe when they returned, he could work something out. Jagger could take over the team a couple of days a week, and he could be out on the ship. He loved his brothers and the Legion, but he wanted _more_.

But first, he had to survive these shabla dungeons.

The scout team ran in a zig zag pattern across the dungeons toward the prison cells, mindful to keep their pattern random enough to avoid detection. Their scout armor was darker than normal clone armor and blended well in the dark. Although, the team still had to dodge blaster fire, splats of slugthrower blasts and even a second burst from whatever shabuir had the karkin' flamethrower.

Hok pulled aside the first two Andoan Legion troopers he came across, Price and Quinn. Hok stared at the pair for a moment, trying to figure out they had black grease striped and splotched all their armor. They were even harder to see-

Ah. Clever. Hok glanced down at his own scout camouflage, and wondered if the rest of the Legion was similarly painted up like these two. Likely one of the Captain's ideas.

_"Captain Rex?" _Hok signed, making the Jaig eyes symbol across his helmet that they all used to signify the Captain.

Hok knew it would be useless trying to shout to be heard without the amplification of his HUD, and the corresponding text translations. There was way too much battle noise echoing in the dungeons, and like him, most of the Legion couldn't hear that well even under the best of conditions. During training, whenever noise levels escalated, the majority of them relied upon the voice-to-text-transcription (VTT) that Tek and Travis had developed for their HUDs.

Price pointed toward a specific group of cell blocks. "_Last saw him there. Busting open cells."_

Hok signed his thanks, and couldn't resist adding in. "_Nice paint. Trying to look like us?"_

Quinn shook his head slightly in the way troopers did when they were rolling their eyes. "_Funny."_

Hok signaled the team onwards, reluctant to stay in any place for more than the few seconds it took to gather info from Price and Quinn. Their near frying less than a minute ago made it clear that staying still made them a target for Kazzie snipers. With the amount of weapons they were carrying on their backs, if they were hit by the flamethrowers, they'd go up like fete day on Triple Zero.

Hok charged off for the prison cells, running past block after block. Most of the cells were empty. He winced from the light of a nearby stun grenade, but wasn't impacted by the subsequent 'boom.'

_There are some advantages to my shabla hearing problems. _

Actually, considering the number of times Xyra had patiently massaged her nerve remedy into and around his ear canal, and how that always led to other pleasant things, there were a number of advantages to his hearing problems. Mildly distracted by thoughts of his brilliant scientist and her patented ear rubbing technique, Hok almost tripped over an obstruction in the near darkness. He put up a hand and immediately halted the team, staring down at the hulking forms in front of them.

_Oh, fek. That's a lot of Kazzies. At least they're all down on the ground. They're dead, right?_

_Fek. Fek. Fek!_

The Kaz'harian nearest Hok twitched and reached one massive hand up, as if it to grab at its ears. Hok was about to blast the Kazzie, when he realized that in the other hand, the Kazzie was gripping the ignition wand for a flamethrower. All of these downed Kazzies had enormous _fuel cells _on their backs. He turned to his team, just as he saw Flex, Sabre and Jag all pulling up their blasters as one, preparing to fire.

Hok made the universal symbol to check their actions. A signal blast now and they would all be disintegrated. Shab. They might even take out the whole fekkin' dungeon.

Hok pointed to the fuel tanks, knowing every second was counting down. Hok pulled out his vibroblade and saw every member of his team follow suit. He knew time was ticking down, because the Kazzies were starting to stir. Every member of his scout team followed suit. Without hesitation, Hok knelt down and slit the throat of the Kazzie nearest him. It was awkward and off-balance with the heavy load of weapons on his back and his injured leg. He nearly fell right on top of the Kazzie. He felt Flex yank him up in one powerful grab placing Hok back on his feet. Flex didn't hesitate and in the next second was a blur of motion, taking out one of the large creatures without hesitation. Hok knew he didn't have time to unstrap himself from the bag secured over his shoulders. He would just have to somehow manage better on the next one he took out. He leaned over the next Kazzie, just as the creature's eyes opened up and stared directly into his own. It seemed like an eternity in which they just stared at each other. The simian must have still been stunned by the effects of the grenade, because he did not react to Hok's presence. Just stared at him with almost childlike innocence and confusion. The eyes looked so human. They were brown. Just like all of Hok's brothers.

Hok put one hand over the Kazzies' eyes as he reached down with the other hand to slit the creature's throat.

_I'm sorry_, Hok murmured silently. He felt himself losing his balance, and had to drop the knife temporarily, place a bracing hand on the simian's chest to hold himself upright. Under his fingertips, he could feel the Kazzie take its' last shuddering breaths, dying under his fingertips. Hok quickly retrieved his bloodied blade, and staggered backwards onto his good knee. He turned to see how many more were left. His eyes swept over the scene. His team had already efficiently dispatched all of the other ten Kazzies lying in the group. Hok blew out a long breath, stretching out his bad leg in front of him, staring straight ahead for just a brief second breather. He was not sure if he could do that again. It was so much easier, and less personal somehow, when it was just a shot from a blaster done from a distance. And, this was nothing like shooting shabla' tinnies. Droids didn't have eyes like fekkin' brothers.

Hok felt his stomach turn.

Sabre was suddenly next to him, his hands a whirlwind of movement as he signed his concern. "_Sarge, you alright? Are you injured? Is it your leg?_"

Hok shook his head. He allowed Sabre to help him to his feet. He could tell from the angle of everyone's helmets that they were all staring at him with concern. "_I'm fine," _Hok insisted. The other three helmets were still ruthlessly staring him down. "_Just lost my balance, alright?_" He hoped the team would just let it go.

No, of course they wouldn't. The rest of the team, even Flex with his shattered arm, immediately wanted to take his heavy bag of gear off his shoulders. He couldn't take their rapidfire signing. Even without sound, they were giving him a headache. He shut them all up by insisting they move on.

_Gah. Nobody fusses more than a bunch of worried brothers._

He blew out a long breath and shook his head, admittedly glad for the momentary distraction their fussing had provided. He took his place at the head of the team, leading them away. He hurried from the scene of the dead Kazzies, not daring to look back. But, somehow he was sure he would be seeing them again. He always saw images like that in his nightmares. This was something he would _not_ be sharing with Xyra.

Some things are so dark that a man cannot share. Even with those that he loves. Especially with those that he loves.

# # #


	140. Chapter 140 Keen

_Author's Note: This chapter was guest written by laloga and introduces Sergeant Medic Keen of the 212th Attack Battalion, a character who will be part of the sequel. A huge note of thanks to laloga to extending her writing talents to WHtCR and joining the team for the sequel. Welcome onboard!_

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**_

_**Chapter 140**_

The entire world exploded around him.

Sergeant Keen, proud medic of the 212th Attack Battalion, ignored it. Right now his world was small, and it didn't matter that it was in such chaos. There were too many brothers to help to waste time worrying about anything but pulses, pallor, and the need to avoid an occasional streak of blaster-fire.

It was dark down here in the dungeons, but he'd long since grown used to the darkness. Months of being stuck in a Kazzie prison cell would do that to a man. Actually the blaster-fire was a strange sight after so long; even the intermittent bright blue streaks hurt his eyes and left him disoriented. Spots danced in his field of vision like tiny stars in his own personal galaxy.

Keen ignored them, too.

Something _boomed_ nearby, but it wasn't close enough to concern him right now. Before, the force from the flash-bangs had shoved him to his knees on more than one occasion. It was always the same; he'd hear that distinctive sound right before he was toppled over, and just when he'd scrabbled upright, another flash-grenade would go off and send him back down.

But there was nothing to do but grit his teeth, get up and keep going. He had his own battle to fight, after all.

There was a funny smell to the air, chemically and sickly-sweet, but he paid it little mind. What mattered was the man he knelt beside, the brother who'd mumbled the name "Wooley" even though Keen hadn't asked.

Hope had almost been lost for the prisoners on Darkknell. Keen had been close to giving up any hope of rescue or reprieve, though he liked to think that a part of him would never surrender to despair. Then, miraculously, a rescue had come. Captain Rex had, apparently, come back from the dead to free the prisoners of Darkknell. Keen had seen the 501st captain when the other clone had opened his and Cavil's cell, though he still didn't quite believe his eyes.

But he didn't allow himself to dwell on the mechanics of how Rex had gotten here right now. Darkknell might still end up his grave, but he was now determined to go out like he'd lived: saving the lives of other clones. Men fought to free the prisoners, and Keen fought to keep those men alive.

The medic's battle was the harder one. He fought against plasma-burns and broken bones with little more than a half-empty medpack he'd been handed by some clone who'd said his name was Shadow. There wasn't much in the pack but it would have to suffice.

Keen ducked behind a shelter of fallen rock and pulled Wooley along as best he could with muscles that had atrophied after months of disuse. Through the flashes of shots in the darkness, he noted that the other man's armor had the distinctive saffron piping of the 212th – armor he'd once proudly worn.

Through the chaos, Keen caught sight of Cavil, a fellow medic and prisoner on this _fekking_ planet, ducking beneath another armored clone to help the wounded man get to safety. From the way his brother was standing, Keen knew that Cavil would not be able to see good place to hide while he tended to the wounded man.

"There's a doorway behind you, a little to your left," Keen shouted. "Take cover there, _vod_."

Somehow, Cavil was able to flash Keen a look of gratitude before he hefted the wounded clone and made his way for the doorway. Even the small gesture was heartening, a reminder that Keen wasn't alone, that he was still, even in the dark depths of the Kazzie dungeon, part of a team.

_If we get out of this mess alive_, he thought._ I'm taking him out for a drink. Regs be damned; I'll find a way._

The exchange only took a matter of seconds. In that time, Keen had managed to get his 212th patient to relative shelter, though it didn't feel that way with fragging flash-bangs erupting all over the _shabla_ place. Adrenaline raced through his veins; after so many weeks of sitting on his _shebs_, the hormone hit him like a stim and made him feel like he could do anything.

Battles like these were chaos, but in a strange way, Keen felt completely in control. It was the first time he'd felt this way in...

Well, in far too long.

The medpack he'd been handed didn't have any painkillers or bacta, just a spray bandage and a bit of gauze, but that was okay. Keen was a whiz with gauze. Wooley had been struck in the chest, and the plated white of his armor was charred and black. Without removing the chest-piece, there would be no way to assess the damage.

"Hold still," he told Wooley.

Something boomed again, but Keen hardly heard it as his fingers danced over the straps and clips that held Wooley's armor in place. He lifted the chest-piece away and set it aside, and frowned at the ugly wound that he could see through Wooley's charred body-suit. Painful and temporarily incapacitating, but not deadly. It was a typical battle-wound, one he'd be able to patch up with a painkiller, a slather of bacta and a spray bandage before he sent the man on his way.

Out of long-ingrained habit, Keen reached for his medkit-

His hand froze. _Di'kut!_ _You don't have a fragging medkit, remember?_

"_Shab,"_ he hissed, furious at his lapse.

Wooley groaned. He was starting to come out of the stunning haze brought about by being struck in the chest; his eyes fluttered open and fixed on the medic as if seeking reassurance. But Keen didn't waste his breath with empty promises that everything would be fine because he had no way of knowing such a thing. He was not a Jedi. He was a medic and he was mortal. He did not make promises he could not keep, even to comfort a wounded man. Besides, dragging Wooley out of harm's way had used too much of his already depleted energy from all that _shebs_-sitting he'd done while being a prisoner.

Keen mentally kicked himself into gear. It was time to adapt. He could at least cover the wound so it did not get infected, though he didn't think Wooley would be able to get back in the battle without a painkiller.

There was a smattering of bright, sparkling lights within eyesight, but he ignored them. Without a visor to shield his eyes, looking at a flash-bang – even one aimed at the enemy – was a stupid idea. Steaks of plasma illuminated the space above his head at random intervals. The ground shuddered and the dungeons seemed to groan from the force of the concussive blasts. He caught that odd, sweet scent again.

"Can you sit up?" he asked Wooley as he unraveled the gauze.

Wooley winced but nodded, and Keen helped the man get upright and brace his arms on his outstretched legs. The gauze wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing.

As he made to wrap the gauze around Wooley's bare chest, a micro-medkit dropped beside him. Startled, Keen looked up to see a clone in 501st blue, complete with the bright crimson insignia of a medic offer him a brisk salute.

It wasn't a gesture made in deference to rank – Keen knew the only thing he looked like was five kinds of _osik_, all covered in grime with a scraggly beard – but rather a hasty acknowledgment on the battlefield. A salute like that was clone-speak for, "good luck, brother_._"

Keen returned the gesture and indicated Cavil, who was working frantically to staunch the bleeding in the clone he'd dragged to safety. The unnamed medic nodded and moved to Cavil's side while Keen turned his attention back to Wooley, who looked relieved. Before he applied the bacta, Keen withdrew a painkiller-hypospray from the pack and silently thanked the unnamed medic for giving up what was probably one of his spare micro-kits.

"Thanks, _vod_," Wooley said as Keen injected the hypo into his neck.

Keen grunted. "You're the ones saving our _shebse_. It's the least I can do."

By the time Keen got Wooley patched up and sent him on his way, the battle had grown worse. The dungeon walls and the floor beneath his feet seemed to tremble and the scent of plasma and burning stone overrode everything, even that odd sweet smell he could not place. Keen allowed himself only a moment to miss the air filters in his gear.

At least he could tell that no one was using thermal dets, which would cause much more devastation to the dungeon's structure then a few shudders. _The last _fekking_ thing I want is to have this _shabla_ place collapse on top of us._

Through the brief glimpses he was able to get through the flash-bangs and the curling smoke, he saw clones in all shades of armor fighting alongside one another, which was odd. How many different companies had come to Darkknell?

However, Keen did not have the luxury of too much thinking, as he spotted Cavil trying to help another clone to his feet. Even from across the dark and chaotic dungeon, Keen could see that the fellow's thigh had been smashed pretty bad by a Kazzie club, and knew that Cavil would need his help to get their fellow clone to safety.

Additionally, Cavil and the unnamed clone were dangerously close to a group of Kaz'harians, but they were hidden by a few dead Kazzies and a small pile of rubble that had been shaken loose from the ceiling. Keen didn't know how long Cavil would stay hidden, though, so he tucked his head into his shoulders as best he could and hot-footed it across the battlefield. Hunched over and using quick, darting bursts, he made himself as small a target as possible; on Kamino, they'd called it a "medic's run." Without being seen by the simians, he made it to Cavil's side in seconds.

Though the medics had spent many hours in conversation during their imprisonment, there was no need for words now. Keen crouched by the unnamed clone, carefully slid his hand around the fellow's waist and exchanged glances with Cavil. On a silent count they heaved the clone to his one good leg and dragged him to what Keen hoped was a safe distance from the Kazzies. The simians' backs were to the two medics and their patient, but he didn't want to push his luck.

The injured clone felt heavy as hell, but Keen ignored the trembling in his arm and chalked it up to atrophied muscles. If he managed to get out of this _osik_-hole, he'd make up for his lack of strength with lots of gym-time.

While Cavil checked the nameless man for further injuries, Keen assessed the man's upper-leg. Shattered. No amount of gauze or bacta would help; he needed a splint, a massive influx of painkillers, and a lot of rest. None of which, of course, Keen had at the ready. All he could do was inject a hypospray into the fellow's neck and hope it would be enough to take the edge off of the pain. In all honesty, he didn't think this man would survive much longer; shock and pain, coupled with injuries like this were generally a death-sentence.

"It's okay, _vod,_" Cavil said as he sprayed some disinfectant on a nasty gash on the nameless clone's forehead. "You'll be okay."

Cavil had no problem with lying to patients, pointless though it may have been. Keen bit back the inclination to say so and scanned the area again to ensure no one was sneaking up on them. There was a clump of Kazzies several paces away, but their backs were to the medics and their attentions were focused on a group of clones in front of them. Keen figured that as long as he and Cavil stayed low, they were relatively safe for the moment.

The sound of an uttered curse made Keen glance back as his fellow medic. Cavil's head was ducked and his shoulders sagged, and Keen saw why. The nameless clone was still and his eyes were blank.

They'd lost this battle.

Maybe he should have offered some words of comfort to his brother, but Keen caught that odd scent again. It seemed stronger here than anywhere else he'd been. "What's that _fekking_ smell?"

Momentarily distracted from the dead patient, Cavil tilted his head upward, sniffing. His eyes darted around, then he indicated some kind of vapor curling up from a small vent about a meter from them. "Kriff, that's cryseefa gas... Any clone without air filters is at risk."

Keen had no clue what cryseefa gas was, but it wasn't a big leap of intuition to guess it was some kind of chemical weapon. "Great. How long can you hold your breath?"

"We need to leave this area," Cavil said as he got to his feet. "We'll have to-"

Cavil didn't finish the sentence when the slug hit him square in his chest. A spray of blood spattered across Keen's face before his brain registered the fact that the other medic had been shot, and he watched as Cavil dropped to the floor like an empty hypo.

"No," he said, but no one could hear him through the chaos.

Keen ignored everything else and knelt beside his brother, pulling away the ragged remains of Cavil's bodysuit to get a better look at the injury because there had to be _something _he could do. He would not let his brother die.

It was bad.

No amount of bacta would soothe away the red, raw tissue ruptured by the slug. No antiseptic could keep infection at bay, though a part of Keen's brain registered the fact that Cavil would not live long enough to worry about infection. No spray-bandage could cover this wound. Maybe if he'd been right next to a bacta tank...

But it was useless to waste mental energy on wishes and maybes. Taking long, deep breaths to calm himself, Keen threw everything he had at the wound, but bright crimson still stained the ground, his hands, Cavil. Keen's head swam; his vision blurred – not with tears, he told himself. There was no time for emotion when a brother's life was at stake.

The wound was on Cavil's chest, over his heart. Blood, bright and gleaming in the intermittent darkness, poured over his fingers. Keen fought it like he'd fought nothing else in his life. His battle was not with blasters or flash-bangs. His battle was fought with bacta and steady hands.

He was losing. _No. This isn't happening. This isn't real. _They'd been through too much together to lose this fight.

Cavil watched him, mouth parted like he was about to say something, but of course he was silent. Keen sucked in a huge gulp of sickly sweet air to hone his focus, but only felt dizzier. Something hot trickled down his throat, took hold, and burned. But he ignored the feeling. _He_ didn't matter; his whole world was Cavil's dying pulse.

The ground quaked around him. Flash-bangs sparkled in his peripheral vision, tiny stars going supernova. Clones called out to one another. Keen's conscious mind scolded him. How many brothers were dying because he was wasting time with a dead man?

_No, _he argued back, cantankerous even with his own thoughts. _No, not dying. He'll be fine. _

Keen would not lie to others, but he had no trouble doing so to himself.

He spared a glance up at his brother and saw that Cavil's face had slid into a frown, like he was confused. But his eyes held no light. His pulse had fled. He was gone.

Keen sat back on his heels and stared at Cavil's empty face. He still didn't quite believe this was real. He'd dreamed about battles-gone-wrong often enough, so perhaps this was just another nightmare, albeit a real one. Maybe he'd wake up their cell with Cavil snoring nearby, and they'd laugh about it quietly, later.

He looked at his blood-stained hands and realized they were shaking. He took a deep breath to help calm himself, then remembered the _fragging_ cryseefa gas.

Well, that would explain the burning in his throat. _Fek_.

He needed to evac the area. It was stupid to stay here and wait to be killed by one thing or another, and with the clump of Kaz'harians still so close he was asking for trouble. Keen got up and tried to find the safest, least noticeable path out of the immediate area. A cluster of armored clones who fought against the Kazzies stood by the vent, which was still leaking gas. Between them and Keen was a web of streaking blue plasma, brighter than hyperspace.

"Get the _fek_ out of here," he tried to shout, but the words didn't come out right because of the burning in his throat. He felt dizzy and disoriented, and the blaster-fire hurt his eyes. The need to cough made him double over, made his knees shake, and his chest hurt.

One clone glanced his way, and it was in this man's visor that Keen saw the reflection of something exploding behind him, aimed where the Kaz'harians stood. He ducked, but it was too late. The concussive blast from the flash-bangs, combined with his weakened state, tumbled him ass-backwards and sent him sprawling. Something hard struck his head, or maybe it was the other way around.

After he landed, Keen struggled upright and tried not to notice that he was nearly on top of Cavil. He opened his eyes and saw his brother's empty face, and he could not stand the sight. He looked away from Cavil, but doing so made him face the captive supernova of a powerful flash grenade directly before his eyes.

After the searing light, Keen's world went dark.

Only the fire in his throat remained.

# # #


	141. Chapter 141 Curious ARCs

_**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex"**_

_**Chapter 141**_

Echo was not sure who was more surprised when the hidden door slid open. He and the Kaz'harian stared at each other, rooted in place. Echo's eyes swept over his enemy assessing for weaknesses. He looked different from the ones Echo had been battling in the hallways, including the_ sha'buir_ who'd shot him in the gut.

This Kazzie wasn't wearing armor to protect his massive chest and there were no signs of weapons. A belt pouch of some sort of animal hide contained all the tools of a scientist; an oversized datapad, and a tool much like Echo's favorite hydrospanner.

_This one is just a regular worker, not a soldier._

_Doesn't change what I have to do._

Echo leveled his rifle and squeezed off several shots point blank directly into the unprotected chest of the Kazzie. The tall scientist gave out a quiet startled "oh" as he died and toppled backwards. Echo stepped around the massive corpse, not looking down, as the door slid silently shut behind them.

Echo proceeded with caution into the room, noticing immediately it was much more brightly lit than the outside corridor. It was filled with access screens scrolling information and numerous vid-screens. As he drew closer, he studied the vid-screens. He studied the images carefully. There were a burst of bright light and flashes of blue that he immediately recognized as blaster fire.

_The dungeons have a master control room._

He'd taken out whomever it was responsible for watching over all these vid-feeds and hitting whatever these controls did. Echo looked down at the readouts and displays.

_I wish I knew how to read Kaz'harian._

He began running the text through the universal translator in his HUD, trying to get a match. Echo eased himself down into an oversized chair, bracing one arm over his aching gut. The seat was surprisingly comfortable, and he gave a sigh as he sat down. There were several plates scattered about the desk with remnants of fruit and dried meat scraps.

_Looks like the Kazzie has been working for a while._

Echo wondered if the scientist had been slipping out on another quick food run, thinking the corridors were clear at the moment.

_You didn't factor in curious ARCs._

His HUD beeped softly, having found a match-up for the text. ARC Captain Catcher had run a mission through these parts not too long ago, and there was some pre-mission briefing data on Kaz'harian. A translation matrix scrolled up before his eyes. Echo let out a grunt of satisfaction as he was able to read the text off of the panels and screens in front of him. He paused suddenly and felt his whole system turn cold.

_This is not good._

His fingers danced across one of the screens, scrolling up, and double-checking the readings. He analyzed more of the data.

_Cryseefa gas?_

Echo felt his stomach clench up as he recalled the briefing he'd prepared for Commander Cody before they'd left Ord Cestus. The gas was lethal to humans and many other species, but the simians were immune to the effects of it. Cryseefa occured naturally on their home planet of Kaz'haria, and over time the simians' biology had evolved to allow them to withstand the effects of the gas.

Echo pivoted the chair around and his eyes scanned over every panel in the room.

_Oh, fek._

One panel contained numbers flashing backwards at an alarming rate, rapidly approaching zero. A countdown chrono. The nearest panel read: "Gas levels at maximum," and showed the Kazzies had an enormous stockpile of cryseefa. Of course they did.

There was a quiet beep as the countdown chrono flashed "0-0-0." Such a gentle noise.

Echo glanced up at a vid-screen showing the dungeons and saw gas seeping from vents in the ceiling. With dawning horror, he realized what was happening.

"No! No! No!" he cried, looking around for a shutdown switch. They were going to eliminate the prisoners, and their invaders, in one fell swoop. Even as he was trying to find the shutdown controls, Echo's eyes kept flying back up to the vid-screens showing the dungeons. Prisoners directly under the vents were staring around in confusion, some rubbing at their eyes. From what Echo knew of the gas, the worst effects were not immediate. As cryseefa absorbed into the tissue, it burned through the delicate tissues of the eyes and throat. It was a horrible way to go.

With jamming affecting the HUDs, it was only a matter of time before the gas affected even armored troopers. Their helmets were one enclosed system, dependent upon the delicate electronics to monitor all of their life support functions, including air flow and filtration. It would take longer for the helmeted troopers to succumb, but the cryseefa gas would kill every clone in the dungeons._  
_

Echo took a deep steadying breath, refusing to accept that he was about to lose all of his vode in the 501st and 212th to the deadly gas. He needed to shut off the flow of gas, and take out the jammer. Echo studied the controls intently, trying to find the master system for ventilation into the dungeons. His blood was pounding so loudly in his ears that he couldn't hear anything else. If he hit the wrong control, he could unleash another disaster upon the dungeons. Who knew what else was wired into the control room?

He glanced up again at the vid-screen, and saw prisoners falling to their knees, gasping for air. He was running out of time. Vode were dying. The cryseefa was killing them.

_Where is it?_

He forced himself to take another calming breath, blocking out everything else. He quickly worked his way around the room, studying every panel, trying to find the right switch amongst the numerous displays.

_There... Mechanical Demand Controlled Ventilation System._

He shut down every vent into the dungeons. The air would get stale, but no more gas could seep in either. The armored clones would need to breathe through their suits, and get the prisoners out of there as soon as possible. Echo worked his way over to the vid-screen, still bracing his middle. No new gas was flowing out of the vents.

He had to get the HUDs back online. The jamming device. Where was it? Echo sat down in the oversized chair again, staring at the main control panels and screens.

Fek. It felt good to sit. He could feel exhaustion setting in. He scowled down at the controls in front of him. No. The answers weren't here at the main control panel. He pushed up, grunting as the the incisions in his gut pulled. He began working his way around the room, studying the myriad of blinking panels.

_Would be nice if they just put a huge sign on it labeled: "Republic Jammer."_

But, there were no such clues. Echo thought back to the jammer that he and Fives had constructed together, remembering the look and function of each of the components. The technology here would likely be the same, likely on a larger scale. There was a curious, low-pitched resonance coming from behind one of the panels.

Echo recognized the sound instantly. He pulled the hydrospanner off his belt and removed the screws holding the panel in place, trying to ignore the fact that his hands trembled with exhaustion. The durasteel covering came away, revealing a deep storage compartment behind it. Nestled inside, blinking back at him with a myriad of lights, was an oversized jamming device. It had antenna jutting off in every direction, pointing outwards, and bright lights monitoring its status. Echo didn't take the time to study the design, compare it to the one he and Fives had created, or figure out a clever solution for deactivating it. He lifted up his rifle and took it out with a clear shot right through the center of it, putting up one armored arm to shield himself from a shower of sparks. Echo breathed out a huge sigh of relief, and rested his head against the nearest panel.

Shab. He was so tired.

After a moment, he realized he could easily test if the comms were fixed. "Fives, come in."

He heard the sounds of blaster fire, and then a startled, "Echo?"

"Yes, vod, it's me. Listen, no time to explain the details. But, I shut off all vents into the dungeons and unjammed all the HUDs."

"You did what now?" From the background noise, Fives was engaged in a heavy firefight at the moment. There was slugthrower fire and blaster fire spewing back and forth at a rapid pace. Even though Echo had been keeping busy enough on his own, it still pained him to hear that Fives was off in battle without him. They were a team, supposed to watch each other's backs.

Echo pushed out a heavy exhausted sigh, and then quickly tried to explain everything to his brother. "The Kazzies were venting cryseefa into the dungeons. I shut it down. I also unjammed the HUDs. It's why comm signals are clear now. Let the Captain know everyone needs to stay buckets on, even when the battle is done. The air might start getting thin in there."

It occurred to Echo that he probably should've commed Captain Rex directly. But, he was used to working with just Fives. It still hadn't truly sunk in the Captain was back. Fives was the one Echo could always rely upon, so calling him had just been instinct.

"Echo, where are you?" Fives was using that tone of voice that he did when he was both fiercely proud and exasperated with his brother.

"I found- ...Wait. Standby." Echo immediately grew quiet. Had he heard a noise coming up behind him? Aaaaahhhhh!" He couldn't help the startled cry of pain as something fiery hot pierced through his upper shoulder, and nausea shot through his frame. His eyes flew down and all he could see was a metal blade protruding through him from back to front. "Oh, fek..." Echo gasped out in a strangled voice, barely able to breathe.

"Echo," Fives' voice remained calm, but there was that slight edge to it when he was getting seriously agitated, "What's going on?"

Echo couldn't speak. He focused all his concentration on turning around and facing whoever had attacked him. Fives couldn't help him now. Before he'd even turned around, he was already firing. He knew that the blade had come from behind him, and that was all the information he needed. His DC-15 came to life with a hail of fire as he blasted backwards. He caught a glimpse of two fully armored Kaz'harians. Definitely soldiers. Shutting down the cryseefa gas must have attracted some attention.

But, they hadn't killed him outright, even when his back was turned. They must want him alive, if only for a few minutes. Perhaps for information, likely wanting to know just what he'd been up to in the control room. This meant they would be fighting to disable. Echo was fighting to kill from the very first blast. He'd caught the first Kazzie across the legs and he'd gone down with an infuriated howl.

Echo saw the second Kazzie coming at him with a massive club. He dove underneath the nearest desk, knowing for once his smaller size was an advantage against the Kazzies. He was about to bring his legs in, when he felt something crash across his calves. Echo cried out in pain, realizing he'd been clubbed. He ignored the pain, and rolled over, bringing up his rifle and firing several headshots at his attacker. He managed to drag himself on his elbows into a position to fire several more shots at the first Kazzie he'd hit, knowing a wounded enemy was the most dangerous of all.

His breath came in ragged gasps and he didn't think he could move again. But, he was still armed, and conscious. If there were any more coming at him, he could still fight. He did another sweep with his HUD. He was alone in the room.

As the blood stopped pounding in his ears, and the adrenaline started to ebb slightly, Echo realized Fives was calling his name, demanding to know where he was.

"Fives," Echo gasped out, trying to catch his breath.

"Echo," the relief in Fives' voice was apparent, "sitrep."

"I found a- " Echo could feel darkness encroaching on the edge of his vision and he knew he didn't have much time, He could see he had another call coming in. Kix was trying to get in touch with him. Right. Of course. He'd run out on the medic. With the jamming cleared, comms were working perfectly. He ignored the call. "I-" His chest seized up and he was hit with a bout of coughing. A splash of red hit the inside of his HUD.

_Uh oh._

He waited until the coughing stopped, grateful that Fives had shut up and was just listening for once. "I..." Another bout of coughing took over. Echo slumped down lower. He could feel consciousness ebbing away.

_Fek. No, no, no._

The line was silent. Echo knew Fives was still there, but was giving him time to speak. He knew that staying silent during a time like this was difficult for his overly talkative brother. But, Fives always came through when it counted. Echo knew that better than anybody.

"Fives... I..." The coughing took over again, and he couldn't speak. After a long moment of silence, he heard Fives' voice.

"Echo? Echo?"

Echo's elbows gave away, and he collapsed onto his back. As he did so, the blade bit deeper into his shoulder. He cried out again at the pain and he heard Fives calling out to him.

Echo was comforted by the fact that as darkness encroached the last thing he heard was his brother's voice. He gave a peaceful sigh.

# # #


	142. Chapter 142 Tracking Down Echo

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?**

**Chapter 142**

Kix frowned, looking down at the unconscious form of General Unduli. "She's stable, but needs to get to a med-suite, stat."

Commander Tano looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. She was chewing her lip, the way she always did when was concerned about something. Kix found it distracting and forced himself to look away. He forced his attention back down to his med-scanner, but he knew what it said without looking. "She has a subdural hematoma. The General won't be waking up anytime soon."

Sounds of battle continued to rumble out of the dungeons, shaking the wall behind them. Kix knew he should have left before now. "I'm sorry, Commander. I've done all I can. I need to go."

The Jedi padawan nodded in acknowledgement. She stretched out her back. They'd both been hunched over working on the fallen Jedi. The commander had told Kix she could bring down some of the swelling with Jedi healing, but confessed she had limited skills in the area. There was only so much Kix could do for an injury this serious with the supplies in his medkit. Skulls weren't meant to be hit with clubs. Many of the Kaz'harians weapons were crude, but still brutally effective. He blew out a tired sigh, wondering at the types of injuries he was going to see in the dungeons.

"Don't worry, Kix," the commander pressed a hand against his gauntlet. He stared down at the slender fingers against his battle-dirtied armor, and then back up at her face as she continued speaking. "I'll stay here. Go on." He felt calmer somehow, more reassured about the battle ahead.

Kix nodded, and then swept his gaze up and down the long dark corridor. "Where's Echo?" Any calm he'd felt a moment ago was gone.

The commander looked at him, eyebrow raised, wise enough to know this was a rhetorical question.

"I told him to rest," Kix's lips quirked with displeasure.

"He's an ARC," the commander pointed out, as if that explained everything.

Kix held back his response. He'd have it out with Echo when he found him. He focused his attention on quickly repacking his supplies. It only took seconds since the movements were automatic. He swung the kit onto his back, and did a quick shrug of his shoulders to settle the gear into place. He always felt best when he was fully kitted up with his medkit on his back.

"I'm going after Echo," he told the commander.

"Good luck, Kix," the commander said, "I hope you find him." The care and concern the Jedi padawan felt for the men under her command was evident in her tone. Kix gave her a brisk nod, and took off for the dungeons.

If he didn't spot Echo passed out on the ground within the first few feet of the door, he would track down Fives. Kix admitted he was worried about Echo. The quiet, resourceful ARC was very likable. He was a good friend to Fives and Chopper, and the Captain thought highly of him. Kix felt a strong pang of guilt. He'd promised Fives he'd watch out for Echo and somehow he'd lost him.

Despite his worries for Echo, Kix was relieved to finally be headed into the dungeons. He'd been obligated to stop and help the General. But, he'd been wanting to get inside the dungeons and help free his brothers since he'd heard the first explosions shaking the foundations of the fortress.

As a medic, he was repelled by the violence of war and the damage it inflicted upon his brothers. As a clone trooper bred for combat, he felt a sense of belonging when he was his brothers doing what he was meant to do. He tried not to think too deeply about these two conflicting parts of himself. It wasn't too hard when they were just shooting tinnies. It got a lot harder when they were ordered to shoot at living creatures. He just shut himself down inside then and reminded himself that he was doing the right thing.

He charged through the doors of the dungeons, DC-15A in hand.

Kix pulled up short, just inside the entryway and blinked in surprise. The dungeons were _huge._ He took off at a run again, He squinted, trying to see in the dim lighting of the dungeons. He was still feeling the effects of the battle aboard the ship the other clones affectionately referred to as their "raider." While taking down Kazzies near the entryway of the medbay, he'd gotten up close and personal with a flashbang. His hearing was still somewhat muffled, and if he closed his eyes too long, he could see bright spots behind his lids. If he made it out here, he'd have to consult a fellow medic to do a hearing/eye exam. Kix didn't know of any 501st medics that had made it out of Darkknell other than him. It was a depressing thought. As he ran toward the cells, he felt a glimmer of hope that somewhere in this huge facility some of his fellow medics might still be alive.

A blinding flash of white went off near the cells followed by the characteristic bang. Kix waited while his HUD autocorrected for the intense light, and then kept running.

_Good to know somebody told them about using the stun grenades. Must've been Fives. Right. Just find Fives amidst all this chaos in this enormous facility. Well, knowing Fives, he is probably right at the heart of the chaos._

Kix was getting close to the prison cells when without warning, his HUD went offline.

He paused for just a second, taken aback by the sudden change, but then ignored the distraction and continued running. As a medic, he was used to challenges constantly being thrown at him and situations always going from bad to worse.

_I'd forgotten about the jammed HUDs._

Some of his medic diagnostics tied directly in with his HUD, but Kix knew he could do without them. Just as often as not, he did his medic work without his helmet, so he could see his patient with his own eyes. Of course, that was only when he wasn't in the middle of a battle and in imminent danger of getting his head shot off.

Kix reached the prison cells, and had to throw himself down to avoid a sudden increase in blaster fire as the effects of the stun grenade wore off. Blue blaster bolts were coming from both sides. Kix stared at the odd firing pattern in confusion, then frowned deeply as he figured it out. The Kazzies had two Legions worth of kit to pilfer through. The indignity and insult of it burned deeply. He rolled over and came up in a crouch, wondering where he should insert himself into the chaos. He needed to track down Echo/Fives. But, he also had his duties as a trooper/medic.

_No less than I'm juggling in any other battle. Stop over-thinking._

Kix ran headlong into the chaos, wishing he had comms so he could communicate with Rex and find out the battle plan. He could barely see anything. At this rate, he could get taken out by friendly fire. Kix had his blaster drawn, but couldn't see any targets.

_What now?_

He glanced upwards, noticing the vents above him were spewing out a cloudy vapor. It was making visibility even worse. The cells around him were all opened and emptied. Kix assumed that Rex and his men had already been through this area. He kept going, moving deeper into the facility. Kix staggered backwards as misplaced heavy gun fire brought down large chunks of rock from the ceiling. He narrowly avoided getting hit, and felt dust and debris pelt harmlessly off his armor.

_I'm going to assume that was a Kazzie using one of our heavy guns. No trooper could have such poor aim._

Kix gave a nervous glance upwards. It was a terrible idea to shoot the ceiling. They'd all be buried alive. Kix skirted around the chunks of rubble and kept going, headed into the areas of heavier fire.

_The Captain and Fives are probably right in the middle of that battle._

Off to the right, he saw a downed trooper and changed course to intercept. The injured man was 212th Legion. Kix was already sliding his pack off before he'd even reached the brother. But, there was somebody already there, skillfully applying gauze to a chest wound. Kix could tell immediately that these were the practiced hands of a medic. The armor of the injured trooper was familiar, even in the poor, smoky lighting.

_Wooley._

Kix wanted to help, if only to assure himself that Wooley was alright. But, he knew he was needed elsewhere. The medic working on the 212th trooper was one of the prisoners, but he was also familiar. Clones might look identical to everyone, but brothers were experts at distinguishing other brothers. Even under the scruffy facial hair and barely clad in any clothing, Kix knew who he was.

_Keen._

Kix had done enough joint missions with the 212th to know all of his fellow medics. Keen was a good vod. Hard working and talented with a wickedly good sense of humor. Admittedly, not the best sense bedside manner, but he always hung out with Cavil, Cody's other top medic. The two made a terrific team, seeming to effortlessly cover each other's shortcomings. Kix glanced around, wondering if Cavil was around here somewhere.

_There. _

Partially hidden in the shadow of a doorway, he caught a glimpse of Cavil intently working over another injured trooper. Even grimy and scraggly from imprisonment, he could see the familiar look of determination on the senior medic's face. It was unmistakably Cavil. He grinned underneath his helmet. Cavil and Keen. Two medics had made it out of Darkknell. A surge of hope flooded through his breastbone.

Kix slid his pack off and tugged out his spare micro-medkit. He wished he had a second one to give Cavil, but he had only the one. He gave it a light toss and it expertly landed beside Keen. The medic was so intent in what he was doing that he startled as the kit landed beside him. He briefly looked up at Kix, but his eyes were deeply bloodshot and showed only confusion.

_He doesn't recognize me_, Kix realized. There wasn't time to talk. He had catch up with the five oh first. Kix offered Keen a brisk salute, and moved on. _We'll catch up later._ _So glad those two vode are still alive._

Kix kept going. His eyes were beginning to burn and his throat felt scratchy.

If possible, the visibility seemed to be getting worse. The air was misty and hazy. There seemed to be a fog everywhere.

_Where is all that mist coming from? If I take off my bucket, I could see better..._

Each time he took a breath, he wanted to cough.

The filters don't work properly when the HUD is offline. I should take my bucket off. Just for a minute.

Part of Kix's brain knew it was a very bad idea to take off his bucket in the middle of a battle zone. But, it felt like his throat was swelling shut and he was gasping for air.

_I'll just take my bucket off for a minute, and then I'll put it back on._

_I can't breathe. I have to take my bucket off..._

Kix clawed at the next seal, desperate to get his bucket off. Part of his brain was screaming at him not to take off his helmet. But, he ignored it. Air. He needed air. All he could think about was getting his bucket off.

Kix's HUD suddenly flared back to life. All of his system came online at once and it was a startling sensation of images and data flowing at him. A rush of fresh air flushed through the filters and suddenly he could breathe. There was also a flashing red warning.

_Poisonous gas. Indeterminate type._

Kix immediately dropped his hands away from the seal of his helmet, and took deep breaths. Then, his eyes widened as his 360 data feed tracked movement behind him. Kix spun around to see three shadowy forms bearing down on him. His movements were completely automatic as he targeted all three and threw himself down to avoid return fire. He rolled and came up, weapon still in hand. All three Kaz'harians were down.

If his HUD had been out any longer, he would be breathing in poisonous gas _and_ ambushed in the back by Kazzies. Kix took a moment to take several more deep breaths of filtered air, and then knelt by the downed simians, examining their weapons. Slugthrowers. They were using just about everything in the dungeons. It was important to know because he'd be the one patching up the holes after the battle was done.

He continued on. The visibility was better in these areas, less of the mist swirling around on the grounds. He glanced up and noticed the gas had stopped seeping out of the vents.

Shouting from behind startled him. "Hey, vod! A little help?" He pivoted around to discover several blocks of cells still filled with prisoners. Kix ran to the nearest cell, and studied the lock.

_Hardcase likes to say blasting things solves most every problem. In this case, I think he might be right._

He blasted the archaic mechanism with a nice clean shot to the middle and then shoved at the door. It didn't move.

_Or, not._

Kix's HUD was flashing a red alert.

_Shab._

Despite the increased visibility, the air around him was still toxic. He was protected now that the filters in his HUD were functioning again. But, none of the prisoners had the same protection.

"Stand back," Kix said, and noticed his voice had taken on a crisp commanding tone. All five of the clones obeyed as one, moving away from the door. He threw himself against the hinge and it gave way with a protesting creak.

_I'm going to pretend that didn't hurt._

The clones inside were coughing and rubbing at their eyes. Kix frowned and bit his lip. He knew that cough.

"Thanks, vod," said one of the clones, clasping Kix lightly on the arm, before dissolving into a hacking cough.

_Oh, fek._

"You need to clear the area," Kix said in his calmest medic voice. He thought they might be 212th Legion because he didn't recognize them immediately as five-oh-first. "Get to the corridor," Kix ordered, pointing them in the right direction. They took off without protest.

Kix went to the next cell, and blasted it open. He freed the coughing prisoners within and directed them toward the corridor. "Go!"

His HUD was having difficulty pinpointing exactly what type of gas it was. He could hear comms going back and forth now, but ignored it as intently focused on freeing prisoners, trying to getting them away from the gas. It took a long moment for his brain to catch up and realize the implication of comms working again. Without pausing in blasting open doors, Kix opened up a link, "Fives, come in. This is Kix."

He physically hauled up several prisoners doubled-over, coughing hard into the ground. "You have to clear the area. It's your only chance. Go!" He pointed them in the direction of the corridor. "Move it troopers!" He bellowed at them in the way Rex did when he was disciplining shinies. It worked, and the troopers shakily hauled themselves up and away from the deadly area. He moved on to the next cell, knowing the more time passed, the less men he could save.

"Kix." Fives' voice was even, but held the eerie tone that it did when the ARC was calmly snapping necks while on an adrenaline spike so high it would kill an ordinary man.

"Echo-"

"I know."

The ARC's voice was chilling and Kix knew something had happened to Fives' fellow ARC.

"Fek, is he-" Kix felt chilled to the core, and didn't want to complete the sentence.

"He's in trouble."

Kix shut up so Fives could speak. _Trouble._ There was so much that could fall into that single word.

"He contacted me two minutes ago," Fives continued, "he brought the HUDs back online and shut down the flow of cryseefa."

_Cryseefa._

Kix felt his blood grow cold at this new information. Of course. It was the perfect choice for the Kaz'harians.

Fives continued, "He warned us to remain buckets on and get the prisoners away. He was attacked before he could disclose his location."

Kix digested all of this information silently, chewing on his lip. He was stunned. He had come running in here to save Echo, and now he was alive only because of Echo.

"We have to find him," Fives continued, "where'd you see him last?" There was no hint of accusation in Fives' tone.

"He was resting in the corridor outside the entrance," Kix said, "When I left him, he couldn't even stand on his own."

There was a a slightly amused snort from Fives, as if to say 'that kind of thing never stopped us before.' "Meet me by the entrance."

Fives cut the connection. It went without saying that this took priority over anything else either of them were doing. Kix felt a screaming sense of urgency something was wrong. He freed one last set of prisoners, barely able to get them up, and then turned to run back for the entrance. He headed back the way he came, retracing his steps. In the poor lighting and in his haste to get to Fives, he stumbled over an obstruction. Without even looking down, he recognized the familiar bump and feel against his shins as the inert form of a trooper. He wanted to keep running. He had to meet Fives. But his medic's instincts won out and he automatically dropped to his knees. He rolled the trooper over.

_Oh, fek. It was Cavil._

From the gaping bloodied hole in his chest, Kix doubted there would be any life signs. He checked anyway.

Cavil was dead.

Kix closed the medic's staring unseeing eyes, and tried not to think of Coric. But seeing the top medic in the 212th bloodied and dead made it feel all the more probable that Coric wasn't around anymore either. Kix numbly pushed himself to his feet, cursing himself for allowing emotion in battle. Medics weren't supposed to do that. They were supposed to be detached. He took a step backwards and it was only his 360 view that kept him from tripping over another prone form. He caught himself, and took a knee beside the second form.

Keen.

The second medic had deep burn scarring around his eyes and blistering on his lips.

_Consistent with poisoning from cryseefa gas. I'll bet his throat is blistered raw._

Kix checked for life signs and heaved a sigh of relief that Keen at least was alive. He slid off his medkit and applied a hasty bacta bandage to the medic's blistered eyes, then strapped an emergency breather over his nose and mouth. Knowing the best thing he could do was get him the fek out of the dungeons, Kix hoisted the unconscious trooper up into a wounded man carry and took off at a run.

"You're late," Fives said, impatiently when Kix came barreling out of the dungeons. He raised an eyebrow up toward the form wrapped around the medic's shoulders.

"He's another medic," Kix hastily explained, "took a lungful of cryseefa." He looked down the hallway and saw that Commander Tano was still sitting with General Unduli. He took off a run, and deposited the unconscious medic next to the Jedi Master. He blurted out an explanation, trying to get everything out at once. "Fives. Echo..." He meant to say that they were going after Echo, but the commander nodded, seeming to understand him anyway. Kix pointed down to the hastily bandaged clone he'd deposited next to her. "Sergeant Keen. 212th. He's a fellow medic." The commander gave him a warm smile, and Kix stared back, reassured that Keen was in good hands.

Kix sighed, still staring at her smile, thinking how lucky they were to have her in the five-oh-first. He must have hesitated a fraction too long because Fives smacked him hard enough in the arm that his rerebrace echoed dully with the sound. "Let's go."

# # #


	143. Chapter 143 Vode and Frustration

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 143**

"I left him here," Kix said, pointed to the spot in the darkened corridor. He rubbed ruefully at his arm, and decided he'd best steer clear of Fives' temper.

The ARC studied the spot for a long moment as if it might hold the answers to Echo's disappearance. Blaster fire and explosions continued to rumble out from the dungeons. Fives spent several long moments looking up and down the long corridor, and Kix realized his vod might be unsure how to proceed.

"What else did he say to you?" Kix prompted, still feeling guilty Echo had been lost on his watch.

Fives sent a recording to Kix's HUD. The medic played it, feeling a pang as he heard Echo's voice come to life inside his bucket: '_Yes, vod, it's me. Listen, no time to explain the details. But, I shut off all vents into the dungeons and unjammed all the HUDs.'_

Kix sucked in a breath as he remembered how the split-second timing of his own HUD coming back online saved him. A ghost of a smile traced his lips as heard Fives' astonished response: _'You did what now?'_

It took a great deal to startle Fives. Kix listened with keen interest as Echo detailed the air getting thin in the dungeons. Of course. The vents were shut down. The medic in him started running through warning signs of hypoxia. He forced himself to shut down his medic side and focused back on analyzing the comm for essential clues. Fives was staring at him, waiting for answers. "In order to accomplish so much in such a short time, Echo must have found access to their controls."

"A central control room," Fives said, and gave Kix a respectful nod, "well done."

"Still doesn't tell us _where_ he is, though," Kix mulled, beaming a bit inside from Fives' words. The ARC didn't bestow praise lightly. Of course, he'd feel much better if they _found_ Echo. "I don't think he went far. With a gut wound like that, it's difficult to walk."

"Alright," Fives said, "let's split up." He pointed down the corridor, "you head that way. I'm headed this way. Let me know if you spot _anything_."

They took off away from the dungeons.

# # #

Fives and Kix met up again fifteen later where the corridors intersected. They both shook their heads grimly.

"Fek!" Fives let out a low hiss of frustration, the strain beginning to show under his normally calm demeanor. "When we get our Phase II, it better include new tech that allows us to locate each other."

"That one has been on my list for a while. Try comming him again."

The ARC took a deep breath, his steely calm taking over again. "Echo, this is Fives. Come in."

The line was eerily silent.

"Keep trying," Kix encouraged, "if he's going to respond to anyone, it's going to be you."

"Echo! Talk to me, it's Fives. Report in." The ARC made a brusque hand signal to Kix indicating they should walk together and continue combining the corridors. He spoke into his comm again and again trying to get Echo to respond.

# # #

"- it's Fives. Respond."

Echo forced his eyes open, sure he'd heard his brother's voice. His head felt thick and cloudy, and he was cold. He tried to speak, but his mouth didn't want to cooperate with his brain. He blinked hard several times, and tried to move. He heard the familiar click of his comm activating when he blinked his eyes.

Ow. He heard someone cry out in pain. Huh. Someone is in trouble. Better get up and help them. Ow. In a minute.

"Echo? Is that you, vod?"

Fives' voice again.

"Echo! Talk to me." There was an edge to Fives' voice, that wasn't normally there.

"Fives?" Echo's voice was barely audible. He cleared his throat, and instantly regretted it. The action provoked a spat of coughing, and he tasted something metallic. He heard Fives calling out to him again, and his brother definitely sounded _off_. "Fives," Echo started again. His voice sounded thick, and he wondered about that, but couldn't concern himself with it. "You...OK?"

He heard a quick bark of laughter on the other end as if Fives couldn't believe he'd just asked that. "Yes, I'm fine. You saved all of our shebs. Where the fek are you?!"

Echo turned his head slightly, confused. Bad idea. The moment he moved, pain burst through him. He groaned, and tried to move again to figure out where the pain was coming from, but the movement made everything worse. A new bout of coughing overtook him.

A new voice suddenly cut through on the line.

"Echo, this is Kix."

Echo wanted to laugh, as _if_ he couldn't distinguish one brother from another over the comm. But, he was strangely tired and didn't have the energy to give the medic a hard time. He'd do it later. Kix was saying something to him, but it was hard to hear with someone coughing so loudly into the comms. Fek. That's annoying.

"Echo, listen to me, breathe slowly. Shallow breaths. It will help with the coughing."

Ah. Right. And, that's why he's the medic.

"That's better, Echo. Tell me where you're injured."

_Injured?_

"Who's injured?" Echo muttered, confused. He started to shiver uncontrollably, unable to stop. It felt like there was a fire burning in his shoulder.

"Echo, talk to me," Kix was using his medic voice. Echo's mind was fuzzy, and he tried to put the pieces together. He managed to turn his head enough to look down toward his right shoulder. "Uh oh."

_That wasn't there when I woke up this morning._

"Echo?" Kix prompted.

Fives cut in, "Where are you?"

Echo blew out a sigh, trying to focus. He could feel that his vision was fuzzy. Shock. He was in shock.

_One thing at a time. Try to focus on one thing at a time. I can do this._

"I've... uh... been stabbed, straight through," he told Kix, blinking again to try to clear his vision, "right shoulder, some Kazzie-durasteel blade... Fives, I'm in a control room-"

"Where?" Fives demanded.

Echo smiled at his vod's typical impatience. When he moved his mouth, he felt something dribble down his chin. He wanted to wipe it away, but didn't think he had the energy to get his bucket off. "I'm by the- " He froze, as he heard the door to the control room slide open, and adrenaline gave him a burst of energy that cleared his mind. "Fek, Fives. That better be you coming in."

# # #


	144. Chapter 144 No Man Left Behind

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 144**

# # #

Echo could hear Fives and Kix calling out to him in his comm, but all his attention was focused on the door. He was getting a bad feeling it wasn't going to be a brother he was about to be seeing.

He dimly remembered falling onto his back when he'd passed out. He'd woken on his side, which meant instinctively he'd shifted his body. He was glad for the change in position because the fekkin' blade hurt enough as it was. He didn't need the full weight of his body pushing it in deeper. He was also pleased to note he'd never lost his grip on his blaster. He flexed his fingers around the handle, as he focused now on the door.

Echo could see a pool of red spread in front of him. He flicked his tongue and touched at the wetness on his chin. Metallic. Blood. Internal injuries. The blade must have hit his lung.

A massive pair of legs came through the door, and then froze in place, taking in the bodies scattered around the room. Echo remained still, posing as another corpse. With all of the blood around him, and the metal skewered through him, it wasn't difficult to pull off. The Kazzie started to work his way around the room, checking every one of the bodies for life signs. It seemed to take forever until he reached Echo. He regarded the ARC for a long moment, then leaned over him, slugthrower in hand.

Inwardly, Echo snorted. Why bother checking an enemy combatant for life signs? It would be much safer to blast a few more rounds in first to make sure they were good and dead. Echo waited until the Kazzie was fully over him, vulnerable, and in-range. Then, the ARC "came back to life." He whipped his blaster up and shot the Kazzie point blank in the skull. The simian immediately went down. Unfortunately, he also dropped right on top of Echo.

"Oh, fek," Echo said, as he saw the massive form headed toward him. The shock of the weight slamming into him was too much for his system to handle and he immediately blacked out.

# # #

Kix and Fives heard the sound of blaster fire and cursing from Echo and then silence. No matter how many times they tried to hail Echo, they were unsuccessful. Fives smashed his fist so hard into the corridor wall that Kix made a mental note to later check it for fractures. Now wasn't the time, though.

"We're no closer to finding him," Fives hissed out.

Kix didn't want to upset the ARC any further, but he didn't believe in withholding information either. "From the nature of his injuries, it sounds like he has internal bleeding."

"How long?" Fives demanded.

"Usually about an hour. Could be a few minutes more, or less, but, time is running out." Kix folded his arms across his chest and regarded Fives. "As much as it goes against your ARC nature, call in help on this one."

# # #

Rex was in the midst of an intense firefight when the call came in from Fives.

"Captain, I need help."

It was not the type of thing that Fives _ever_ said.

Rex temporarily pulled himself out of the line of fire, indicating to Ponds and Trapper to cover him so that he could concentrate on the call. "Go ahead, Fives, you have my attention."

Fives gave him a sitrep with Echo, and Kix briefed him on the medical situation. Rex already knew the only reason the HUDs were working and they weren't all dead from cryseefa was because of the ARC.

There was the slightest pause while Rex thought it through. "I'll send you a team. Fives, we're going to find him. Rendezvous back at the dungeon entrance."

"Understood," the relief in the ARC's voice was palpable, even in the one word.

Rex adjusted his comm, and hoped the jamming truly was gone. "Captain Catcher, this is Rex. What's your team's status?"

"Captain?" the surprise in Catcher's voice was evident, "Ships are secure. Travis is headed back with the team. I'm watching over the fleet."

"I have a new mission for the team. Debrief later."

"Understood," he acknowledged crisply. Catcher was too well trained of a soldier to waste time asking unnecessary questions.

Rex cut the comm, and out of the corner of his eye saw a Kazzie trying to get the drop on Ponds. On pure instinct, he grabbed the trooper by the shoulder yanked him back out of the line of fire and whipped out of one of his blasters. He took out the approaching simian with a clean shot to the neck that took the enemy down in one. Then, he nodded to Ponds and set him back into position. Rex focused himself back on communications.

"Travis? Come in."

"Rex? Comms are working again? I wasn't aware-"

"Shut up and listen. We have a situation. Echo is down. He's the one that fixed the HUDs, as well as prevented the Kazzies from gassing all of us here in the dungeons. We don't how he did it, or where he is. I need your team to find him. Fives is waiting for you outside the dungeons with my medic, Kix."

"We'll find him, Rex. Travis out."

Travis could be described as 'colorful' as far as clones went, but when it came down to a crisis situation there was a laser-like intensity to him. Rex cut the connection and turned his attention back to the battle. He had two Legions worth of men to rescue.

With a brisk hand signal, Rex moved Ponds and Trapper back into their former positions and threw himself back into the firefight.

# # #

Catcher hadn't been surprised the team insisted he stay behind and watch over the new fleet. As their Captain, he could have overruled them. But, at the moment, he was the slowest member of the team. He also knew he needed rest before piloting a ship back to Ando. As it was, he felt ready to drop.

"You can monitor everything from here," Travis had explained, showing off the control panel of the new PLY-5000. "It has outstanding short-range and long-range motion sensors. I've already set everything. They're fully-automated so the moment anything shows up on the scopes, alarms are going to start blaring. You'll hear it. Trust me."

Catcher interpreted that as code from Travis for 'take a nap. The clever ship will wake you up if anything so much as moves.'

The team had taken off running at full speed for the dungeons. Catcher watched them leave from the hatch of the PLY, admiring the speed at which a full and grace at which his brothers could move. At the same time, he had to admit he was envious because it wasn't so long ago that he could move in such a manner. He blew out a long sigh, and headed back inside, locking the hatch. Being with Ashla, he'd gotten past his issues with his spinal injury. He still sometimes yearned for the ARC he once was, but he accepted the man he'd become.

Catcher worked his way toward the bridge, stifling a heavy yawn. Everything about the PLY screamed luxury. The corridors were lusciously carpeted, and the walls were paneled with Resinwood. Catcher popped the seal on his helmet, and slid it off. He stank after two days of battling non-stop. But, it was so rare he was around anything beautiful or luxurious like this. He took a deep breath of the rich wood scent. Interesting. Resinwood. From Mandalore. Catcher cocked his head to the side as the connection clicked in. Darknell was close in proximity to Mandalore in the Outer Rim. As far as distances went in the galaxy, the two planets were practically neighbors. He wondered if the ship had been commissioned off of Mandalore, or stolen from a hapless merchant who had wandered too close to the Kaz'harians. He shrugged.

_Does't matter. We're stealing it again._

He stifled another yawn, and headed to the galley.

_Food. This thing has to have decent food. _

The galley didn't disappoint. It was filled with gleaming appliances, including a food synthesizer. Catcher gazed at it with interest. It was the first of its kind he'd ever seen. Tempting.

But, as he stared at the amazing piece of tech, Catcher realized it was overwhelming. Being faced with an unlimited number of choices was too daunting. He scowled at the machine like it was a new enemy. Frustrated, he turned instead to the food storage pantry. It was filled with gleaming silver packets that resembled clone Ready Rations. Catcher grabbed one at random, not even bothering to read the label. He was comfortable with eating things that came in sealed packets. He tossed the pouch into his helmet, tucked under his arm, and was about to exit the galley, when he came up short. Beyond the galley was a enormous dining area that could easily seat thirty clones.

_Fek. For a small craft, the ship was oddly huge._

To get to the bridge, Catcher had to pass the sleeping quarters. The PLY had several sleeping quarters and Catcher had to resist the urge to peek inside at least one of them now that he was alone. What would it be like to take Ashla aboard a ship like this? A sudden image of the two of them alone in one of the luxury rooms filled his mind. He didn't even need to see the interior. His mind had already filled in details of lace, silk and Ashla sprawled across lush carpeting.

Catcher threw himself down into the pilot's chair on the bridge with a groan. He had to stop thinking about Ashla when he was away. It was getting downright painful. He glanced over at all of the sensors to make sure everything was working properly. Nothing. Not a blip. The hangars were completely quiet. No signs of activity coming in on either short-range or long-range sensors. He yawned again, and started carefully peeling open the foil-packet. It self-heated as soon as the pouch released, and he glanced at the meal with half-hearted interest. Suddenly, his brain caught up with crotch. Catcher sat bolt upright, nearly dumping the steaming packet onto his boots. It was only his quick reflexes that saved the mystery food from splattering on the polished deck of the ship.

Catcher carefully set the meal down onto a flat part of the control panel, and palmed himself through his codpiece. No denying it. He was rock solid. Difference was he could actually _feel_ it now. Ashla kept telling him she believed he would continue to get better. She'd been rubbing Xyra's nerve regeneration formula into his spine nightly, and down his legs. It often led to other things, as touching him all over seemed to get Ashla aroused. So, after she finished rubbing him down with the lotion, she often allowed him to flip her over and show his appreciation with his hands and mouth. Catcher had figured out early on, and later from comparing notes with Sink, there were many ways of pleasing a woman that didn't involve straight intercourse. Ashla made it very clear she loved him exactly as he was, and didn't care about his spinal injury.

Catcher grinned, and grabbed his meal off of the cockpit dash again. He sniffed at the contents, trying to figure out what it was and decided it didn't matter. He snapped the universal built-in eating utensil off the side, commonly known as a spife, and made quick work of the meal. It turned out to be a lot more flavorful than the average clone Ready Ration, and Catcher devoured it in seconds. He tossed the pouch aside into the nearest reclimator, and wished he'd grabbed a second meal. He was still hungry. But, he was too tired to head back down to the galley.

He palmed himself again. Yup. Still there. He couldn't wait to get back to Ando. He had so much to share with Ashla.

He yawned again hugely, and double-checked the sensor readings again. Nothing. Nothing. And, nothing. Everything was working perfectly. Hah.

Catcher settled back into the chair. Fek, these chairs were comfortable. He liked this ship alright. Don't tell Travis you like the ship. Smarmy Marine is already difficult enough to put up with...

Catcher startled upright. He'd been sleeping so deeply that for a moment he'd forgotten where he was. But, the disorientation didn't last long. It only took him another fraction of a second to snap to instant battle alertness. His ears honed in on the sound. An alert. One of the sensors had been tripped. He straightened up in his chair and studied everything on the sleek control panel of the PLY, as he identified the source of the trouble. His hands flew across the controls as he called up more data.

Oh, this was not good.

He immediately reached for his helmet, and slid it on, contacting Rex, Cody and Travis simultaneously. "We've got a problem."

# # #

Rex once again called in Ponds and Trapper to cover him so he could devote his full attention to the images coming in at him from Catcher. "An entire fleet?"

"How long?" Cody demanded. He couldn't see Cody from where he was. Last he'd seen the 212th Commander, he'd been working on ferrying large group of prisoners out to the hallways and out of the pathway of the cryseefa gas.

"Yes, Captain," Catcher confirmed, "Commander, long range sensors just picked them up. They'll be planetside within two hours. So, unless we want to do battle with an armada of Seppies, we need to clear out of here. In order to clear the system to avoid detection, we'll have to be out of here in the next hour."

"The Kazzies called for backup," Travis said, sounding winded. Rex guessed that he and the entire commando team were running to make their way to the rendezvous with Fives faster.

"Not to put more pressure on you, Travis," Rex said, "but-"

"I get it, Rex," Travis said, "I've got less than an hour to find Echo. You and Commander Cody have less than an hour to load all the ships. I also don't need to remind you that we also rigged this entire place to blow. So, I'm going to shut up and move. Travis out.

Rex actually snorted with laughter. When things got bad, Travis was more focused than any trooper he knew. He was as intent as the finest ARC or Commando out there. He would do well teamed up with Fives. If anybody stood a chance of finding Echo, they would.

"Cody?" Rex said, when it was just the three of the four command clones on the line together.

"I'll take charge of getting the freed clones onboard the ships," Cody said.

"The commando team should be almost back at the dungeons," Catcher said. "They know these tunnels as well as the Kazzies by now. Take Torch and Dart with you to each lead teams of clones back to the ships. They can show you the fastest routes. Blaze and Travis can help find Echo."

"Agreed," Rex said.

"Travis is right, Rex," Cody said, "we're out of time. We may have to face that we cannot get all of the prisoners out, either. We might have to cut our loss-"

"We are not leaving any man behind, Cody!" Rex said, vehemently. "Not 501st. Not 212th. No man. We came here to rescue troopers, and that is what we are going to do."

# # #

_A/N: A nice long chapter. And, it's actually been a long week. I had shoulder surgery last Wednesday on my right side so I've had to type everything left-handed. I'm also doing Nanowrimo, so I've been dividing my time up with my Nano story, (a Boba Fett story.) I'm 22,000 words into it, so I'm right on track. Not bad for one hand. I know. I'm getting as smarmy as Travis._


	145. Chapter 145 Brotherhood

"**Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 145**

# # #

Leon originally went into the dungeons with the intent of fighting alone. He had one goal and one mission- finding his squad. But, somewhere along the way, he found himself teamed up with a group of Rex's men. They had hurriedly introduced themselves between the chaos and the fighting and the flash bangs.

"Ax!" shouted the first clone, as he dodged and rolled, expertly covering Leon's back.

"Drax!" shouted the second clone, sliding in next to Ax as if they've worked together always.

As a glint of light from a nearby explosion offered some light in the dark dungeons, Leon was able to better see their armor. They both had dramatic rust red stripes from shoulder to gauntlet, identifying them as 55th Mechanized Brigade. He could tell from the way they handled their weapons they were both gunners. However, they must have received some more training recently because their style of fighting was... unusual. It was as if they'd taken styles from divisions all across the GAR and combined them together into more efficient techniques.

"Leon," he said, throwing himself in front of Ax, and using his commando armor to take a direct blast from a slugthrower that would pelted right into the chest of the clone. It sparked and left a new scrape on his armor, but did no other damage.

"Thanks, vod," Ax said, clearly impressed by Leon's armor, and cocked his head to his companion. "Drax, we need better kit."

Drax snorted and did another roll, coming up in front of Leon to take out a Kaz'harian that came up out of the shadows. "Dream on, brother. Grunts like us don't get the fancy gear." He spun around Ax's other side expertly pegging a Kazzie in the middle of the forehead. He used his body's momentum to smoothly continue into a dive roll, taking down a simian with a flamethrower Leon hadn't seen with all of the smoke and confusion. He came back up to his feet, and continued the conversation as if nothing had transpired: "We're no commandos," Drax finished. He spun again and tucked his hand behind his back, firing twice upon two enemies trying to get the drop upon them from behind.

Leon noticed the gunner was missing a hand. He stared, momentarily distracted and stunned. His HUD spiked out a warning of a warning of a massive heat build-up nearby. He spun around, trying to figure out the new threat. His legs buckled as Ax tackled him down the ground, taking Drax down with them. A wall of flame roared over their heads like a fire-kraken, and they watched it together, staying down low.

"From down here, it has an almost scenic glow," Ax commented, looking up into the flame from below as it passed harmlessly above their heads.

"You do get an appreciation for all the different colors," Drax said, "see the blue right in the center?"

As soon as the flame passed, Ax was back up again, staying down low, taking out two flamethrowing Kazzies, first by the knee caps, and then with a shot directly into one of their flamepacks. He then threw himself down back onto Drax and Leon again, keeping them down as the flames blew toward them. He whooped with delight. The explosion from the flamepacks was so huge it singed directly over their backs.

"We need flamethrowers," Ax said, excitedly, his voice breathless from exertion. "How come we don't have flamethrowers?"

"You're as bad as my squad," Leon grumbled from his position underneath the two gunners.

Drax smacked his brother across the top of the helmet. "Behave." He turned to Leon as they waited for the roaring flames to die down from over their heads. "Sorry," he said, and Leon figured he was apologizing for his brother's exuberance. He was about to open his mouth and tell them it wasn't necessary. Truth was, he was enjoying being around brothers who annoyed him in the same way his squad did. But, Drax had already moved on, pointing to the extra gear strapped to Leon's back. "So, what's with all this extra kit?"

"I'm looking for my squad," Leon said, "they're somewhere here in one of these cells."

The flames had died down. Drax reached a hand down to help Leon up. Ax was already back on his feet, diving and rolling around them so fast that Leon felt himself getting dizzy trying to keep up with the hyper clone's movements.

"We'll go with you," Drax said, and then in a completely calm voice, he remarked, "behind you." They both spun around, as a full squad of dozen flamethrowing Kazzies approached and drew their wands.

Together, Ax, Drax and Leon each dropped to a knee, and took out four Kazzies apiece with perfect precision.

"We've been assigned to keep cracking cells open and get prisoners out," Drax continued, picking up the thread of their conversation.

Ax nodded, "We could look for this squad of yours at the same time."

Leon looked back and forth between the two clones. He was a bit stunned from watching Ax and Drax in action. He'd seen commandos with these kinds of skills, but he wasn't used to seeing ordinary grunts with commando-like reflexes. Leon himself was exhausted from being imprisoned in the lab next to the General, and he was both malnourished and dehydrated. He was barely staying on his feet, and knew his reflexes were shot.

Leon studied the two for a moment, "Alright." After being imprisoned in the labs isolated away from other vode, it felt good to have other clones watching his back again.

# # #

Time was running out.

Shutting off the air vents to the dungeons caused the deadly cryseefa gas to distribute unevenly. In some regions, the poisonous gas clung to the ground in thick white clouds. In other areas, there were no traces of gas, with pockets of clean, breathable air.

The three men didn't speak. They were passing through a region of cells with gas so thick they could barely see one another. But, they still felt obligated to at least quickly the vode for life signs. Another brother would do that much for them, so they paid the same courtesy and didn't just pass these men by without a look. But, the work was hard on all three of them. Men who died from gas poisoning had a tell-tale posture in death. Cell after cell, all of these clone troopers, scantily clothed in prison garb, were curled up in death as if they were back in their gestation vat.

Leon felt himself grow increasingly numb inside as the death tally increased. Ax and Drax had grown uncharacteristically silent.

Ax shot out the next lock, and the three of them made their way into the next cell. Leon didn't know how many more of these he could do. He was so numb and exhausted. So many dead vode. He was going to move on, when something about these troopers looked familiar.

_No. No. No._

Ax was already leaning down, preparing to check for life signs. He froze, mid-action, taking a knee next to the three unmoving forms, looking at Leon puzzled. "Vod, are you alright?"

Drax figured it out first. "It's his squad."

Leon couldn't speak. He'd been so focused on finding his squad. It wasn't possible they were gone.

A loud explosion sounded nearby, and debris shook down from the roof. Ax and Drax craned their necks in unison to look up at the new threat, but Leon didn't move. He had failed to protect the General and now his squad. Leon felt blackness tunneling his vision, and he couldn't breathe.

Leon suddenly dropped down to his knees, desperately clawing at the extra kit strapped to his back. Within seconds, all the gear was strewn around him on the floor of the prison cells. He stared at it in disbelief and then at the three unmoving forms.

_This was not happening._

Black spots were obstructing his vision now, and his breath was coming in panting gasps. With shaking hands, he pulled a stim sharp from his belt and jammed it into his thigh. He closed his eyes, waiting for it to run through his system. Another explosion sounded nearby, sending debris pelting down against his armor.

Ax gripped his arm. "Hey, you alright, vod?" It was the standard line every brother said when something truly catastrophic happened. He didn't respond. He distantly heard Ax and Drax talking back and forth about their next moves.

"We should bang out of here," Drax said, kneeling down on Leon's other side. He holstered his blaster, and used his one arm to try to pull Leon up. The commando shook his head, staring down at the pile of gear he'd thrown off his back. He had no idea what to do next. But, he wasn't planning on leaving these dungeons alive. "We have to go," Drax tugged again. "We've got incoming." He pointed to the distinctive shape of another dozen Kazzies headed their way.

Before they could object, Leon was up and out the door charging toward the enemy on his own.

"Come on," Ax shouted enthusiastically, but Drax stopped him.

"Give him a minute alone," Drax said, "We have to finish up here. Somehow, I think he's got it." They watched Leon for a moment and saw him take down four Kazzies in quick succession.

"Impressive," Ax said. "Guess he's venting."

He knelt down and was about to go through the formality of checking the three troopers for life signs, even though he knew it was hopeless. Another explosion rocked the fortress, and out of instinct, Ax threw himself down on top of the brother he was about to check. As his body weight impacted on top of the trooper, he heard a slight exhale of air. Once debris finished pelting down, he drew back and stared around, realizing something crucial they'd all missed. They could see each other clearly in this cell. "Fex, Drax!" He immediately checked the trooper for life signs. "This vod isn't dead. Check the others."

"What?!"

Ax continued to run scans. "The air in here isn't nearly as bad as the other areas we've been going through. These vode had minimal gas exposure. They're unconscious." He looked over at the commando gear Leon had dumped onto the floor of the cell, and immediately started to tug the unconscious trooper into the suit. "Put them all back in their rig. As soon as they're sealed in, their oxygen levels should restore to normal."

# # #

"Gah!"

Leon looked up and saw an enormous chunk of the ceiling come crashing toward him.

He dove out of the way, and felt spots swimming in front of his vision. Admittedly, he was not at his best. He was still going on adrenaline and the stim shot.

_Ah. But, it does make a convenient piece of cover. _

He ducked behind the enormous chunk of rock, looking up, and noticed he could see all the way up into the darkened corridor above.

_That should help clear the air a little more in here._

His lips twisted sourly.

_Not in time to help my squad._

He was determined to take down as many Kazzies before he went down in a spectacular ball of flame. He owed as much to his squad. They'd died from that fekkin' cryseefa gas. He'd go out fighting. Nobody would ever remember him, not that his squad was gone. But, at least there at still other good troopers out there like Ax and Drax.

He drew himself up and prepared to make a final charge against the Kazzies. The first dozen Kazzies weren't so bad. Regular simians with slugthrowers. But, then another full squad of the flamethrowing type had come up directly behind them. Fek. This area was thick with the kind that seemed to love fire. This was it. He'd have to break cover to get at them. He could probably get about six or seven of them, before the heat proved to be too much for his suit.

"Look at the di'kut. I'm betting he is going to charge in there by himself."

"Vod, you are going to get your shebs kicked without your squad to back you up."

"You are always tell us to think as a team."

Leon turned around in slack-jawed amazement. Ice, Kelly, and Decker were regarding him, dressed in their full commando rig. Then, the three dove behind the shelter of the fallen rock before a wall of flame could hit them.

"They're serious, huh?" joked Decker.

A whooping war cry overpowered the sound of the flamethrowers, and the flames suddenly stopped. Leon peered up over the rock and saw Ax and Drax attacking the fire Kazzies from behind.

"That's our cue," Ice said, smacking Leon hard on the back. Kelly and Decker both yanked Leon to his feet, and then formed up on either side of him in their usual places as a squad. "They could use some back-up." The commando team advanced forward as a unit and within seconds the Kazzies were down.

"Fek, that was too easy. Are there any more?" Kelly kicked at one of the prone simians.

"Mind where you kick. These ones have a tendency to explode," Drax said.

"I love a good explosion myself," Ax said cheerily, "catch one of these fellows in the flamepack and BOOM! It's beautiful."

Decker regarded Ax with interest, "You into explosives, then?"

The two were instantly lost in a discussion of the best way to blow things up.

Drax shook his head. "Unbelievable. Now there's someone encouraging him." He looked over at Leon, and then the commando squad, "There are likely still others alive in this area." Ice, Decker and Ax nodded enthusiastically, and they took off back toward the cells.

Leon stared after them, his body was somewhere between shell-shocked and too exhausted to move. He was still trying to wrap his head around the reality his squad was back together.

Kelly paused next to Leon. "You hurt or something? We were worried when they dragged you off."

Leon shook his head. "I was taken to their lab. Just tired. Been a long couple of days."

Kelly gave a small laugh. "Let's catch up when we get back." He gave Leon a friendly slap on the back, as Ice had done. "We all owe you for bring us our kit. Come on. Looks like they could use some help." He pointed back toward their squad mates. Ice and Decker were picking up unconscious clones, and trying to carry one over each shoulder.

Kelly and Leon moved over to join the others.

Captain Rex's voice cut in over the comlink, "All trooper's fall back. RV at the main entrance, then head to the hangars. More hostiles inbound. Prepare for immediate evac."

The six of them looked back and forth at each other and then toward the direction of the main entrance. Blasterfire flashed back and forth in the smoky gloom, evidence of ongoing firefights, all over the dungeons. He looked back at the still locked prison cells with brothers inside. It would be tough going even to make it to the entrance.

"That's a direct order to evac," Kelly said.

"It is," Leon agreed.

Both men were already moving toward the nearest cell and together they busted in the door, and were checking the men for life signs. "Alive," Kelly announced. "What's the plan?"

"We get these men out and come back for more," Leon said.

"We might not make evac ourselves," Kelly said, as they ran toward the entrance, the rest of the squad following.

"Yes," Leon gritted out, breathing heavily under the burden of his heavy load. Carrying a squad's worth of gear had been difficult, but carrying two men at once was even worse.

Kelly laughed. "I like this new rebellious side of you. Why couldn't you have started acting like this earlier?"

Leon heard Ice and Decker laughing along with Kelly and felt the warmth of the approval of his squad as he willingly disobeyed a direct order. Fek. For over a year, it had been a constant struggle to earn the respect of the three commandos reporting into him. Now, he was defiant and finally the squad came together. He shook his head, trying to puzzle it all out. But, as he ran full-speed next to his squad, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

# # #

"You, OK, Tomm? Need to stop?"

"I'm fine," Tomm grumbled out to his fellow snowtrooper, although in truth he could barely the words out. It had been hours since they'd been separated from Hok and the rest of the scouts. He'd still be trapped under a pile of rocks in the corridor if it hadn't been for Hugh. His fellow snowtrooper hadn't been willing to give up on him. For his part, Tomm had fantasies of punching Hugh, so he'd leave him alone to go to sleep here in the corridor. He was so fekkin' exhausted.

"Oh, I'm sure you're _fine_. You sound great. Sit, you di'kut." Hugh lowered Tomm down in the protection of a shadowed alcove.

Tomm leaned wearily back against the bag of weapons strapped to his back. "How much further?" His eyes sank closed of their own accord, and he tried to force himself to stay awake. He was too tired to consult his HUD. They'd had long days together in the 313th, but this ranked up there with their speeder crash on Asuin. That had been a bad fekkin' day. He cracked one eye to study Hugh, and realized it was his weak eye. Everything was a blur. He closed it, and cracked open his other eye. Better. He studied his brother. "You should leave me-"

Hugh ignored him as if he hadn't even spoken, and answered his earlier question. "We're directly above the dungeons," Hugh said, with his usual annoyingly cheerful optimism. "One more level and we're there."

A thunderous explosion from below shook the entire corridor. Both snowtroopers dropped down flat and automatically sheltered their heads. Hugh rolled back to his feet, brushing at his padded gear. "You know how long it's going to take to get our kit white again once we get home?" He sounded more bemused than annoyed. "We've got the best kit on Ando. We're the only snowtroopers on a snowplanet. Best assignment ever."

"We weren't assigned. We were _decommissioned_, sent to be _reconditioned_, and then we crashed," Tomm said moodily, dragging himself to a seated position and rooting around in his belt pouch for a painkiller and a stim.

"I like you better when you haven't been crushed under things," Hugh said.

Tomm was about to demand Hugh leave him again, when his brother cut him off.

"If you even say it I'm going to stun you and carry you the rest of the way. I'll have to carry you, your gear, my gear, and still shoot Kazzies. You might have a busted foot and bad attitude, but you're still a good shot," Hugh said, and then he added in a low tone, "and my best friend. I would never leave you."

Tomm stared at him, stunned speechless. He stared down at his lap, then quickly grabbed two sharps out of his medkit, and injected him right through his bodysuit. It would work better if he took the time to remove his helmet, and did it into a major artery in the neck. But, he was more interested in getting to the dungeons and completing the mission than his own comfort. Feeling slightly energized, he studied his HUD. "We need to find a shortcut. At the rate these explosions are coming, this place is not going to hold together much longer." He studied all the possible routes on the current level, and then sent the planned path to Hugh.

"We decided not to take that route because it looked like certain suicide."

Tomm shook his head. "If we cut through there, it should drop us into the back of the dungeons."

Another explosion rocked the fortress, and both threw themselves down to avoid more falling debris.

"Hugh, we need to get down there. I'm betting all Kazzies are already deployed into the dungeons. Come on, help me up," he put one arm up so that Hugh could tug him to his feet.

"If you're wrong, this plan of yours is certain suicide," Hugh grumbled, tugging Tomm to his feet. But then his voice took on its usual cheerful optimism again, "but, we have done stupider things. Although, usually those stupid things have been _my_ idea."

Tomm actually laughed at _that_ one. True. He looked back at the route he'd drawn out on his HUD, taking them directly through the Kazzie barracks on the current level. If the map was correct, there was a back door for the guards to exit out into the dungeons. If Tomm's theory was correct, all the troops had left already and they would find themselves a perfect shortcut straight through to the back of the dungeons. And, if he was wrong, they were about to barrel headlong into a whole hive of Kazzies.

# # #


	146. Chapter 146 In the Hole

"Down!" Ice shouted. A brilliant wall of orange flame roared toward the clone troopers. The men dropped as one as the deadly inferno singed over them. The six men were carrying two unconscious brothers apiece, bringing their numbers up to eighteen total.

"Engage!" Leon ordered, as the flame died down. The Kazzie flamethrowers had a recharge cycle, with a brief period of vulnerability in between bursts. The squad was taking full advantage of this weakness. Leaving their injured brothers safely on the ground, the six men rolled back to their feet and engaged the enemy. Leon barked out commands, although Ice, Decker and Kelly were so in-tune with him they were moving before he'd even finished giving the orders. Even more impressive, Ax and Drax were completely in formation with the rest of the squad. They wove in and out within the complex firing squad of the commandos. Leon gave the all-clear signal as the last Kazzie dropped, and the six men went back to retrieve their unconscious brothers.

"These two are fun," Decker said cheerfully, holstering his blaster so he could grab up the unmoving vode.

Drax brought up his blaster to check the charge, supporting the weapon underneath the stump at the end of his arm.

Decker glanced over at him and couldn't hold back a hiss of surprise.

"It's nothing," Drax shrugged, finishing checking the charge. "Been too busy to get another."

"Somebody had to bust you out of here," Ax added, stepping between the clones to defer the topic before Decker asked any more questions. He smacked Drax on the spauldron, the unspoken look exchanged between the Andoan troopers quickly acknowledging it would be _bad_ if the commandos got too curious about them.

"I know, di'kut," Drax hissed over private comms to Ax.

Decker changed the subject on his own. "My squadmates and I wouldn't be alive without you. We owe you, vod," Decker said, grunting a bit as he hoisted the second unconscious trooper up, "When these lazy shab'buirs can speak again, I'll make sure they thank you, too. Maybe a celebration in the barracks on Triple Zero."

Drax knelt down to pick up his two troopers, withholding comment. Ax was immediately beside him, helping to compensate for his missing hand.

On closed circuit, the gunner said privately to his brother: "We're not going to be around for any fekkin' party on Corrie," Ax hissed. "We either get roasted here, or we'll be back freezing our shebsie on Ando."

Drax gave a cross between a pained laugh and a groan as he straightened up, adjusting to the weight he was carrying. "Yeah, well, there is never going to be any celebration either. When was the last time we got more than a few hours off to sleep, eat or float in bacta? Civvies get celebrations, and we fekkin' guard them. But, we vode have to talk. It's all we have."

Ax gave a half-laugh in agreement, struggling as he lifted up his two troopers. "I never expected to get a thank you out of all of this. But, we're alongside commandos. Even if we end up shabla' roasted or flattened soon, this has been a good day."

His brother snorted with laughter and then coughed because he was so winded. Fek. It was hard to run and carrying two vode. But, fek, his vod was right. This was turning out to be one of their best days ever.

# # #

"Us gleaming snowies brighten up this place," Hugh said with forced cheer as they worked their way through the enemy sleeping den.

"We don't gleam anymore," Tomm grumbled. "Might as blacken our kit and call ourselves spec-ops. I think our kit is done for."

He was using both infrared and nightvision as they worked their way through the simian barracks. He'd adjusted to the low lighting in the corridors, but the nest where the simians slept had no lighting at all.

"You and me as spec-ops troopers?" Hugh mused, "We'd be good at that. Stealth. Adventure."

Tomm didn't dignify his brother's ramblings with a response. He was already sorry he'd brought it up. Stealth? Fek. Hugh could never _shut up._

"Sure is dark," Hugh muttered, already changing topics again.

"Maybe they're trying to save lumens."

"Funny. See? You're not all gloom."

"Was that a darkness joke?"

"Maybe," Hugh's voice turned thoughtful, "Kazzies have natural nightvision."

"They have a tapetum lucidum. We have infrared HUDs. Kriffin' hoo hah. We all get to see in the dark," Tomm said dryly.

"Not much to see," Hugh admitted, as they hurriedly worked their way past hundreds of identical sleeping berths.

"Then, shut it."

"I talk when I'm nervous," Hugh said. "They can't hear our comms."

"You talk _all_ the time, and I have to listen to you."

The barracks seemed to be endless. Tomm tried not to imagine what the place would be like filled with the giant warriors.

"Tomm-" Hugh began.

"Hugh," Tomm hissed, getting annoyed.

"No," Hugh shook his head, "the battle, it's getting louder."

Tomm focused and listened intently. The explosions and blaster fire were steadily increasing in volume. His HUD startled him with an insistent alarm and flashing red alert, and he bit down on his tongue in surprise.

"Tomm," Hugh hissed out a warning.

"I see it," Tomm said, as readouts flashed across his screen.

"Whatever you do, don't take off your lid," Hugh's voice had taken on the tightness it did when he was finally getting serious. "Your bucket wasn't damaged in that explosion, was it? Your seals are still intact?"

"Everything checked out," Tomm said, "only my farkin' foot was crushed." His eyes flickered across the readings on his screen again.

_Cryseefa?_

"I don't get it," Hugh said, halting their progress. "Why poison their own barracks?" He gestured around them, at the swirling whiteness gathered around their feet. "This place is absolutely thick with the stuff."

A piece of info nagged at the back of Tomm's brain. He was exhausted and in pain, but he'd always been good with the small details. He pulled up the mission brief prepared by Lieutenant Travis and Captain Catcher. He quickly searched through the document pulling up the relevant data on Cryseefa.

"Kazzies are immune to the stuff," Tomm said. "This was never meant for them." He yanked on his brother's shoulder to get them going again.

"So, how'd they end up gassing their own quarters?" Hugh was persistent when he was curious.

Tomm shrugged, "Maybe the Kazzies have gone crazy. Don't know."

"Crazy isn't good," Hugh said simply. "Never like fighting crazy."

# # #

Maar'kux was mad with rage.

The intruders had ruined everything.

He hadn't been leader of the fortress long, but he'd killed several rivals to rise to power. He was not well-liked by the warriors, but they feared him. Those in charge before him had allowed the warriors to grow soft. Too weak in their dealings with the prisoners.

The strategy of creating a clone army to fight a clone army was brilliant. The greatest weakness of these clones were their humanity. The Separatists understood this and were ready to exploit it. But, now Maar'kux had received word the lab had been destroyed. The tide of the battle in the dungeons was turning, and the prisoners were escaping.

He'd given the order for the cryseefa to be released. Kill the prisoners. Start over again elsewhere. But the gas hadn't worked.

He'd have to head down and finish the battle himself. The warriors were too weak.

Every Zillo Beast had a head. He'd seen a man in blue leading the clones. His fingers caressed the oversized machete dangling from his hip. Behead the beast, and the battle is won. Time to take heads.

# # #

As they neared the entrance, Leon recognized the familiar blue and white armored form of Captain Rex.

"Move it, troopers!" the speakers in his buckets were maxed up so high it was distorting his voice. He was bellowing at exiting troopers like shinies on Kamino. But, it seemed to be working. There was an orderly stream of clones exiting the dungeons without pause. Some of the troopers were armored clones, but most were scruffy, half-naked prisoners rescued from the cells. A line of armored clones behind a makeshift barricade defended the perimeter, preventing Kazzies from firing upon the exiting clones.

Leon followed the line of clones out of the dungeons into a heavily crowded hallway. Two armored clones in 212th colors stood in the middle of the corridor directing traffic flow. Despite the crowds, everything moved smoothly and quickly.

"Take your unconscious over there, then come back for evac directions," the trooper glanced at them and their unconscious burdens, then immediately proceeded to the group behind them, "conscious and walking wounded, _that_ way."

Leon headed over to the edge of the hallway, motioning for his men to follow. The six men unloaded the unconscious forms off their shoulders, lining them up next to a long row of other men who looked as if they'd been affected by the gas. He intentionally avoided looking further down the hallway to where he'd left the General. There was no time now for any distractions. He was too disciplined to allow himself such luxuries.

"If you wish to evac, now is the time," Leon said, turning to his squad and the two gunners. His voice was completely calm, holding no judgement.

The five men looked back and forth at each other, unfazed and unmoving.

Several long seconds ticked by.

Ice folded his arms across his chest. Ax took the time to check the charge on his blaster.

Decker tapped his foot impatiently. "Are you done? We're wasting time."

Leon found his lips quirking upwards with amusement. He didn't usually smile. The rest of the squad were the pranksters. What was wrong with him? He shook his head slightly, and motioned for the men to move out back toward the dungeons. As they reached the entrance, he tucked his head down and barreled through the swarm coming out. As soon as he started threading his way around the barricade, he was abruptly grabbed by the upper arm.

"Where do you think you're going? Evac NOW," Rex's voice assumed a low menacing tone.

"We're going back in, _Captain_," Leon said, facing off against the other officer. He was equal in rank to Rex, and he wasn't backing down. Not if it meant saving vode.

"The fek you are," Rex's grip tightened on his arm, "we have incoming hostiles. You're getting your shebs on a ship bound for Corrie."

"In the far cells, there are pockets of breathable air where the gas didn't penetrate," Leon stepped forward, staring Rex down, visor-to-visor. "I found my entire squad alive back there." He jerked a thumb behind him to the three commandos behind him. Without a sound, Ice, Decker and Kelly slid into formation beside him. "There are still men trapped in those cells," Leon said defiantly, "and I mean to get them out."

Rex didn't move on, staring Leon down. It was a battle of wills between them. But, Leon knew what was going on. Rex was thinking it through, calculating through strategies and contingencies. He released his grip on Leon's arm, then called over his shoulder.

"Denal!" Rex shouted. The 501st trooper quickly came up from his position behind the makeshift barrier.

"Captain?"

"Take over here," Rex ordered. "Continue the evac."

The seasoned 501st quickly took over the Captain's place by the door. "Move it, troopers!" Denal shouted. "Let's go!"

"Show me," Rex said to Leon. Overhearing the conversation, several of the men on the perimeter guard, cut in on the comm.

"Captain," Hardcase said, glancing back over his shoulder from the armored barrier.

"Sir," Jesse added in, from his place on the line next to Hardcase.

"Permission to-" Hawkeye started.

"Granted," Rex said curtly, waving the three over. "Give me your extra weapons." The three men immediately handed him their blasters, opting to keep their rifles. Rex turned to Denal, handing him the extra weapons, and nodded toward the barricade. "Replace them on the line." Overhearing this, several of the clones in prison garb headed toward the door all turned, eyes looking toward the weapons. Denal already had more than enough volunteers. These men were 501st and 212th and couldn't wait to get back into the fight. Denal motioned to three of them, and they took the weapons and slid into place behind the barricade taking up the spots Hardcase, Jesse and Hawkeye had vacated.

"Make sure you get everyone to evac on-time. Including yourself. Clear?" Rex said to the 501st clone.

"Yes, sir," Denal acknowledged crisply.

As Rex turned to go, Denal gripped Rex by the arm. "What about you?" His voice was low and urgent, and spoke of their long friendship and battles fought together.

Rex shook his head. "Get everyone out of here. If we don't make evac, it means we're not coming back."

# # #

Tomm knew they'd been lucky not to run into any Kazzies so far.

In his experience, luck only went so far.

For example, he and Hugh had survived a horrific speeder crash on Asuin. But, his brother had lost a hand and he'd gone almost completely blind in one eye. Good luck. Bad luck. It beat being dead. They'd gotten out of bacta, and were both red-carded. Bad luck. But, they were both sent to the same med facility. Good luck. If you didn't count the fact that Hugh could talk the ears off a Gundark. ArmyMed didn't do much more for them than shake their heads and write discharge papers. Bad luck. But they went through the system in the same amount of time, so they were on the same ship to Kamino. Good luck. Tomm had come to believe there was a galactic system of checks and balances.

So, he wasn't overly surprised when things went south in the barracks.

"I can't see a fekkin' thing," Hugh grumbled.

"You're on infrared?"

"Of course," his brother said, "but all this gas is messing with the systems. All I can see are swirls of white."

"There _is_ nothing else to see. Keep moving. We should be through-" His voice cut off with a startled yelp, as infrared picked up a heat signature. A large one. No. Many large heat signatures on the other side of the wall. "Hugh..."

"I see them," Hugh's voice changed over to battle mode quality. The next part of the barracks was not so unoccupied. They both froze into place, two unmoving snowies.

"What do we do? Fight or retreat?" Tomm asked. He did a mental tally, quickly counting up heat signatures. He stopped at fifty, and decided to focus back on their battle plan.

"We can't run very fast," Hugh reluctantly admitted, "not carrying this gear."

"And, not with you carrying me," Tomm grumbled.

"They haven't spotted us yet," Hugh pointed out.

"There's another corridor this way," Tomm said quickly. sending a proposed route to Hugh.

"Not an exit," Hugh replied quickly, as he analyzed the route.

"Also not headed toward the Kazzies."

"Agreed. Alright, let's move."

Tomm used the 360 degree view in his HUD to double-check the heat signatures behind them. So far, they hadn't been spotted. None of the heat signatures were moving. But, his vod was right. Changing course meant they were pinning themselves into a dead end.

_Great choice of words._

"I'm sorry," Tomm muttered so quietly he wasn't sure if he'd even been heard.

"For what?"

"This was a terrible idea."

Hugh laughed.

"Only you would laugh at a time like this."

"It's usually me getting us almost killed."

"True."

"And, yet, here we are."

"What's your point?" Tomm muttered, keeping an eye on the heat signatures.

"We're not dead."

# # #

Rex studied Leon, his signature helmet dipping down and then up as he inspected the other clone. The commando forced himself to stand absolutely still, and not flinch under the other's scrutiny. Rex gave a curt nod. "Alright, lead us out, then. We have men to rescue." He took a half-step back allowing the other man to take point.

Leon blinked. He hadn't expected the Captain of the 501st would offer him respect after he'd defied the man at every turn. Fek, if the clever Captain hadn't earned his trust and loyalty with that move. He felt the weight and burden of command with just that half step Rex had taken behind him. He understood without question how men from different divisions across the GAR had followed the Captain here on this rescue mission. It was about loyalty.

With a crisp movement of his arm, he signaled his ever growing squadron to move out.

# # #

The heat signatures were moving. Fast. Who knew creatures that large could move so fast?

"Hugh."

"I see them."

Hugh's picked up their pace even more, both of their breaths coming in ragged gasps. They must be nearing the end of the barracks. They'd be sitting nunas if they were caught against the barrack wall. But, considering there was no exit in this direction... Fek. This was a bad plan.

"They're gaining," Tomm said, his voice still calm. They hadn't caught a visual of the enemy yet, other than the heat signatures, but judging by the tremendous pounding of footsteps, it sounded like the entire Kaz'harian army was chasing them down.

A bright flash suddenly lit up the room and they both cried out as infrared overloaded trying to compensate for the change. The battle sounds were definitely getting louder.

"Gah! Ow!" Hugh complained. "What was that?"

Tomm didn't answer, his attention focused on the rear view of his HUD. He was prepared to engage as soon as the first enemies came within range, his finger already on the trigger of his DL-20A.

"Whoa!" Hugh stopped them suddenly.

"Hugh, what-" Tomm returned his focus to his HUD front view, and gasped at the enormous hole in the barracks floor. Blue blaster fire flashed back and forth, and they heard the familiar sound of battle.

"The dungeons," Hugh breathed out.

"Kazzies!" Tomm shouted, looking behind him again, as he caught sight of the front of the pack of the horde rounding the corner. Even through night vision, the Kazzies looked huge.

Never one to hesitate, Hugh slid the weapons bag off his back and tossed it below.

Tomm immediately followed suit, tossing his weapons bag down. "Jump!" He pushed Hugh and followed him down into the pit, as the first blasts tore over their heads. They landed on top of their bags and rolled.

"Ow!" Hugh complained, grabbed his weapons bag and kept moving. "Tomm! Move it!" He immediately pulled at Tomm, but his vod was unresponsive. "Come on," he grabbed his fellow snowtrooper and his bag in a single move hauling them up. He gritted his teeth as his back muscles protested. He threw his brother's arm over his shoulder, and started to run as Kazzies started firing down into the hole. He could see his brother was still unresponsive. "Uh oh." As Hugh watched in his 360 view, he saw simian after simian drop through the hole. "Could use your help here, Tomm," Hugh hissed through clenched teeth. "Tomm!"

He spun the two of them and was pleased to see Tomm's DL-20A come up along with his in one synchronized move. "Fek, you had me worried, vod," Hugh grumbled, over the noise of their blasters firing.

He felt a surge of pride. Injured or not, his vod was always the best shot in the fekkin' 313th Legion. He spun them around and they continued to run. They worked together with the precision and grace of one who knew everything about their brother's strengths and weaknesses. On Ando, Tomm had learned to shoot again, compensating for the lack of sight in his one eye. Hugh hated to admit it, but he was still a better shot than him. Fek. He was a better shot than almost anyone in the Legion, except maybe the commandos. They continued to move, and fire, throwing themselves back against empty prison cells to dodge shots from the enormous horde pursuing them.

Although, even two determined snowies had their limitations against an overwhelming horde of Kazzies chasing them down. "Tomm," Hugh said, breathing heavily, and glancing down quickly to check the charge in his blaster. It was dangerously low. "I think we made them angry."

# # #


	147. Chapter 147 Enemy

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 147**

"It's quiet," Rex said, timing his words carefully between breaths as they ran toward the back of the dungeons. They were moving at a fast clip, spaced apart enough to allow each other a chance to move but not so far that they couldn't cover each other's backs.

"Yes," agreed Leon, his words punctuated with extra inhalations as he drew in air. "We were under constant barrage on our way out. Hard to believe we got them all."

Both men were quiet for a pause, mulling over the information. Leon slowed his pace slightly so he could run shoulder-to-shoulder beside the other captain.

"So, an ambush, then," Rex said, more of a statement than a question.

"Sure looks that way."

The two men exchanged a long hard look behind their visors and continued running forward.

# # #

Ahsoka was leaning back against the corridor wall, exhausted eyes lightly closed in meditation. General Unduli's bandaged head rested on her lap. Suddenly, her eyes flew open in horror. "Oh no, Rex! NO!"

# # #

Mako's medpack slapped against his back with every step as he ran. The pack fit well enough, and Shadow had adjusted the straps for him before they'd initially departed the raider. But, Mako had loaded the pack so heavily he was likely carrying twenty kilo. He'd be bruised for sure after this from the impact of the heavy pack slamming into him. But, he'd made excellent time crossing the jungle and was now quickly passing through corridor after corridor in the fortress. He had his blaster at the ready, but had yet to run into any Khaz'harians.

Mako double-checked his position against his HUD. He was right on course. He excelled at geo-reading, to the point of being teased about in the bomb squad. But, it was a good natured kind of ribbing. Mako always did pick up skills faster than the others around him. But, he tried to hide this ability, since they all knew the Kaminoans terminated those who were 'different.' He always tried to pass himself off as exactly the same as his brothers and strive for generic normalcy and uniformity.

Mako ran around another corner and almost stumbled over a pile of Khaz'harian bodies. He put out his stump of a hand to steady himself, picking his way through the tangled mess of corpses. He was glad there were no vode mixed in with the dead. Mako tucked his arm back down by his side and continued to run. His missing hand made him _different_ now. Then again, he was among an entirely new Legion with the main uniformity being they were all _different_ now. It was somehow a relief to be the way he was now. He would always mourn the loss of his hand, but in losing it he had gained the freedom to finally be _Mako_.

Mako double-checked his geo-position. After he passed the next corner, he would be in the corridor leading to the dungeons. Mako took a deep breath, and rolled around the corner, blaster drawn. His arm was grabbed as soon as he rounded the corner. Mako cried out in surprise, and brought the elbow on his opposite arm into the throat of his attacker. Even without his hand, he could deliver an effective kill strike.

"Check!" the order was sharp and crisp. Mako halted, knowing only Jedi and command-line officers used such a command against clones. He froze in place, not able to move until the order was rescinded. "At ease."

Mako stared in confusion, lowering his arm by his side. Before him stood a small Togrutan dressed in Jedi robes. Her eyes widened as she took in his medpack, and the symbol painted on his armor. "You're a medic!"

Mako cocked his head and then studied the Togrutan another moment.

_This was the one Rex rescued from the back labs and sent back to the ship. This was Rex's Jedi. And, I just tried to kill her._

Mako opened up his mouth to blurt out an apology, but the Jedi grabbed his arm and pointed urgently. "I need your help." She pointed to the Mirilian lying down by her feet.

Mako switched over to medic mode and dropped to his knees. He pulled out the medsensor from his belt and began running scans. "What happened?" he asked. "I see signs of severe head trauma."

"She was clubbed," the small Jedi said urgently, "this is Master Unduli. I have to go. Rex is in trouble." Her blue eyes took on a far away look. She took off at a run for the dungeons, smoothly pulling a lightsaber into one hand as she ran.

Mako stared after her, both puzzled and concerned. _The Captain is in trouble? _He shook his head, thinking he had a job to do and his duties were being a medic. He focused back on the injured Jedi in front of hi. He peeled by the bandage on her head, and studied the injury carefully, lost in thought as he analyzed the wound.

"Cutaneous blunt force trauma. Patient exhibiting loss of consciousness," said a voice from directly behind him. Mako spun around in surprise and noticed a scruffy, bearded clone peering over his shoulder. The trooper pointed over Mako's shoulder. "Evidence of skull fracture here. See? The fracture line is here. Overlying laceration evidence here. And, look at this... a classic head injury sign. " He pointed out a small drip of clear fluid from the injured Jedi's eyes.

"Who _are_ you?" Mako asked, while at the same time whipping his his attention back to look more carefully at everything that had just been pointed out.

The bearded trooper gave a small chuckle. "My name's Coric. I'm Captain Rex's senior medic."

Mako frowned briefly under his helmet. _No. Lance is Captain's Rex senior medic. _He studied the trooper another moment, taking in his shirtless chest, grown out curly hair, and face full of bearded scruff. "You're five-oh-first. One of the prisoners freed from the dungeons."

The medic nodded. "And, you are?"

"I'm Mako," the younger medic tugged off his helmet so he could work more easily on the injured Jedi. Satisfied the patient was stable, he applied a fresh bandage to her head wound. "I came here with Captain Rex to rescue you."

"Captain Rex," the senior medic sounded thoughtful as he reached over and expertly tucked under a piece of fabri-gauze behind the Jedi General's ear, tightening the bandage. "So, how did you and the Captain end up-"

Mako jammed the medsensor back into his belt. "Don't ask. Cap'n said he'd explain later."

Coric nodded. "Fair enough. Does sound like Rex." His gaze strayed down the hallway to where wounded troopers were lined up against the walls. "I don't have any supplies. But, we could work together-"

Mako pulled a spare medi-kit out of his pack. "That's fine. But, you can have my extra kit."

The senior medic accepted the kit. "Thank you." He peered into Mako's oversized medpack. "Nicely done. I like a well-stocked medpack myself."

The younger clone beamed under the praise. "I wanted to be prepared. I just transitioned over to medic from bomb squad disassembly."

Coric laughed. "From blowing things up to putting them back together. What prompted that switch?"

Mako held up his stub of a hand.

The senior medic looked abashed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Don't be sorry. I'm the one who screwed up dismantling a bomb, not you," Mako said over his shoulder to Coric, as he moved on to the next injured trooper. He dropped down to his knees and immediately taking vitals. Coric moved in next to him and studied the injured trooper. The clone looked up with pain-stricken eyes, holding one hand over a bleeding thigh. Like Coric, he was dressed only in the thin pants given to the prisoners in the dungeons. He shivered in the damp chill of the corridors, teeth chattering together, as he studied the two medics.

Coric pushed the trooper's hand away and leaned in to study the wound more closely. "Slug is still in there. It will need stay in, too. It's probably the only thing slowing the bleeding at this point," he pointed carefully. "It's close to the femoral artery, so we don't want to start wiggling things around. Let's pack it. It can wait to come out in a nicely equipped medsuite." He gave a reassuring pat to the shoulder of the trooper. "This will heal clean, and you'll have a tiny perfect scar to show off to everyone."

The trooper smiled back, and relaxed somewhat as Mako and Coric worked together to clean and pack the wound. They quickly had it wrapped and padded with gauze, and moved on to the next injured trooper. Together, they pulled out shards of shrapnel from a trooper's arms and quickly sealed up the wounds. They moved on to a trooper affected by cryseefa. Thankfully, the trooper hadn't been exposed enough to suffer long term damage. A minute with a breather and the clone was already breathing better. Mako quickly went back over to double-check the Jedi with the head injury, knowing these types of injuries needed constant monitoring. Vitals were still holding steady, but injuries of this type could be very serious. He turned to go back to treating the line-up of troopers awaiting medical attention.

"Status?" Coric asked, peering over toward the Jedi, reminding him of Rex in the way he asked the question. The senior medic did seem to have a command presence about him.

"Stable. For now." Mako's tone of voice conveyed how serious he felt how serious the Jedi's condition was. "There's something that puzzles me, though." He confessed as they walked back toward the other troopers awaiting their attention. They knelt next to another trooper affected by cryseefa exposure. He handed the trooper a breather. "Deep breaths," he advised.

"Puzzles you?" Coric prompted as he applied a protective coating of clear gel over the eyes of the trooper, healing against the burning effects of the gas.

"Something the other Jedi said," Mako said thoughtfully, as he shook up a goopy mixture for the trooper to drink to speed the healing of their injured throat. He removed the breather mask and handed over a small vial of opaque fluid. "Drink all of this." He patted the trooper on the back, and the two medics stood up and moved on the next clone.

"What other Jedi?" the senior medic asked.

"The little one," Mako said, putting his hand up to indicate the height of the Togrutan Jedi, "from the five oh first. You know, the one that Captain Rex-"

"You mean Commander Tano?" Coric said.

"Sounds right," Mako said, dropping down to his knees next to the next injured clone. "Oh, hey Tank."

The gunner was leaning up against the wall, holding both hands to his head. His heavy weapon was across his lap, and his crutch was on the floor next to him. "Wha' happened?" Tank asked, his eyes unfocused.

Mako chuckled, and ran a scanner over him. "If you don't remember, odds are you ran into something. Earned your name again, I reckon. What is it about you and running into stuff, vod?" He fished around in his medpack for a stim and pressed it up to the gunner's neck. "Doesn't look too bad this time. You're dehydrated, though." He pulled out an electrolyte pouch. "Drink all of this before you head back in. Mind your fluid intake. Dehydration can be as deadly as anything else here." He gave the trooper a friendly slap on the shoulder. "I shouldn't have to tell you that."

"Thanks, Mako," Tank said, ripping open the pouch and immediately chugging down the contents in three enormous gulps. He tucked his trash into his belt pouch. He belched, grabbed his crutch in one hand, his heavy gun in the other and pulled himself to his feet. "See you back on the ship, vod."

"See you there," the younger medic acknowledged.

Coric looked at the heavy gunner's missing stump of a leg, amputated at the hip, and then back at Mako with narrowed eyes. But, he didn't comment. He turned the conversation back to their previous discussion. "You had something to say about Commander Tano?"

Mako glanced down into his medkit, doing a quick inventory of supplies. "Yes," he looked thoughtful. "Mind you I don't know much about Jedi. Always found them to be passing strange. But, this Jedi of Rex's, she seemed odder than most."

The senior medic frowned fiercely, seeming to take offense at something Mako had said. "What do you mean?" his words were short and clipped.

Mako clipped his pack shut, and tucked it over his shoulder so he could move on to the next patient. "She suddenly said: 'Rex is in trouble!' And, then she ran into the dungeons."

Coric's eyes widened. "Rex is in trouble?" He looked like he wanted to go running after him.

Mako nodded and shrugged. "That's what she said. But, she left several minutes ago, vod."

Coric scowled darkly, looking despondent. He also looked down at his bare hands. Mako knew that look. The vod had no weapon and couldn't charge into a battle zone unarmed. The younger medic sighed. He pulled his blaster from his holster, and handed it to the other trooper. "If you're headed in there, you're going to need this."

# # #

The Khaz'harian leader stalked angrily through the barracks, looking for the troops he'd held in reserve. It was a special group of warriors that he'd put through even more intensive training than the others. He referred to them as the One Hundred.

But, the sleeping rooms were empty.

_Where are my warriors? _

He sniffed at the air.

Cryseefa.

He'd always found the scent to be pleasing, especially when walking through the bogs back on Kaz'haria. But, why was it here in the rooms where they slept?

He'd ordered the gas released into the dungeons.

He sniffed again.

Sweat. The salty tang of human sweat.

It was mixed with the synth-smell of clone armor. Why were their humans in the sleeping rooms? More confused than ever, he continued to follow the trail of odors. Sounds of battle drew his attention, and he stalked past rows and rows of empty sleeping berths in the darkness. He stopped short as he stared at the gaping hole in the floor. He could see down into the dungeons, and cryseefa was rising up in a steady stream into the sleeping quarters. He cranked his neck upwards, at the strong ceiling fan that was in this room and every other in the sleeping quarters. The fans were literally siphoning the cryseefa out of the dungeons.

Maar'kux roared in rage and leapt down into hole.

# # #

Hugh had stopped blabbering. That was never good. Tomm was constantly telling his brother shut it, but now that his vod was eerily silent he missed the jabbering.

So far, they'd managed to stay out of range of their pursuers. It was an amazing feat in itself, considering Hugh was hauling Tomm and the gear. Judging by the sound of his brother's breathing, Hugh couldn't keep this up much longer. They'd been in such an intense firefight his brother hadn't uttered a word. He was completely focused on his pattern of running and spinning them around to exchange fire with the horde behind them. Tomm scanned the environment around them as they pivoted to exchange shots with the Kaz'harians. They were surrounded by empty prison cells. He hadn't seen any clones since they'd arrived in the dungeons, but they could hear battle sounds in the distance.

A plan. They need a plan.

His HUD picked up a natural break between the cells created by two of the massive support walls holding up the ceiling. It would be a tight squeeze with the weapons bags but two slender clones could make it. He sent the change in route to Hugh's HUD. If he was right, it was too narrow for the simians' wider frames. It would put some distance between them and their pursuers.

"We're taking a short cut."

"Where's it lead?"

"Don't know."

"O.K. Lead on."

And, that was one of the qualities Tomm liked most about Hugh. No matter what, there had always been that layer of trust between the brothers. For better or worse, they stuck together. They immediately changed directions headed for the narrow opening.

"I'll cover you. Go on." Hugh dropped to one knee, keeping an eye out for the arrival of the Kazzie horde. Tomm wanted to argue, knowing Hugh was ready to sacrifice himself for his vod. But, every second spent arguing could mean a death sentence for both of them. He threw himself into the opening, pulling himself along with his hands. Hugh ducked into the narrow corridor just before the Kazzies burst into sight.

"Move your shebs!" Tomm hissed to Hugh. His brother squeezed through the narrow passageway and they emerged out into another corridor of cells, identical to the one they'd just passed through. More rows of empty cells. He pointed across the way. Another narrow passageway. "Come on!"

Blast shots rang out on either side of them. The Kazzies couldn't fit through the narrow opening, but they were taking pot shots through the empty cells. Fortunately, they were nearly out of range so the shots didn't do much more than add more charred, darkened holes to their already stained white armor. Tomm glanced back over his shoulder before he entered into the second passageway. The horde of Kazzies was on the move again, except now it appeared they were going to double-around to try to get at them through another corridor. The snowtrooper groaned inwardly. The simians knew these blasted dungeons better than he or Hugh. Tomm blew out a sigh, and threw himself into the next narrow passage. There was nothing to do but keep going. As Hugh would say, they weren't dead yet.

Suddenly, there was a horrendous cry that echoed off the walls of the enormous cavern.

"What was that?" Tomm said, the hackles standing up on the back of his neck.

"Don't know," Hugh responded. "Don't want to find out either. Never want to meet a creature that can make _that_ sound."

# # #

Maar'kux spotted his missing One Hundred up ahead, firing through the cells of the prison walls. The warriors took off down sprinting the corridor, obviously in pursuit of _something. _Maar'kux could only assume this had something to do with the humans who'd dared break into their sleeping rooms. He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. What clever new strategy was this now? His rival, the blue and white human, must be planning something big. The Khaz'harian leader growled in confusion, frustrated that he could not decipher the strategies of his enemy.

He bellowed out to his warriors, a shrill keening sound that went back to their ancient roots as fierce hunters out in the jungles. None of the others still used the ancient war cry, but Maar'kux had always liked the sound of it. The One Hundred immediately halted, stopping their pursuit, and lined up rigidly at attention on either side of the corridor. Maar'kux stalked forward and glared at every warrior, growling as he went by. He stopped in front of his first warrior, Jhon'Drax and demanded a full report. The first warrior straightened his spine and crisply told Maar'kux of the intruders to the barracks and his decision to pursue them into the dungeons.

The Khaz'harian leader turned thoughtfully, trying to decide if he should commend the warrior for taking the initiative to pursue the enemy. But, then again, he had acted without consulting Maar'kux first and this meant the One Hundred were not where they were supposed to be. Maar'kux had to go track them down on his own.

No. No commendation today.

The simian leader nodded to himself, content with his decision. Then, he spun back around, twisting sharply on his heel. Without warning, he severed the simian's head from his body. Jhon'Drax slumped down to the ground in two pieces, his eyes still opened and looking surprised. One of his hands kept twitching as if it were reaching out for answers he would never receive. The rest of the warriors held still, not flinching or reacting when Maar'kux stared them down.

But, when Maar'kux turned his back again, signaling the warriors to fall in line behind him, looks were exchanged back and forth between the simians. Several dared look at Jhon'Drax as they passed his dismembered form, and their faces flashed with anger and grief at their fallen comrade.

# # #


	148. Chapter 148 Explosive

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 148**

# # #

Tomm squeezed into the next passage, and Hugh immediately followed. They heard blast shots ricocheting off the support wall, but they were out of range of the simian weapons. The two snowtroopers kept moving, bursting out of the narrow passage into the next row of cells. Tomm caught his balance as they emerged, keeping his balance off his crushed foot. Hugh leaned up against the wall, his breath coming in ragged pants.

Tomm slapped a padded glove against his brother's shoulder where it landed with a satisfying _thwack_. "You alright?"

Hugh snorted, and then coughed as he could barely get enough air in. "Fek, no." He laughed at himself. "But, I'll live. Did we lose them?"

Tomm scanned the passageway with his HUD. "We're clear."

"Good," Hugh said, holding up his blaster and examining the charge. He slid out the depleted cell and pulled a spare off his belt. "Once this is gone, my shebs are cooked."

Tomm tapped the large bag strapped to his brother's back. "Hardly. We're carrying an arsenal." His voice pitched slightly with puzzlement. "Just who were we supposed to give all these weapons to anyway?"

"Weapons?"

A voice directly behind them startled both clones and they spun around, blasters drawn on the new threat.

"Stand down. I'm one of you."

Both Tomm and Hugh lowered their DL-20As and studied the speaker. Despite his facial hair and ragged appearance, there was no doubt he was a brother. The clone had a jagged cut, not quite closed over, running from his chin to his eye. One arm was cradled to his chest as if it had been badly broken in recent months, and never properly set. But, Tomm immediately recognized the look of a vod ready to fight. The clone stepped aside slightly, and revealed three more troopers behind him. They stepped forward and studied the snowtroopers curiously.

"Didn't mean to startle you," the scarred clone said to Tomm.

The snowtrooper put up a hand, forestalling the apology. He turned and looked up and down the corridor. The snowtrooper's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, fek," Hugh muttered, "will you look at that..."

All the cells were occupied. Clones were silently emerging from the darkened interiors. The whites of their eyes shone out from darkly bearded faces. Tomm counted up the number of cells, multiplying it by four troopers per cell.

"I count one hundred,"Hugh muttered quietly.

"New plan," Tomm said plan. He made a curt gesture to the four clones in the cell, indicating they should step back from the door. He blasted out the lock with his DL-20A.

"We had an old plan?" Hugh quipped, headed over to the opposite side of the corridor and immediately set to work opening cells.

Tomm ignored him, discovering the door wouldn't budge even after he shot the lock. He took a deep breath and threw himself into the rusted door. It gave way under his assault, but he tumbled inside. He was caught by the scarred clone who kept him from crashing to the stone floor. He gave a nod of thanks.

"Ko. 212th," the scarred clone, said as he set Tomm back upright. He pointed to the others in the cell, and with typical clone efficiency, introduced the others. "Cole. Von. Nash."

"Tomm," he pointed across the hallway, "Hugh." With a relieved sigh, he handed over his heavy bag of gear. "For you."

Ko, Van and Nash headed out of the cell and began sorting through the stash of weapons. Cole stayed behind and slid an arm under Tomm's shoulder to support him. "You look you could use help," the clone said quietly.

"Thanks, vod," he leaned on Cole. His foot throbbed with every movement, and hopping around made it worse. Cole supported a great deal of his weight as they moved on to the next cell.

Tomm heard Ko barking out orders and as he distributed weapons to freed clones. They blasted out the next lock and Cole volunteered to bust the hinge. Tomm protested, knowing it would be painful to impact the iron bars without armor. Cole shrugged him off and took out the hinge. The snowtrooper saw Ko barking more orders as recently freed prisoners continued to emerge from the cells.

"He's our Captain," Cole said, noticing the direction of Tomm's gaze. "Our squadron was captured at Kaz'haria after we were separated from Commander Cody."

Tomm was only half-paying attention to the conversation. Captain Ko was so efficient in his organizational abilities the first twelve clones freed were set to work freeing additional prisoners. They worked as a team with the next set of brothers to open more cells. He and Cole soon found themselves at a loss to find any occupied cells. Tomm twisted around, trying to spot the only other snowtrooper amidst the sea of freed clones.

"Hugh?" he called over comms.

His brother chuckled in reply. "Tomm, I think the odds just evened a little in our favor."

# # #

The muscles in Fives' jaw were so tight they ached from tension. He waited outside the dungeon entrance, tapping one hand restlessly against the wall. Sounds of battle echoed from within. He should be inside fighting with Rex. But, he had a responsibility to Echo. His brother had saved all their shebs even though he wasn't even _in_ the dungeons. Only Echo could pull off a stunt like that. When he found his vod, he was... fek... he didn't know. He felt like he wanted to both strangle Echo and never let him out of his sight.

Kriff. Where was Travis? The blood was pounding so fiercely in Fives' head he couldn't think. He gave up driving his hand against the the wall, and started pacing. There was little room to move with so many recently freed troopers awaiting evac so he moved back and forth in front of Kix in taking just a few steps in either direction.

The medic snaked out an arm and grabbed him. "Fek it, Fives. Be still."

The ARC yanked himself free and whirled on the medic, suddenly glad to have a target for his frustration.

Kix wasn't the least bit intimidated. He tapped a single finger against his belt pack. "I have the authority to sedate you."

The ARC backed off and folded his arms across his chest. The two stared each other down. They were interrupted by the arrival of Travis.

The Marine looked back and forth between the two curiously before greeting them. "Fives. Kix."

The ARC nodded tersely, and greeted the RC next to him. "Blaze." He jerked his chin. "Let's move."

Travis gripped his arm and stopped him. "Wait, Fives." The ARC stopped, but even under the armor Travis could feel the coiled tension radiating through the clone's body. The Marine cocked his head and gave him a searching look, before releasing him. "Rex sent me here to help. Can't do that unless you catch me up to speed on what you've done so far."

Fives nodded, and immediately sent a map of the fortress to the others' HUDs. "We started out in the corridors here," he blinked and highlighted areas of the map, "Kix and I split up and searched _here_ and _here_. Echo is gut shot. Kix did emergency surgery on him in the corridor less than two hours ago. When he left him, he could barely stand."

Travis and Blaze took a moment to absorb the information and study the areas outlined on the map.

"You've had contact with him?" Blaze asked, making additional notes on the map, and marked off an even tighter search radius.

Fives made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, studying the areas the RC was marking off. The ARC played back the transmission. Travis and Blaze went silent, listening intently.

"A master control room," Blaze said immediately, he highlighted the map in red directly around where they were currently standing.

"Agreed," said Travis.

Blaze made a heart shaped pattern with his hands. "Jamming devices can only transmit in a specific pattern. If the Kazzies were focused on the dungeons, they'd have to locate the control room nearby."

"It would also explain why the interference only affected us intermittently throughout the fortress," Travis said, his voice portraying his excitement at discussing anything of a technological nature.

Blaze nodded. "These devices have range limitations."

Fives shook his head. "There are no other doors in this corridor. It was the first area we searched."

Travis made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. "None that are immediately obvious. We need to scan for signal anomalies." He and Blaze were already moving.

"What are we looking for?" Kix asked directly behind Blaze as they worked their way across the crowded corridor. The medic discovered that commandos were useful were for clearing a path in crowded areas. Something about the big grey armor seemed to intimidate.

"A hidden room," Fives said. "Fek. I can't believe I didn't think of it." He pushed his way across the crowded hallway, practically throwing troopers aside in his haste to get to the wall directly opposite the entrance. Fives didn't seem to have issues with intimidation either. As the determined ARC strutted across the corridor, clones scrambled to get out of Fives' way. The rest of the team had already begun scanning nearby, ignoring the curious stares of the freed troopers.

"Over here," Fives called out, kneeling down and tracing a hidden seam embedded into the the rock wall. "Fek. Why didn't I see this thing before?" he grumbled in frustration. With a 'schunk,' he ejected his vibroblade and jammed it into the tight seam of the door.

Travis stepped forward. "You're going to snap your blade and then your wrist." He snorted. "Did that recently. Don't recommend it." He nudged the ARC with his knee. "Move. There has to be a trip panel to allow the door to be opened from this side."

Fives hesitated, before yielding to the Marine. But, as he straightened up, he pulled out a length of det tape off his belt.

Kix shook his head at Fives, and jerked his chin toward the hallway crowded with vode. "No dets."

Fives snorted, refusing to put the det tape away. "I know what I'm doing. I'm getting this door open one way or another."

The medic took a step back, and quietly slid a sharp out of his belt pack. He positioned himself directly behind the ARC, waiting and watching.

Travis tugged off his armored gloves into his belt, wincing at the swelling on one hand. The wrist he'd injured back on Ando had almost healed before Darkknell but that was before he'd taken on a Kazzie in hand-to-hand combat. He struggled to get his fingers to move, methodically running both hands along the rock wall. He'd never find what he needed wearing his protective gloves. The rough surface tore at his skin, splits and cuts forming at the sensitive area on the tips.

He saw Fives hovering impatiently, holding a dangling strip of det wire. The tension around the ARC felt as explosive as the charge he was holding. He hadn't been like this when he'd worked with him earlier. But, Travis supposed he'd be on edge if it was Rex who was both injured and missing when they were about to both evac and blow up the fortress. Fives leaned in even closer, his helmet almost colliding with that of Travis. The Marine was about to growl to Fives to fek off and let him work, but his bleeding fingers suddenly slid into a slight depression. He jammed his bleeding fingers down and felt a pressure switch. With a soft hiss, the door slid open.

Fives stuffed the det tape back onto his belt. "Well done, vod," he murmured to Travis.

Travis straightened up, and stepped back silently allowing Fives to take the lead into the room. The ARC drew his blaster, and looked back to make sure the team was ready before proceeding. Kix was right up against his back, ready to cover him. Blaze had moved to the opposite side of the door and was back-to-back against Travis, who'd opted not to try to get his gloves back on. It would take too long and his fingers were too much of a mess to attempt to shrug back into his gloves.

As soon as Fives saw the team was ready, he proceeded cautiously into the room. The lighting in the room was better than the darkened corridor, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the difference. He'd barely stepped into the room when his legs almost stumbled across the fallen forms of several crumbled Kaz'harians. He stepped high to get over the large warriors, blaster held at the ready in case some of their brethren were still amongst the living. His eyes took in every detail of the room. The walls were covered in control panels and vid-screens. Counter and desks were placed throughout the room, set-up to accommodate the greater height of the simians. There were dead simians every few meters. This was Echo's work. The kill pattern could only have been done by a trained ARC. But, where was Echo? He worked his way around the room, taking in every detail. Kix, Travis and Blaze split off from him, similarly sweeping the room. The medic knelt down to double-check the fallen, ensuring they were indeed dead and not pretending to be so.

Fives felt his chest cave with disappointment.

_He wasn't here._

He tried to remain calm, but icy fear clawed through him. Echo must have been captured. They'd never find him in time before evac. He'd be destroyed when the fortress went up. Fives leaned one hand down against the desk, his fingers gripping the edge of the synth-plasti surface so hard he could feel the material bending under his grip. He felt ill as the realization sank in they would be leaving Echo behind.

_No. No. No._

He had failed his brother.

He started to remove his hand, but then his fingers stuck to the surface. Fives looked down in annoyance, his temper ready to snap at the slightest provocation. He blinked. He'd recognize the substance anywhere. He'd seen enough of it in his short lifetime.

And, Kaz'harians didn't bleed red.

"Echo!" he gasped in surprise as his brain processed the information. "ECHO!"

"Fek it, Fives," a weak voice grumbled from under the desk, "quit your bellowing."

The ARC let out a shout of relief and laughter. "Kix!" he shouted spinning around, but the medic was so close behind him they almost collided. Both five oh first members crawled into the darkened, sheltered space under the large desk, flipping on their headlamps as they did so. Echo was pressed into the back corner, leaning up against the wall. One hand was pressed up his shoulder, and blood was seeping through his fingertips.

"Hey," the ARC greeted his two brothers, his voice slurred with pain and fatigue, "I've had 'nough with this place. How 'bout you?"

Fives emitted a short relieved laugh, and moved out of the way to let Kix examine Echo. He sat back on his haunches, watching intently as the medic pulled a scanner off his belt and began taking readings.

Kix was intent, with no small talk or banter. Echo's eyes were only half-open, but his gaze flickered over toward Fives as if looking for reassurance.

Fives pulled off his own helmet, setting it down carefully so it cast the maximum light in the cramped area. "You're a fekkin' mess, alright," Fives assured him meeting his gaze calmly. Then, he his lips curved up into a proud, teasing grin. "But, a fair sight better than all those Kazzie shabuirs out there." He jerked a thumb toward all the carnage in the control room. "You took all of them down, with a gut wound? You were supposed to be resting, di'kut." Fives' tone was chiding, but it was obvious he was proud of his brother.

Echo held still so that Kix could continue his examination, but his lips quirked upwards at the hard won praise. "We're ARCs, Fives," he murmured, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Fives studied his brother critically and calmly. His blue and white armor armor was stained red down to the waist. It was going to be OK. Kix would fix him.

Fives' gaze flickered over to Kix to see how the examination was progressing. The medic had removed his helmet and gloves and was carefully probing Echo's shoulder. The ARC tried to remain calm as he saw the extent of his brother's shoulder wound. Fek.

The medic's face was growing progressively more grim as he studied the wound. Kix pressed down carefully on an area directly above the spear wound and Echo's breathing changed to a wheezing gasp. Fives looked over at Kix in alarm. The medic relieved the pressure on the wound, and Echo's breathing eased up. Kix nodded grimly, and looked back at Fives. "This has to stay in."

Echo's eyes shuttered closed, and he lost the battle to stay conscious.

"What?" Fives tried to keep his voice down.

Kix held up the med-scanner and showed the readings to Fives. He then pointed to the metallic object impaling the ARC. "It damaged his lung. He's bleeding internally."

"What are you saying?" Fives demanded, in a harsh whisper.

"If we attempt to remove it here, he'll die from from internal hemorrhaging. If we can get him back to a fully equipped med-suite immediately, he has a chance. But, it has to be soon. His body is shutting down."

Fives stared at Kix, his brain trying to absorb everything Kix had said. No. They had found Echo. He _had_ to be alright.

"Fives, status update _now_."

The command tone snapped the ARC out of his haze. He crawled out from the under the countertop and faced Lieutenant Travis. Feeling numb, he gave him a crisp update on Echo's condition. The Marine nodded. "Catcher reports the Seppie fleet is coming in steady. 48 minutes ETA." Travis dropped down to his knees and spoke directly to Kix. "What do you need?"

"Ideally, a fully equipped med-stretcher," Kix began, knowing such an item wasn't available. He shook his head worried over how carrying Echo in any other manner would aggravate his internal injuries-

"Done," Travis said, cutting Kix off before he could go on any further. He cocked his head to the side, and it was apparent he was engaged in a quick, intense conversation. When the Marine spoke again, there was a trace of humor in his voice. "We have a surplus of these on our new medship. Catcher is sending three in case there are any more critically-injured. He's willing to keep sending as many as needed. Comm him for supplies needed." He cocked his head as he listened again, and then nodded with satisfaction. "Med-stretchers en route."

Fives and Kix exchanged a look. If these new brothers hadn't impressed the hell out of them before, they had now.

# # #

Tek and Gears deposited the unconscious form of Commander Appo on a bunk in the medbay of the large troop transport bound for Corrie. He landed face down.

"Aw, come on, I'm blind," Gears complained, "and even I can tell _that's_ not right." He reached for Appo's shoulder to roll him over, careful of the commander's arm which had been injured and was still bandaged.

A tall graceful Mirilian Jedi came over and bowed to them as they were still maneuvering the face-down clone.

"Commander Appo, ma'am," Tek supplied, looking up curiously at the tall Jedi. He hadn't met many Jedi, and this one was the best looking one he'd seen so far. He'd have to make a point of describing her in detail to Gears. She was worth seeing.

Gears focused on the voice, and added in helpfully. "He was being treated by the medic Kix, and also somewhat by our medics, Lance and Mako." He wondered why Tek's voice had taken on a sort of _gooey_ quality all of a sudden. He'd have to ask Tek about it later.

Neither clone was paying full-attention to what they were doing and the unconscious commander started to topple off the table as they were rolling him over. The Jedi healer reached out and swiftly grabbed him before he fell to the floor. She helped reposition him into a more comfortable position on his back. The two technical clones gave her apologetic smiles.

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm Tek," the Andoan Legion clone said, making a show of deeply nodding his chin to her in respect.

Not wanting to be outdone in the manners department, Gears reached over to fluff the pillow under Appo's head, but his aim was slightly off and he ended pulling it away instead. The commander's head thunked down onto the bunk with an audible 'bonk.'

Tek grabbed the item away from Gears and quickly stuffed the pillow back into place. He hastily reached down and drew the blanket over the unconscious command officer, not wanting the Jedi thinking they weren't good at this sort of thing. The blanket slipped off and began falling to the floor. He caught it awkwardly in a one-handed grabbed and draped it back over to the five oh first commander again.

"They suggested keeping him under sedation," Tek said, as he tucked the edges of the blanket in.

"He has... trauma," Gears added.

"From being held captive," the other technical clone said, tucking the edges tighter and tighter.

"In the labs."

Both clones nodded their chins in unison, and then looked down at the command clone with what appeared to be grave sympathy.

The Jedi looked down at Tek's work, and pulled the edges of the blanket looser. "Not so tight. You'll cut off his circulation."

Tek nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

"Give it a rest, di'kut," Gears muttered to him over closed comms.

"Shut it," Tek muttered back. "I think she likes me."

"You're handling this masterfully. What's not to like?" Gears retorted.

"Everyone else in this medbay is unconscious, so he's in good company," the Jedi healer was saying, indicating the men on the beds behind the five oh first commander.

"That's General Skywalker!" Tek said excitedly to Gears over closed circuit, "and General Kenobi!"

"What are they doing?" Gears asked his brother.

"Not much," Tek responded, "they look a bit... ah... worse for wear."

"How are Generals Skywalker and Kenobi doing, ma'am?" Gears asked politely.

The Jedi healer was leaning over to examine her new patient, checking over his injuries. "They will heal with time. But, we need to get them back to the Temple. They are both in a healing trance."

"Any idea what a healing trance is?" Gears asked Tek over closed comms.

"No fekkin' clue," his brother admitted.

"That is good news," Tek said politely to the Jedi master.

"Tek, Gears, this is Captain Catcher, come in."

"If you'll excuse us, ma'am," Tek said, politely.

The Jedi bowed to them, and the two clones held still as they listened to their new orders.

"Go ahead, Captain," said Gears.

"Head over to the medical ship. Bring Tuck with you. You're headed to the dungeons."

Gears and Tek looked at each other and the blind clone let out a whoop of delight on his external channel, pumping his fist in the air. The noise and action startled the Jedi healer.

"Apologies, ma'am," Gears said, immediately, but his voice was barely able to contain his excitement, "the Captain has a mission for us. We're headed in."

They turned as one and saluted the Jedi commander sharply, before leaving the ship at a full run.

# # #

A/N: Happy New Year! Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I spent the holidays with my family in New York. I have to admit it was the best holiday I had in years. It was just fun being with my parents and brothers. We even had a bit of snow which was a rare novelty for us Californians. All the final pages of "Rex" are written, and the sequel is shaping up to be even better than the original. As always, thank you for reading. You are the best part of working on this story. - _Longlivetheclones_


	149. Chapter 149 Hope

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 149**

Tek exited the ship, keeping an eye on Gears. His brother didn't need much help getting around, but he'd known the mechanic since their days on Kamino. His vod an uncanny talent in finding trouble.

"She really liked me, don't you think?" Gears said as they hurried down the ramp. His enthusiasm about meeting the Jedi healer clear in his voice. Not as focused as usual on his steps, the vision-impaired clone took a large step off the ramp. Tek shot out an arm and grabbed him, yanking him back before he dropped down to the hangar floor below.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ you made an impression," Tek quipped. "Will you focus, already? Captain Catcher said it was critical we deliver the medstretchers."

Tuck was leaning up against one of the massive hydraulic pistons. The quad gunner looked up at them with interest as they approached. Tek knew the gunner had been shot and assigned protection duty to the Jedi. He pointed to the scorch marks on his brother's chest plate. "You OK?"

"Fekkin' tired of standing around," grumbled the gunner. "My chest is healing up just fine."

"Good," Tek nodded with satisfaction. "'Cause we're being sent to the dungeons. Grab your gun."

# # #

Gears was thrilled to be sent back into an active battle zone. Technically, he was blind, but more accurately he had lower visual acuity than his brothers. Gears scowled and tightened his jaw, feeling the pull of shrapnel scars along his face. He didn't remember much about the explosion on Kabal. He'd been flat on his back fixing the Primary Drive Motor regulator on the squad AT-TE and then he woke up floating in bacta at ArmyMed. He hadn't progressed quickly enough so after two failed assessments, he was red carded. Kamino.

His host, Euna, insisted on smearing the Andoan healing substance in his eyes every morning. She called it Xyra's Goop, like most folks did it on the planet. But, he'd had so much of it rubbed on him that a better name for it would be Gear's Goop. It was working, though. His eyesight had improved to the point where he could make out shades of light and dark, and lived an independent existence on the snow planet. Xyra was almost as excited as he was about further treatments which could improve his eyesight, and might even allow him to read a datascreen again. Life there was not as exciting as being in the GAR, but he liked it well enough.

Most of the others treated him with deference. Half the legion was deaf, so they weren't about to judge someone who was vision-impaired. He trained every morning with the Legion out on Fisherman's Field. Yet, after they landed here on Darkknell, he got stuck on the ship. Tek hadn't said anything, but he knew his brother felt the same pangs of disappointment at being left behind.

The med-stretchers propelled easily through the corridors. Captain Catcher had personally met them at the medship with the stretchers ready to go. His hurriedly barked orders sent all of them off at a full run. None of them wanted to disappoint the Captain. Gears found it exhilarating. Sure beat being stuck on the ship.

He squinted at the form of Tek up ahead, as they barreled around another corner. Tuck was behind him, making sure he stayed on course. Gears didn't mind being in the middle, knowing his vode were watching out for him. The corridors were poorly lit, which were about the most difficult conditions with his impaired vision. He'd switched his HUD over to night vision which helped considerably. He could at least follow the outline of Tek as he ran, guiding the glowing rectangular block that represented the hovering med-stretcher. If they ran full speed between the hangar bay and the dungeons they could make there in 12 minutes. Captain Catcher had called twice, double-checking their position and ETA.

"Whoa!" Tek shouted, as he rounded a corner, "drop!"

Gears didn't need to think. He dropped flat as slugs ricocheted off the stone walls around him.

"Stay down," Tuck said, shoving the mechanic into the wall, and protecting him with his body. The gunner rose into a firing crouch, grunting in pain as he hoisted his heavy weapon to his shoulder. The roar of the quad gun was deafening as it roared to life. But, Gears felt his ire rising even as the sounds of battle reverberated off the walls of the corridor.

_Fek it. Why am I letting my brothers fight my battles for me?_

Tek and Tuck were focused on Kazzies coming at them from around the corner. Gears was crouched down and facing backwards. Through his night-vision he suddenly saw three Kazzies trying to get the drop on them from behind. They were enormous grey blobs, but the shape of them was unmistakable. He'd taken out enough of them during the battle onboard the pirate ship to know exactly what they were.

He shimmied out from behind Tuck and rolled smoothly to his feet. Timing would be everything here. He would only get one chance at this because he knew from Kix that Kazzies had to be taken down in one shot. Aim for the neck. In his case, that meant the blurry space between the blobby head and the wavy thingie that was the body.

Gears heard Tuck curse and shout out to him, but he ignored the gunner. He kept moving and took breath in. Proper breathing was essential. The commandos went over that point endlessly in training. Gears never missed a day of practice. His three shots went off in perfect sequence and suddenly there was dead silence in the corridor.

"Nice shooting, vod," Tuck said, clapping him lightly on the shoulder, "you sure you're blind?"

They formed up again into formation and took off running for the dungeons. But, Gears couldn't stop grinning under his helmet.

"Never going to hear the end of this, will I?" muttered Tek to him over comms.

"Nope," Gears responded proudly. He reached a gloved hand down and gave his blaster a fond pat. Troopers loved to tell a good story and he knew Tuck would tell the others how Gears had saved their shebs. He was as solid a trooper as any of them. Part of him hoped they'd run into more Kazzies along the way.

# # #

Fives watched as Kix worked to stabilize Echo. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched while the medic cut the shaft with a laser scalpel above Echo's chest.

"Hold him," the medic commanded, helping Fives lift Echo and cradle him partially against his chest. The injured trooper moaned as he was moved. Kix ignored him and focused on what he was doing, efficiently packing the area around the stub of spear with layers of padding. He secured the area with strips of elastic bandage wrapped around Echo's upper torso. The medic nodded and they eased Echo back down again.

Kix busied himself with taking vitals and doing all those other things he always did. Fives watched him for a bit and then realized he wasn't needed. And, now that he'd found Echo, his duty lay elsewhere.

He toggled his wrist comm.

"Captain."

There was a brief pause, and then: "Go ahead, Fives." From the slightly breathless nature of Rex's voice, the ARC knew his brother was running. It intensified his determination to get back into the battle.

"We found Echo."

"Report."

"He's alive," Fives said. "We found the master control room. Kix is working on him now."

"How bad?" Rex asked. He was using the clipped tone he did when he refused to let emotions distracted him from the job.

Fives looked over at Kix for an answer to the question.

"He's critical, Captain," Kix filled in, "Took a spear to the chest. I need to get him to a medsuite stat."

Rex's voice was grim. "What do you need?"

"Nothing," Kix said, still intently focused on packing the wound, "Travis arranged everything."

There was a slight pause before Rex responded and when he did he actually sounded slightly amused. "Alright." He switched back to the somber serious Captain. "Keep me informed."

Fives realized the Captain was getting ready to cut off the comm without giving him further orders. "Where do you want me to-"

"Stay where you are, Fives. We're headed to the far cells to evac trapped prisoners."

"I could-"

"No," Rex's response was immediate and harsh. "Work with Cody. Load those ships. Shove trooper's shebse up the ramps and get out of here before that fleet arrives. Make sure you are one of those ships."

Fives studied his chrono and did a quick mental calculation. "Captain-"

"That's an order. Is that clear?" Rex's voice was harsh with authority.

Fives looked over at Kix and they exchanged a worried look. "Yes, sir." He cut the comm.

Fek it, Rex. Fives' tightened one hand into a fist so hard his gloves creaked as the material pulled together. If any or all of them survived he needed to have a serious talk with Rex and Echo about their callous disregard for their own lives. They were causing him enough stress to fekkin' reduce his already shortened years.

# # #

Rex watched the micro-seconds flashing by in his HUD as he ran. They were running out of time. He didn't know how many prisoners lay in those back cells, but he knew how long it took to get back to the dungeon entrance and out to the hangar bay.

"Catcher, sit-rep."

"Separatist fleet is maintaining course and speed. 32 minutes and closing fast. Commander Cody estimates we have less than half the rescued troopers aboard transport. The rest are en route."

_Or, still trapped here in the cells_, Rex thought.

"Status of the Jedi?" Rex asked.

"I spoke with Commander Offee," Catcher reported. "The injured Jedi are in the medbay of the Corrie-bound transport, except for General Luminara, who is awaiting evac."

Rex felt the knot in his chest ease up slightly. Ahsoka was safe and would head back to Coruscant with the others. General Skywalker would take care of his padawan. His mind spun as he tried to coordinate the safety of all those still under his responsibility. "Status of the Andoan Legion? Are they all back onboard the raider?"

"No," Catcher's voice deepened, portraying his displeasure, "They're all still out fighting or assisting in the evac. Only Griff, Lance, and Odds are onboard. However, Lance reports Odds has regained consciousness. He insists he can fly."

Rex paused, taken back, unaware the pilot had been injured at all. "Get Odds and Chance up in the cockpit and ready-"

Catcher cut him off, a move uncharacteristic for the ARC. "Sir, Chance is dead. Kazzies attacked the ship."

"Status of the ship?"

"Haven't seen it, but Odds insists it will fly. Plus or minus a lot of new holes on the inside. Your man Kix has a talent for leading men."

Rex absorbed this information. He needed to have a sit down with Kix. "You're down a co-pilot."

"Tek or Gears could assist."

"Gears is _blind_."

"Don't count him out, Captain," the ARC Captain gently reminded Rex he was the one who spent the most time training with the Legion back on Ando. "I trained with him every morning while you out. He's as solid as they come."

"Alright," Rex agreed, deferring to Catcher's judgement, allowing a slight teasing edge to slip into his tone, "our blind mechanic, our brilliant technician and our injured one-armed pilot will fly the men home."

Catcher chuckled slightly. "That's the plan."

Rex's gaze swept back and forth around him, noticing the cells they were passing were still empty. So far, they hadn't run into any Kazzies. He double-checked the distance to the back of the dungeons. They were close to the location of the occupied cells.

"Catcher," Rex said, then paused, if he had something to say he better get it out now, "I..."

"Captain?" Catcher prompted, the query clear in his voice.

"I'm not going back to Ando," Rex pushed the words out, a lump settling in his chest.

There was a short pause on the other end. "I understand," Catcher's response was simple and dignified.

Rex double-checked the distance. Less than a minute left to talk. He knew Catcher had people he'd left behind in the 327th Star Corps. "I wish I could pass along a message, but-"

"I need to remain dead. I know."

"The Legion is yours now."

Catcher inhaled sharply. "What about Travis?"

"I'll speak to him separately."

Up ahead, there was a long cluster of cells filled with shadowy forms.

"Get the men to whichever Andoan-bound ship is closest," Rex said quickly, holding up his blasters one after another and checking the charges. "As that fleet gets closer, we are going to run out of time. I don't want any of our Legion on the Corrie bound ship. See they all get home." As he spoke the words, Rex had a flash of his life back on Ando. He thought briefly of the items in his room at Karyn's house. A slightly imperfect sweater knitted by Mako. A well-worn fisherman's coat. It was all he'd ever owned outside of his armor. But, he couldn't afford to have anything with him that could trace him back to the wintery planet.

"I will," Catcher said, and the words were spoken like a solemn vow.

Leon put up a hand to slow down their pace, and they approached the area at a slower pace. They spread out, wary of Kaz'harians in the area. "We're entering a hot zone," Rex said. "Keep me appraised of ETA/ EVAC status."

"Copy that," Catcher acknowledged, ending the call.

Rex focused his entire attention on the prison cells lining the corridor. They were all filled with troopers, staring at them, silent and anxious. They were thin, like all the others they'd rescued, with overgrown hair and scruffy faces. Their eyes spoke of difficult conditions in captivity, but their hazel eyes spoke of something else.

Hope. Rex felt his throat constrict. He'd almost left these men behind.

Leon was already barking orders at his commandos, and without hesitation they set to work cracking open the cells. Having opened so many of the stubborn hinges earlier, Rex immediately set himself to the task. He grunted as his abused muscles protested the strain of being thrown into ancient steel bars again and again. But, he kept going, taking satisfaction as hinges gave way under the onslaught of his body mass. He never slowed down his pace, even as his body groaned under the constant abuse.

Leon had taken charge of directing the newly freed brothers toward the entrance. Rex could hear him barking at the troopers, lining them up and getting them ready to evac.

"Move it, troopers, or you're all becoming permanent residents of this place!" Leon was relentless in chasing dazed clones out of cells, and getting them lined up for evac.

After several minutes, Leon moved around the corner with Ax and Drax. "Captain," he called to Rex over comms, "would you come join me?"

Rex finished opening another hinge and gave an impatient signal for the troopers within to come out. He ignored the jaw-dropped gawking. He'd gotten used to the reaction. He was going to have a great deal of explaining to do on the way home. He hurried off down the corridor and rounded the corner to where Leon had disappeared. His eyes widened in surprise. They were in another corridor, filled with cells full of vode. The haggard prisoners shuffled up to the bars. They stared at them, looking at Rex with open-mouthed astonishment and then their eyes glistened with hope and smiles tugged at their lips..

Rex looked over to Leon, and then down at his chrono. Oh, fek it. He reached a gloved finger down and turned off the timer. If there was one thing he learned in civilian life was things didn't always run according to plan anyway. Come to think of it, he had learned that with General Skywalker.

"Come on, we've got more vode to rescue, eh?" he said to Leon, leading the way and throwing himself into the nearest cell door.

"Captain Rex!" the first scruffy trooper out, said with delight as he emerged from the cell.

"Yes, it's me," he acknowledged, "come on, we're getting all of you out of here."

As more and more troopers came out, they called out to him in recognition. They were all five oh first. The entire block of them.

# # #

He was here. The blue and white clone.

Maar'kux waved his warriors back into the shadows. They melted back into the darkness, watching as the armored men worked to free the ones in the cells. The Kaz'harian leader tried to contain his amusement as he watched the puny humans throw themselves into the doors. They were so weak. All of them. It was beyond him why such creatures were ever chosen to defend the Republic.

More and more pathetic humans staggered from their cages. He caressed the machete at his belt. No matter. He would kill them all.

His fingers stroked the tip of his blade. Excitement rushed through him as he crouched in the dark and stared at the blue and white leader. He would start with that one.

# # #

_A/N: Thank you to Reulte and laloga for all the insightful comments and wording suggestions that have made the finale so much better._


	150. Chapter 150 Fire and Ice

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 150**

"Ow," Rex murmured, as he drew back from throwing himself into another of the stubborn hinges. He clutched at his pauldron, and slid his hand underneath to rub at the aching muscle. He grunted a greeting to the exhilarated troopers as they spilled from the cell. All the freed troopers wanted to _touch_ him as if to reassure themselves he was real. He waved them on with a brusque gesture, getting them in line with the others awaiting evac. He couldn't understand what the fuss was about. Rex spun on his heel and headed for the next cell.

It was empty.

He swept his gaze down the corridor and realized they'd cleared the entire block. He turned to leave and and then froze, the hackles on his neck going up. He had the feeling he was being watched-

"Captain!" Leon signaled to him, "we're clear. Let's move."

The commandos circled around the unarmed troopers in a protective formation. The five oh first captain gave one last look around, trying to find the source of his unease.

"Everything alright?" Leon asked over private channel. His voice was taut, and Rex knew he was eager to get moving.

Rex swept his gaze around again and saw only darkness and shadow. Maybe the place was getting to him. He couldn't hold up the group because something didn't _feel_ right. The Jedi were always relying upon _feelings_ and it drove him crazy. He frowned fiercely under his helmet, wrestling with himself.

"Yeah," Rex said, drawing out his twin blasters and signaling he'd provide additional protection from the rear. The commando nodded and took position at the front of the pack.

The recently freed clones formed up into crisp, straight lines and kept pace with the lead commando. As they rounded the first corner, Rex tightened his grip on his weapons. He couldn't shake the sick feeling deep in his gut something was _very_ wrong.

# # #

"So... what's our new plan?" Hugh asked, smug satisfaction evident in his voice. He leaned back against one of the cells in a cocky gesture that was typically _Hugh _and lazily watched the troopers they'd freed.

_A new plan?_ Tomm stared at his vod. He had no frakkin' idea. He was still amazed they'd escaped an entire horde of Kazzies. Cole gave him an expectant look from where he was still supporting him under one shoulder. He and Hugh were both looking at him like he actually had _answers_.

Tomm cleared his throat, stalling for time, the sound coming out rough and mechanical through his helmet. "Ah... right... so we've...uh... completed our orders and delivered the weapons."

"Dragged those shabla weapons through the _entire_ fortress," Hugh chimed in as he bragged to Cole. The 212th trooper had the good manners to look suitably impressed.

Tomm rolled his eyes. Just what they needed. Someone to help feed into Hugh's ego. He blew out a sigh, and the sound echoed out roughly in the confines of his bucket. Gah. He was drawing a total blank. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "So...now we...uh... find the Captain for new orders."

Hugh cocked his head to the side, thinking it over, and then shrugged. "Makes sense." He jerked his chin toward the newly freed troopers excitedly examining the stash of the weapons, "And, them?"

"We stay together."

Of course. Tomm was _sure_ of that part of the plan.

"So, how do we find the Captain?" Hugh asked.

Tomm projected a 3-D hologrid of the fortress. Cole and Hugh regarded it curiously. Tomm excelled at spatial reasoning. OK, this he could handle. He pointed out key features of the dungeons, seeing everything come together in his mind as he did so. The map immediately caught the attention of Captain Ko. The 212th officer came over, trailed by several other troopers.

"What's our plan, then?" the scarred captain asked.

Tomm gave a crisp nod. He'd found the Captain to immediately likable, and didn't want to mess this up. "We're going to rendezvous back with our main force by the entrance," he began, hoping his voice sounded more confident than he felt. He pointed deep within the map, losing himself in the features of it as his mind worked over strategy. "We need to find the best route through what is likely still Kazzie-occupied territory." His voice deepened in pitch as he warmed up to the topic. "Here's what we know. We entered the dungeons through this access point here." The snowtrooper pointed out the glowing area where they'd dropped through the floor. "We were pursued by the enemy, through these corridors. Here and here." His fingers danced their way through the map leaving a lighted trail. "During the pursuit, I could see firefights _here_ and _here_, but concentrated in _this_ area. It is the only viable egress point so that's our destination." He tapped the dungeon entrance for emphasis and ran his fingers along the most logical route. "We have weapons. We join in with the fight there, and work our way out."

Captain Ko nodded with satisfaction. "Agreed." He slapped Tomm on the back. "Excellent work, trooper." He turned around smartly, and immediately started barking orders at this squadron. They scrambled into formation, preparing to move out with the adrenaline burst of soldiers who'd been idle for too long.

"Fek," Hugh said laughing, and gave Tomm such an affectionately hard punch to his chest armor. "Brilliant, vod."

Cole shuffled his footing to keep them from falling. "He's right. Not easy to impress Captain Ko."

Tomm opened his mouth to deny it. He _wasn't_ brilliant. He was simply Tomm. But, he was interrupted by the arrival of Captain Ko. "You will lead us out," he said, abruptly to Tomm and Hugh, and by default, Cole, then returned back to issuing orders to the others. Hugh and Tomm looked back and forth at each other in astonishment, before working their way quickly up to the front of the line.

"I've never been at the front before," Cole said quietly to Tomm as he helped him quickly to the head of the line.

Tomm didn't want to admit that he was always at the back of a long line of other snowies himself. He gave a respectful nod to Ko as he moved into place, and he and Hugh together gave the signal to move out. They set a brisk pace, Cole helping Tomm move quickly along. Hugh looked back over his shoulder at the long line of troopers behind them, and did it again a few minutes later.

Tomm mumbled to him over private comms, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Fek, yes," Hugh admitted, the grin easy to hear in his voice.

Tomm couldn't resist the temptation of looking back over his shoulder and checking out the view. He sucked in his breath and knew he'd never forget the sight. Even unarmored and half-dressed, the determination in the eyes of every vode was unmistakable. They marched in crisp lines with perfect precision, every one of them a trooper to the end. He straightened up with pride to be leading this group of vode out of the dungeons. This was his finest moment.

# # #

Ax was nervous. "We haven't run into any Kazzies," he murmured to his brother over private channel as they ran directly behind Leon, guarding unarmed troopers between them.

"No," agreed Drax, his voice breathless from their hard run.

"Doesn't that seem strange?" Ax paused to suck in more air. "Last time we came through this way, the place was thick with them."

"True."

"We couldn't have got them all."

"Uh huh," Drax mumbled, his attention focused on the empty cells to the side of them.

Ax frowned, wondering why a bunch of dark shadowy cells were suddenly so interesting. He tried to turn his vod's attention back to the conversation. "Where'd they all go? How could they-"

"Fek, Ax, I don't know!" Drax growled back, whipping his head around to look at his brother in irritation. "Yes, it's farkin' strange the Kazzies have suddenly disappeared. Drop it, alright?" He turned his attention back to the shadows around them.

"Just saying," Ax murmured, defensively. He cocked his head to the side, hearing a sharp noise. It almost sounded like it came from the cells. He glanced over into the dark shadows as they ran past. No, they were empty. He looked ahead to where Leon and Ice were running ahead of them, leading the way. They were safe. They had fekkin' commandos protecting them.

# # #

Ice never saw the Kaz'harian that took him down.

One second the commando was running, guarding the left flank, several steps ahead of Leon. Kelly was guarding the right flank, in an identical position on the opposite side.

It was all over in a micro-second. A dark shadow emerged out of an open cell door swinging a massive club. Ice brought up his blaster to fire and dodged down to avoid the deadly blow. But, he was too late. The massive club smashed into the side of the bucket and he flew through the air from the impact. The sound of shattering Katarn was deafening so close to his ears.

_Oh, fek. It takes an incredible amount of force to break commando armor._

The few times Ice had seen it broken, it was always on dead commandos.

Time slowed down to a crawl as he was thrown through the air from the force of the brutal blow. His arms and legs automatically splayed out to brace his body for impact. He heard an odd startled scream mixing in with the Katarn breaking and sluggishly figured out it was his scream. His voice cut off as he slammed into the recently freed troopers with bone-crushing force. His immediate concerns were only with the vode he'd knocked down. His heavy commando armor could inflict serious damage hitting unprotected flesh. It was a weapon in its own right.

And, then he was lying on his side, unable to move, aware of something dripping steadily into his eyes. His HUD blinked erratically as spots closed in on his vision.

"Ice is down!" Kelly shouted. Through his cracked viewscreen, he saw the comforting sight of his brother's blue T-visor. His vod knelt down next to him. "Hang on, Ice."

He tried to say: "Hey, Kelly." He wanted to reassure his brother he was fine. They could all tease him later about how he could knocked on his shebs by the Kazzie. He wouldn't live it down for weeks.

"Kelly, get in position!" Leon shouted.

Ice tried to tell Kelly to get his shebs back into position. He was _fine_. He'd just had the wind knocked out of him. But, all that came out was a choked moan.

"Get his bucket off and put pressure on that head wound," Kelly shouted to someone out of Ice's eyesight. "Captain, he's hurt bad."

"Kelly, we need you. Get your shebs over here!" Leon barked. Ice could hear the sounds of blaster fire mixed in with slugthrower retorts. Kelly gave him a regretful glance and left, already swinging his DC-17m into place to fire at the enemy. Ice tried to get up and follow him, so he could cover his back. But, he couldn't move. His HUD continued to flash in his eyes in a nauseating pattern. Gah. The electronics were ruined. He could tell in a glance. His fekkin' bucket was ruined.

Two vode came into his line of sight kneeling on either side of him. They were talking quickly back and forth and it took him a moment to realize the conversation was about _him_.

"Sorry, this may hurt," said the first vod, who had hair that may at one time have been dyed red. They repositioned his limbs into a more comfortable position. It wasn't until that moment that he realized he'd fallen with his arms and legs pinned beneath him. He cried out and the sound came out strangled and not sounding at all like him.

_Oh, Nine Corellian Hells. __Why did that effin' hurt so much?_

"Captain," Kelly's voice, through the comm system, and he sounded _worried_. Then, Ice realized his vod heard him cry out. He bit his lip, and resolved not to make any sound.

"Focus, Kelly." Leon was using the harsh no-nonsense tone he did when they were up to their shebs in heaps of trouble.

Ice tried to toggle his comm, and tell Kelly he was alright. But, even though he could hear through his comms, he couldn't tell if he was blinking his eyes properly to toggle the fekkin' comm. He groaned in frustration, then cursed himself for making a sound.

"Easy. We've got you," gentle hands worked off his shattered helmet. Ice was relieved to get the flashing HUD away from his face, but agonizingly frustrated to be cut off from his team. There was chaos all around him, and everything still seemed to be in a strange sort of slow motion.

"That's a lot of blood."

Ice frowned and glanced up at the speaker. Underneath two months of facial hair, the trooper had the smooth, unscarred look of a shinie. Gah. Inwardly, he groaned. He wanted his squadmates.

"Shut up, di'kut. Head wounds always bleed like that. Doesn't mean anything."

"Get pressure on that head wound!" Ice was finding it harder and harder to focus, but he was sure the shouted command came from Leon. He tried to find the Captain among all the chaos, desperate for a glimpse of Leon, Decker or Kelly. From his position splayed out on the ground, he could only glimpses of confusion around him.

He needed to get patched up so he could get back out there. A little bacta. A stim. Or two. He'd be good to go. He tried to tell the red one and the shinie where to find his medkit. His commando gear was laid out differently from standard kit. But, all that came out was an incoherent sound suspiciously like a dying Krayt dragon.

Fek it all.

"Hurry it up. He's in pain."

I'm not in pain. Well, sort of, yes... but I'm more karfin' angry at the moment.

"Found it... Here... hold this gauze against his head. I gotta' give him a pain sharp. He's real busted up."

_Huh? What? Define 'busted up?' _

Someone dropped to a knee beside them. "How is he?"

Ice instantly recognized Decker's voice, and his eyes shot over with relief taking in the reassuring form of his squad mate. His vod would tell him what was going on. He made eye contact with his brother through his T-visor and opened his mouth to get some _answers_.

"Decker!" Leon yelled, "we need you now and bring Ice's decee!"

"Sorry, vod," Decker's voice was full of regret. "Hang in there, alright?" He tugged Ice's weapon out of his grip and immediately disappeared from sight. Ice groaned and inwardly cursed, frustrated beyond measure that he couldn't move. He knew his weapon was needed to arm more of the clones, but it was his fekkin' decee. He tried to call after Decker, although he had no idea what he was going to say. But, once again, his voice betrayed him. His body was completely and utterly broken.

The Kazzie hadn't hit him. He'd shattered him.

# # #

_Thank you to Reulte and laloga for their invaluable beta-reading and feedback on the final chapters of the story._

Since this story is almost over, some of the events that are happening in these final scenes (as you may have guessed) are setting the stage for the sequel.


	151. Chapter 151 The Final Chapter

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Chapter 151**

Rex heard cries and commotion from the front of the line. His view was blocked by the lines of newly freed prisoners in front of him. The body language of the troopers all changed, rippling like a wave, and he knew they were under attack.

"Get down!" Rex bellowed as he charged forward. The troopers immediately complied, flattening themselves against the rough dark stony surface.

"Captain," Leon's voice was clipped as he called over the comm with a tension he'd never heard from the commando before, "you'd better get up here."

Rex vaulted over rows of huddled-down troopers, ignoring the protests of his recently healed knee. The clone captain stopped suddenly, taken up short by the scene in front of him. Leon was facing off against the largest Kaz'harian Rex had seen to date. Although vastly outsized, the Republic Commando had his decee jammed under the chin of the enormous simian. It was obvious Leon was _not_ going to back down, no matter what the odds.

The enormous Kazzie held a vicious, bloodied blade angled precisely in the groove where Leon's chest and kidney plates met. Rex knew from too much battle experience, at such an angle the blade could cleave a clone in two. The commando remained unyielding. "Captain, he has hostages." Leon said in the flat, emotionless way clones did when delivering news of this nature during battle.

As if waiting for a cue, the simian gave a terse command under his breath. Five Kaz'harian warriors stepped forward out of the shadows, each holding a clone by the neck. The simian started muttering another command under his breath in his native language, but Leon interrupted him with a quick string of words back in the Kaz'harians' deep guttural language. The simian visibly started. Rex was also caught off guard, unaware the Commando Captain spoke Kaz'harian.

The enormous simian gave Leon a long considering look and withdrew his blade from Leon's gut. He started a long, low intense discussion with the commando, and after a pause, Leon tucked his blaster away. His entire body remained tense and guarded, but he was giving his full attention to the conversation. The two were having a full discourse in the native Kaz'harian tongue, at times, becoming very animated as they debated back and forth. Whatever the simian was saying, Leon was _not_ pleased.

Rex stared at the two of them in frustration, wondering why it hadn't occurred to him to study Kaz'harian before coming on this rescue mission. As a clone, he could learn _anything_ in a few weeks. He listened intently, trying to work out the context. He heard his name several times, and both parties kept glancing his way, but he couldn't figure out why _he_ was suddenly a topic of interest.

The crackle of his comm startled him of out of his intense focus.

"Rex, status?" Cody popped up suddenly on his HUD as a visual.

Comms were working properly again.

_Fek it._

Rex tried to tamp down his frustration, his concentration broken. He tore his attention away from the scene in front of him, and turned temporarily to Cody. The clone commander looked exhausted, sweat lining his bronzed skin. "We've located another 200 troopers and are headed to the main evac point." Rex said quickly. "But, we've run into a situation."

'Situation' was always clone-speak for when things went shebs bad. They seemed to be using the word with increasing frequency as the war went on.

"Report."

_Gah. No time for this. It was simpler on Ando._

He sucked in a quick breath, and switched his HUD to show Cody a front-facing view. "Hostage situation. Captain Leon is negotiating with him now. He can speak the Kaz'harian language."

An additional screen opened up on his HUD. "Hostage situation," Cody said tersely, bringing Catcher into the call. The ARC Captain's eyes narrowed as he analyzed everything, but he kept silent and made no unnecessary comments.

Leon used his external comm to introduce the simian leader, turning to Rex and nodding with his chin toward the Kaz'harian. "This is Maar'kux." His tongue slid easily over the elongated vowel sounds and rolling r's of the simian language. "Leader of the Khaz'harian warriors."

The Khaz'harian listened intently to Leon's introduction, then pointed insistently to the row of simians lining the walls. He growled out more instructions, obviously annoyed with the commando's curt introduction.

Leon grumbled something back to the Kaz'harian, his voice as equally dropping down low and deep to match the simian's growl. Judging by the simian's reaction, the phrase the commando tossed back was not a polite one. Leon continued on with the introductions. "He is accompanied by the _One Hundred_. Mightiest of all fighters among his people."

Maar'kux looked annoyed with Leon again, and the two growled and rumbled back and forth in a short, intense discussion.

Leon turned back toward Rex, and with a slightly amended tone said: "Correction, Captain. They are the Mightiest of All _Warriors."_

"We're in a hostage situation, and this Kazzie argues _semantics_?" Cody said incredulously to Rex and Catcher.

Cody brought Leon in on the command channel. "Does Maar'kux speak Basic?" Cody asked.

"Our language is awkward and offensive," Leon said, his glance quickly flickering over Rex, Cody and Catcher as he was brought online. "As is apparently everything else about our race. He was most eloquent in discussing our shortcomings as organics. He didn't make the decision to imprison the clones here. He thought they should've all been killed from the start. He doesn't like us. At all."

There was silence on the line for a moment as the command team worked through the new intel.

Cody was the first to speak. "What does he want?"

Leon switched back to his external comm. The enormous simian was watching him intently, waiting for a response so their discussions on the internal channels had to brief and fast. He spoke so the simian leader could hear him as well. The commando's voice rang out, easily discernible by all the troopers and warriors clustered in the crowded corridor. "Maar'kux demands Captain Rex in return for the hostages."

The enormous simian spoke in heavily accented Basic, stepping toward Rex in a clearly aggressive gesture. "You. Human Leader. You." His voice was like the snarl of a nexu ready to strike.

"No. Absolutely not," Cody said immediately.

"Not advisable," Catcher agreed, speaking up for the first time. "His tactics suggest he's mentally unstable."

"Orders, sirs?" Leon asked. "My squad can take him down-"

"Captain Leon, your squad will _hold_." Rex's gaze swept over to where one of Leon's commandos had already fallen, blood leaking from his skull, his shattered helmet in pieces.

"Rex-" Cody started, but he was interrupted by the Kaz'harian.

"You hesitate human," Maar'kux growled in his thick accent. "You must need a..." he paused as he searched for the right word, "...demonstration."

A cold chill shot down Rex's spine, at the same, sweat was beading under his bodysuit from stress and exertion. He could feel dampness of his body and the clinginess of the suit, the cooling system of his armor unable to keep up.

The Kaz'harian leader signaled abruptly to one of the warriors holding a hostage. The simian brought his jagged blade up to the clone's throat.

"No!" Rex rushed forward. Maar'kux made a grab for him as he moved, but he dodged the Khaz'harian leader's grasp. Leon stepped in and stopped the simian, shoving his blaster once again up into the Kazzie's neck.

Rex stepped forward. All around him, he heard the whispering hiss of displaced air as weapons were whipped into place and trained to fire. Every Kaz'harian had a clone in their sights, and every armed clone was now pointing their blaster point blank at the nearest simian. Rex felt his insides clench and bile rose in his throat. His dark visions. He'd seen vode dying all around him in the dungeons and being helpless to stop it. And, in the end of the vision, he ultimately- He pushed the thoughts away, focused entirely on the warrior holding the hostage. To Rex's surprise, he saw compassion in the warrior's gaze. The simian pulled the knife back, and the trooper slumped in relief. The warrior studied Rex curiously. The five oh first Captain held still. The warrior leaned in even closer.

"Rex, _what_ are you doing?" Cody hissed over internal comms. Rex ignored the interruption. From the live feed, this must have made a hell of a close up.

Behind Rex, in his rear facing HUD, he could see that Leon and Maar'kux were once again in a heated discussion. Their attention was diverted from Rex and the warrior.

The member of the One Hundred put his face so close Rex knew his eyes were visible through his visor. The warrior stared intently at him. Rex could _feel_ the tension of his five oh first troopers behind him as they watched the exchange. All he had to go on was on gut instinct. He held still and kept his eyes locked on the warrior.

A second later, he understood.

The simian didn't want to kill the hostage. But, there was a great deal more he was trying to communicate with his gaze. Rex's eyes whipped over to the other warriors holding the hostages as understanding began to dawn. The warrior in front of him gave the barest fraction of a nod with his chin, then with his eyes he directed Rex's attention back toward Leon and Maar'kux. The warrior then pulled back.

Rex looked in his rear HUD again. Whatever argument Leon and Maar'kux were having in Kaz'harian, it was _not_ going well. One of the simian leader's hands was dropping down, slowly reaching for the bloodied machete on his belt.

The five oh first captain spun around, twin blasters in hand, directly trained on Maar'kux. The Khaz'harian leader glanced toward Rex and withdrew his hand from his machete.

"Release the prisoner," Maar'kux said in Basic.

_Ah, that's what they were arguing about_, Rex realized.

Leon withdrew his blaster from the simian's neck. Maar'kux stalked away from the commando, glaring backwards with a look that promised retribution for the commando having bested him twice. He stomped forward toward Rex and the hostage. As soon as the trooper was released, the Khaz'harian grabbed the hapless clone and threw him roughly toward Leon. The two fell down onto the stone floor in a crumbled heap. Maar'kux looked back toward Leon as he worked to untangle himself, and nodded toward him, stroking the blade at his belt once.

"See, Huu- man?" the Khaz'harian leader said in his thick accent, turning his attention back to Rex, "One hostage is free."

Rex looked from the downed pile of Leon and the hostage, and spun back toward Maar'kux. He was about to protest the method by which the hostage had been freed.

A whoosh of air was his only warning the deadly machete had been drawn.

Years of training kicked in and Rex instinctively ducked down to avoid the lethal swing. Muscles, tendons and bones sluiced apart with a protesting squelch before an ominous 'thud' resounded against the hard floor.

There was absolute silence in the corridor except for the slight rolling sound of the head.

From his crouched down position, Rex watched the head of the compassionate warrior roll by his battle-worn white boots. The warrior's eyes were wide open and his mouth was curled into a permanent 'oh' of surprise.

The next sound in the corridor came from Maar'kux. Rex glanced up at the Kaz'harian leader. Maar'kux was tucking the still dripping blade back on his belt, giving a long, low, satisfied moan from the back of his throat. Rex was reminded of the sounds he'd been bombarded with nightly from Travis and Karyn through the not-thick-enough walls in the house back on Ando.

He straightened up, facing Maar'kux directly. There were those who killed because it was their duty. And, those who killed for pleasure. He now understood his enemy.

The simian leader towered over him, an intense feral gleam in his eyes. "What will it be, human?" his voice was thick and heavy, and he stepped even closer to the clone captain.

"Rex," Cody's voice was filled with concerned warning, "he's _insane_. Whatever terms he comes up with, he'll never honor them."

"Agreed," Catcher weighed in.

"Release the hostages," Rex said, boldly moving even closer to the Kaz'harian leader and stared directly up into his face. He felt something drip-drip-drip against his boots. He spared a quick glance down. Blood was pooling off the angled edge of the simian's huge blade and forming a splatter pattern on Rex's white boots. He chanced a quick glance over to the warriors Maar'kux referred to as the 'One Hundred.' He saw several of them watching the dripping blood, faces showing their obvious displeasure.

Oblivious to Rex's gaze under his helmet, Maar'kux relished his moment of victory. "These others may go." He made a dismissive motion back toward the clone hostages, and his voice indicated how little he thought of their lives. "You will come with me. Rex. Captain Rex." His dark tone elongated and stressed all the vowels even more, like an obsessed lover coming to claim what was long overdue. The clone captain pushed down his disgust and focused on working through every possible strategic outcome.

"_No._" Cody's response to Rex was immediate, his voice ringing with authority. "He _will_ kill you. Stall for time. Fives is on his way with-"

"He won't get here on time," Rex said, his tone regretful. "Sorry, Cody."

"Rex, whatever you're thinking-" Cody's tone held the harsh undertones of a reprimand, but it was mixed with the concerned voice of a friend.

Rex shut off his communications with four final words to the command team. "Take our vode home."

The five oh first captain turned his attention back to the Kaz'harian leader. He straightened his shoulders, and gave a brisk nod. "Alright."

Maar'kux smiled with feral pleasure and signaled his warriors. The hostages were released and Leon's squad swept forward to pull them back behind the safety of their armored brothers.

Leon swept close to Rex and whispered under his breath. "Say the word, Captain, my squad will-"

"No," Rex's muttered back, his voice low and insistent, speaking in a tone so soft only another with clone hearing could pick it up.

Leon moved swiftly away again, gathering up one of the hostages as he moved.

As soon as the hostages were clear, Rex stepped forward and held out his twin blasters. The clone captain blew out a long breath as the nearest warrior pulled the prized weapons from his grasp.

It was the beginning of the end.

He had foreseen shadowy glimpses of this scenario in his visions. As his arms drew back from relinquishing the weapons, Rex shrugged his shoulders, dragging, shifting and adjusting his chest armor carefully. Leon watched him closely, clearly puzzled by the unusual armor adjustment. But, none of the Kazzies picked up on the move, and Rex slid his hands casually and naturally back down to his sides again.

The Khaz'harian who took the blasters was a head shorter than Maar'kux. He had a distinctive hook scar above one eye, immediately reminding Rex of a certain clone commander. He almost wished he hadn't cut the comm connection so he could work in a teasing jab to his vod about this 'Kazzie Cody.'

The scarred warrior pulled a pair of binders off his belt, and then gave a quick glance over toward Maar'kux. The leader stalked before the One Hundred, growling out more instructions, his attention temporarily diverted. The scarred warrior turned his attention to Rex and dipped his chin slightly, in the same manner as the compassionate warrior. He indicated the binders and nodded to Rex again. Then, he spun Rex around and attached bound his hands.

When Maar'kux strode back over, Rex's arm were behind him. The Kaz'harian leader studied the five oh first captain with obvious satisfaction for a long moment, savoring the moment. "I wish to see his face."

The scarred warrior pushed Rex's head down and pulled off his helmet. He did so without injuring Rex. For those who didn't understand clone armor, improperly yanking off a helmet could suffocate a trooper or snap their neck. Rex wondered how many troopers it had taken for the Kaz'harians to figure that out. Rex kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, lest this Khaz'harian meet the same fate as the last warrior who'd dared show compassion.

"So, you are the leader." Maar'kux made a note of disgust in the back of his throat. "You look the same as the others."

Rex kept his face carefully neutral, betraying nothing.

But, he couldn't contain the sarcastic comments raising through his adrenaline-hyped mind.

_I'm a fekkin' clone, di'kut. What were you expecting?_

With his beefy palm, Maar'kux roughly drove Rex to his knees. The five oh first captain couldn't hold back a sharp grunt as his braced knee slammed against the unforgiving stone surface. He closed his eyes briefly and took several gasping breaths. Something cold, sharp and sticky pressed up against his throat and Rex's eyes flew open.

_That fekkin' machete_.

He growled and as his throat moved, he felt the jagged edge draw tighter against his skin.

"You do not like _my blade_?" Maar'kux whispered in his ear, his lips so close that Rex could feel the hiss of breath on each heavily drawn and accented syllable.

Out of the corner of his right eye, he saw Maar'kux exchange the machete for something else. His eyes flickered slightly, his attention diverted by activity off to the left. He noticed a subtle shifting amongst the clones. So slight that one not intimately familiar with brothers might not have seen it. Rex caught a flash of grey. Commando grey. Leon's squad.

So much for holding in place. If he lived through this, he and Leon were going to discuss following orders. He listened about as well as Fives.

_Or, me._

His attention was drawn back to the simian leader again. He was holding one of Rex's blasters, adjusting the burn setting. "Maybe you will the _feel_ of this, Rex, Captain Rex." The simian leader let out a deep throated sound of pleasure and aimed the weapon directly at Rex's chest.

The Captain had no time to brace himself before the recoil from the blast threw him backwards. Shock instantly flooded his system.

_Oh, fek. That hurt. Everywhere._

_Mental note. Thank Travis for the clever armor upgrade, but next time, more durasteel. Ow._

Rex gulped several times, swallowing down bile, telling himself not to pass out. He blinked hard several times, breathing rapidly until the spots before his vision went away. The burn setting was dialed back in intensity, or Rex would not have survived the blast. The simian leader obviously didn't intend for him to have a quick death. He intended to prolong the suffering, and savor each moment of agony. Maar'kux caught him by the shoulder in a bone crushing grip, and prevented him from falling. The simian dropped the blaster and brought his bloodied blade back into place against Rex's throat.

As Maar'kux was firing, Rex saw a rush of movement. The simian leader was encircled by a blur of angry clones. Leon, Kelly, Decker, Ax and Drax all rushed into position, blasters pointed at Kaz'harian leader. They were immediately surrounded by double the number of simian warriors. The commandos could take out Maar'kux, but it would be their own death sentence.

Behind them, clones and Kaz'harians repositioned themselves in response, but the result was the same. They were locked and engaged to fire upon each other in closed quarters combat. Within the confines of the corridor, there was no cover. It was a battle which would have no victors.

"Hold!" Rex shouted out and coughed from the pain of the effort.

Leon's helmet whipped over to him. Disbelief was evident in every line of the commando's body.

"I'm leaving with this human," Maar'kux growled, dragging him backwards with the blade still at his throat. Rex tried to dig his heels to slow their progress, but the simian leader growled his displeasure and dug the blade into the tissue of his throat. He felt a warm stream of blood running down his neck. He gasped and it caused the blade to cut in further. Rex forced himself to be still.

The enormous warrior slid him backwards, away from the others, like a wayward Tooka doll. Blood was continuing to pool warmly down, sliding into his neckseal.

Leon stalked forward with his squad, following them step-for-step.

Rex rolled his eyes with exasperation, thinking Leon would get along great with Fives. The two of them could gleefully ignore every command they were given.

Maar'kux reached the end of the corridor, and hesitated. Behind Leon's squad, they were stalked by a large number of warriors from the One Hundred.

The Khaz'harian leader hauled him roughly around the corner, and Rex felt a fresh cut in the sensitive tissues of his throat. He tried to angle his body to protect his jugular, knowing one wrong move and the massive blade would lethally slice his throat.

"You're not taking our Captain anywhere."

"You'll have to get through _us_ first."

Rex blinked in surprise, recognizing the voices of his snowtroopers, Tomm and Hugh. Maar'kux spun halfway around, carelessly tossing Rex's body with him as he moved.

_Ow. Fek. Watch the blade, di'kut. _Rex hissed as he felt a fresh biting cut.

Maar'kux growled out a long string of what Rex assumed were Kazzie expletives.

_Next time we do a long engagement with another species, I need to learn the curse words._

The two white troopers were standing in front of assembled force of at least a hundred troopers. Rex recognized Cody's captain, Ko, brandishing a Kazzie slugthrower. The 212th clone was lean, barefoot and in desperate need of a shave. There was no mistaking the malice on his face as he stalked forward with the large weapon aimed directly at Maar'kux. He was backed up by scores of Cody's men, all armed. Rex's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, and he looked directly toward the two snowtroopers.

"_Release_ _him,_" Ko's voice was low with deadly intent as he advanced on the Kaz'harian backed up by the snowtroopers, an entire corridor of angry clones.

Maar'kux growled deep and low under his breath, muttering again, and retreated. He moved toward the opposite corridor, barking out instructions to the warriors behind Leon's squad.

One warrior stepped slightly forward to respond back to Maar'kux. The scarred warrior. The two engaged in a quick intense conversation, and Rex realized the warrior was _arguing_ with Maar'kux.

He gave this Kazzie credit for bravery. Then again, since Maar'kux was physically separated from the others by a very irate commando squad, the Kazzie leader couldn't do any disciplinary beheadings.

"Captain," Leon translated, his voice low and urgent, "Maar'kux is giving orders to the One Hundred to open fire. This warrior, I believe he goes by Cul'mux, is disagreeing with the strategy."

_Another one who disobeys orders._

Rex's brain quickly flew through strategic scenarios knowing he only had seconds. Maar'kux wanted the One Hundred to sacrifice themselves in the corridor as a distraction so he could escape. Rex was his human shield, and an amusing prize to be slaughtered. Rex couldn't allow a battle in closed confines of the corridor. No one would walk away.

The scarred warrior must have come to the same conclusion.

Cul'mux continued to argue angrily with Maar'kux and then issued a command of his own to the warriors around him. In one swift move, they all lowered their weapons. Maar'kux roared in outrage. Rex took advantage of the Kazzie's leader distraction. He went lax in the simian's grip as if unconscious from blood loss. He felt the simian temporarily loosen his grip, manuevering to get a better hold of him. Rex burst upwards, pulling free of his captor.

The five oh first captain yanked his arms free of the loosely attached binders and spun around. Rex tucked his head down and caught the Kaz'harian in the gut, throwing him off-balance.

"Hold!" Leon shouted, calling off his squad, "you'll hit the Captain."

Rex bounced back onto the balls of his feet and leapt upwards. He drove his fists into the simian's face, feeling immense satisfaction as he felt a nose give way under his armored fists. He delivered shot after shot into the Kazzie's midsection. The large simian was well-protected by his tough leather vest and broad physique. He recovered quickly and slammed Rex in the chest with one of his massive fists.

The five oh first captain heard a slightly metallic clang as the simian encountered his reinforced durasteel plating. It still fekkin' hurt to get hit, but he knew his ribs would've cracked without the added support. The clone captain swung his armored boot around and caught the simian behind the knee cap. Maar'kux howled in pain as his leg buckled, but still kept to his feet.

The simian caught Rex on the side. One of his ribs gave way with a crack. Before he could recover, Maar'kux pummeled him in the chest directly on top of his blaster burn. The simian struck him again, and Rex felt his vision going grey. Maar'kux punched him a third time and all the air left his chest. He sank heavily to his knees, his head slumped down to his chest. He could no longer hold himself up.

"Captain!" he heard Leon shout a warning as Maar'kux yanked his head back, exposing his neck. Rex couldn't breathe. He couldn't move.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the metallic flash of the bloodied machete. Time slowed down to quarter speed and took on a surreal quality. Leon was bolting toward them, blaster drawn, but he was at the wrong angle to fire. Rex was physically blocking the commando's shot, and his head would be severed from his body before help could reach him.

He'd failed. He wasn't strong enough. These men would die in this corridor. Maar'kux won.

As Rex lived his final moments, he felt the agony of defeat and the heartbreak of knowing he'd failed as a captain.

A shrill Togrutan war cry pierced the air...

... followed by the dull sound of a head thumping against the rock floor.

Ahsoka caught Rex as he started to topple over.

It took the clone captain a long moment to realize it was not his head doing a slow roll down the slightly sloped ancient corridor. He watched it dazed, trying to make sense of it all.

"Rex! Are you alright?" Ahsoka was shouting to him, trying to get him to respond. Rex continued to stare at the severed head, nothing registering clearly. _ "Rex! Please, answer me!" _The pleading worried tone broke through his shock.

"Ahsoka?" he blinked, and turned away from the rolling head. He stared at the Jedi padawan.

Rex pieced it all together and remembered now the 'hmmmmm' of a lightsaber blade before he started toppling over. Ahsoka had a hell of a swing. He looked back over again. The shocked and enraged face of the Khaz'harian leader had come to rest several meters away from the rest of his fallen form.

Ahsoka grabbed his chin and turned it back to focus on her.

"You're supposed to be on the ship." He peered at her, taking in her brown robes in puzzlement. "And, what are you wearing?"

"Jedi robes. You were nearly beheaded and you want to discuss what I'm wearing?" Ahsoka shook her head at him. She shouted over her shoulder. "Coric!"

_Coric?_

"He's coming. There's a critically injured commando he is assessing," Fives appeared, and pulled off his helmet. "Serious head injury." His cheeks were flushed, and his breathing harsh, indicating how hard he'd run to get here.

"You and Leon should talk sometime," Rex mumbled to Fives, making a vague gesture in the direction of the commando and his squad.

"Who?" Fives studied Rex critically, and frowned. He pulled his medkit off his belt, and handed it to Ahsoka. She nodded her thanks, and immediately began pulling out supplies.

Rex winced as a stim was applied to his neck, but immediately felt more alert. Ahsoka muttered under her breath as she began cleaning the cuts on his neck, and applying bacta.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Rex said defensively.

"It looks like someone tried to slice your neck open," Fives pointed out, peering at the wounds. He knelt down and assisted Ahsoka in cleaning up the gashes. Rex gave a sigh of relief as Ahsoka pressed a painkiller to his neck.

"Cody sent you," Rex said, focusing on the ARC.

"You better comm him," Fives responded, his voice serious. "He was _displeased_ when I heard from him last."

Rex blew out a breath. He knew he was in for a hell of a lecture from Cody for completely disregarding him, and cutting him off. He pushed Ahsoka's hands away, ignoring her protests, and struggled to his feet. Fives grabbed him under one elbow, supporting him.

"I'm alright," Rex said, after a moment as his legs steadied out. He pulled free of the ARC's grasp.

"Rex-" Ahsoka started.

"I'm fine," Rex insisted.

Fives raised up a skeptical eyebrow. "You've looked better."

Rex ignored the ARC's smarmy comment and strode forward to the scarred warrior. He could feel the eyes of every clone and simian in the corridor watching him.

"Cul'mux," Rex greeted, nodding to the warrior.

The warrior's eyes crinkled in pleasure that Rex knew his name. "Captain Rex." He signaled to a warrior behind him, who passed forward the Jaig eyes helmet. "I am returning what belongs to you."

Rex accepted the helmet with both hands, nodding to the warrior and slid it on. He immediately reactivated the command channel feed, so Catcher and Cody could see what he was seeing.

"I owe you my thanks," Rex said to Cul'mux and held up his wrists, indicating where he'd broken free of the loosely attached binders.

Cul'mux bowed deeply in a move that reminded Rex of the graceful moves of the Jedi. Despite their size, the Kaz'harians moved with surprising fluidity.

"Rex, what's going on?" Cody asked, his voice expressing his disbelief.

"I believe the battle is over," Rex murmured back to the clone commander.

Cul'mux pulled Rex's blasters off his belt, handing them back one at a time. The clone captain glanced down at the weapons. His thumb quickly reset the blaster tampered with by the Kazzie leader and then reholstered them. He gave a silent sigh of relief as the familiar weight settled against his hips.

The scarred warrior looked over at the fallen form of the Kaz'harian leader. "He should not have been leading our people. It is good he is gone."

"What will you do now?" Rex asked.

"Leave." Cul'mux said simply. "We have no quarrel with you. Our villages are beyond the jungle."

Rex studied the scarred warrior, wondering how much he knew. "Others are coming."

"We are aware of the Separatist fleet." Cul'mux nodded, "We'd like to be gone before they arrive. Their ways are not our ways. It was a bad decision to ally ourselves with them. It has brought us nothing but pain and suffering."

"Catcher, time check?" Rex murmured into private comms.

"20:57." He sent a digital countdown clock to Rex's HUD with the updated time. The numbers rapidly scrolled backwards in bright glaring red.

"You have less than 21 minutes to get clear," Rex said to Cul'mux.

"We will be gone," Cul'mux said, "I should like to fight with you alongside you one day. You are a man of honor."

The simian bowed to Rex again, and called to his warriors. They turned and disappeared into the darkness, slipping off into the shadows.

"Captain, we are getting reports the Kazzies have ceased firing." Catcher immediately reported.

"Get the men off the barriers and onto evac duty," Rex said. "We're going home."

# # #

_Author's Note: It's done. _

_Obviously, it will continue in the sequel, because there are many stories still left to be told._

_But, this is the end of "Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_

_"Rex II" begins immediately where this story leaves off. It will be a separate story, so if you are not subscribed to me as an author you will have to watch for the story on the FFN Clone Wars page._

_I need character names and clone names for the sequel. Most of the clones in Rex I were all named by readers. For Rex II, I need names for Andoan citizens and for more clones in the Andoan Legion. __If you look at the Character Guide, (which I will be pulling off my profile page and uploading shortly as a separate chapter), you'll notice we've only met a small portion of the Legion. _

_Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. If you've ever wondered what a difference a review can make, this story started out as 200 pages. It grew to over ten times this size because of reader feedback. Everytime somebody suggested: "What if you did this with the story..." I usually said: "Hmmm... interesting. How about if we..." And, that is how the story grew and grew. The story bears the mark and contributions of so many of the people who read it. It was truly a community effort. If it takes a community to raise a child, it took a Star Wars community to create: "Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_

_Stats for __"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"_

_Publish date: August 8, 2010  
Words: 601,513  
Pages: 1,294  
Chapters: 151  
__Reviews: 1991  
__Readers: 254 Followers/262 Favorites  
__Country Stats: In the month of January, "Rex" was read by readers from 49 countries._


	152. Chapter 152 Character Guide

**"Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?"**

**Character Guide**

_Contains spoilers. If you seen any missing characters, jot me a PM. You win a free week's stay on lovely Ando hosted by a citizen of your choice. _

* * *

_**Timeline:**__ The story takes place during the second year of the war, after the events of the TCW episode, "The Deserter." Clones are still in their Phase I armor._

Ando is a planet somewhere in the backwaters of the Outer Rim, located between Coruscant and Kamino (which is how Rex crashed there.) I did mistakenly mix up _"Ando"_ and _"Ando Prime."_ So, now Ando gets snow. Hey, they did have a massive planetary war. Global warming and all that. So, if you go, be sure to pack a warm tunic and watch out for wampas.

**Canon characters who appear in the story:**  
Captain Rex, Ahsoka, Cody, Barriss, Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, Bly, Echo, Fives, Hardcase, Jesse, Denal, Kix, Trapper, Hawkeye, Gearshift, Wooley, Waxer and Boil.

_Author's Note: Because I was annoyed at the (yawn) excessive focus on Jedi during the "Clone Wars" and the senseless carnage of clones, (when they did actually include any), I intentionally brought back all of the clones they kept killing off on the show. Let me know if I missed any of your favorites. I'll see if I can work them into the sequel. Long live the clones!_

**Clones of the Andoan Legion (original characters):**

**ARCs:**

**Catcher -** ARC Captain. Originally 327th Star Corps. Decommissioned due to spinal cord injury (SCI). One of the five who was in a biobed on the original voyage to Kamino. Paralyzed by a blaster wound to the spine while on a solo mission to Darkknell. Given highly experimental technology in his spine and legs that allows him some use of his legs, but when he didn't progress fast enough, he was reconditioned. He considers himself an "experiment gone wrong." Hosted by Ashla.

**Dart **– ARC trooper. Decommissioned due to hip injury. Has a very belligerent attitude and is surprised when Captain Rex picks him for the elite commando team. Saves the the life of a young Andoan girl named Gemma and then falls in love with the widowed mother, Aen.

**Marines:**

**Travis- **Long-time friend of Rex who has known him since his early days on Kamino. Full deafness. Brilliant with anything technical and loves ships. Very passionate, brilliant soldier, fiercely intelligent, but not always in control of his emotions.

******Torch**- Decommissioned due to partial blindness/eye injury, (has a fabulous facial scar worthy of a pirate.) For a brief time, Torch was Rex's second in command, but suffered a head injury during the initial crash landing on Ando.

**Lance**- See Medics.

**Regular troopers:**

**Ax -** 55th Mechanized Brigade. Decommissioned due to head injury and leg injury. Injured in the same explosion that sent Drax to Kamino.  
**  
Drax -** AT-AT Gunner. Sent to Kamino for severe hand injury. Wears the traditional burgundy striping of the 55th Mechanized Brigade.

**Hodges**- Cheerful, helpful good-natured clone who helps Rex out when they first crash-landed. 55th Mechanized Brigade. Came from same unit as Ax, Drax and Tek.

**Tek**- 55th Mechanized Brigade. Distinctive brown armor. Has a talent for fixing anything of a technical nature. Knew Hodges, Tek, Ax and Drax prior to Ando.

**Clank **- a clone that Mako tends to in the battle

**Det **– Decommissioned due to leg injury . Hosted by Kat.

**Gavex -** Helpful clone that likes to feed everyone.

**Gears **- 182nd Legion. A visually-impaired clone who is gifted with mechanical things; was ship's mechanic and mechanic on all trades on Ando. Mainly white armor with stripes of light blue down his arms.

**Griff - **One of the wounded clones with Lance, Kix, Tek, and Gears on the pirate raider when the Kazzies attack.

**Price**- He was "head of inventory" after the ship crashed on Ando. Good with organizing things.

**Quinn **– Decommissioned for head injury/seizures. Demolitions engineer. Hosted by Maya.

**Red - **Legion sniper with nerve damage. Drags one leg when he walks.

**Shred- **Decommissioned due to gas-seared lungs.

**Storm**- Rex has a run-in with this clone on the initial journey to Kamino. Remarks on this clone's unstable temperament.

**Sparks- **203rd Division. Wears green armor. Escorts Kix to and from the pirate raider.

**Till**- a combat engineer from the 38th Armored Division

**Heavy Gunners:**

**Shadow**- Decommissioned due to hip injury. One of four heavy gunners in the legion (a rotary gunner) and considered the leader of the heavy gunner squad, although he holds no rank above the others. A highly-competent leader, but considers himself a 'shadow' of the man he used to be.

**Hopper** - A quad gunner in Shadow's squad. Initially decommissioned due to nerve damage in hands, he still manages well as a gunner.

**Tuck** - a quad gunner in Shadow's squad who isn't afraid to speak his mind

**Edge** - a rotary gunner in Shadow's squad. Known for his flirtatious nature. Ahsoka describes him as a "Fives in the making."

**Tank**- a one-legged trooper in the Andoan legion. Lost his leg from the hip on down. Assigned housing with a widow (Sia) and her two children (daughter Nikka, son, Tinkrik). Tank is a chain gunner, (but not a member of Shadow's Squad. He prefers to work alone.)

**Medics:**

**Lance** - Chief medic of the Ando Legion. Sent to Kamino for burns/nerve damage. Beloved by all in the Legion. A Marine. Different division from Torch or Travis.

**Mako** - Lost a hand while working on a bomb squad. Now retraining as a medic. Originally hosted by Aen but moved into Karyn's house as apprentice. Started out spending his spare time volunteering around time, but ending up befriending an elderly couple, Olan and Ciri. Now, he prefers to spend most of his free time assisting the older couple who in return shower him with affection and attention.

**Paralyzed clones:**

**Razor**- Originally a pilot. One of the five who was in a biobed on the original voyage to Kamino. Lives with Killtric and Tiruna on Ando. Paralyzed from waist down, he has regained limited use of his hands. Has a brilliant, visionary mind and many ideas for the future of Ando.

**Saber***- Originally from the 41st Elite under Commander Gree. In a biobed on the original journey to Kamino. Limited use of his legs. Poor coordination in his hands.

**Sink**- The most seriously injured of all the clones in the Legion. Originally a scout. One of the five who was in a biobed on the original voyage to Kamino. A quadriplegic. Assigned to live with Auset on Ando.

**Tag**- A member of the 41st Elite under Commander Gree. Dismissed from the GAR due to paralysis.

**Pilots:**

**Chance-** a combat pilot with a calm, reserved, even temperament. Sent to Kamino because of a leg injury. Flew for 91st Reconnaissance Corps. Best friend to Odds.

**Odds**- a combat pilot sent to Kamino because of the loss of his right arm at the shoulder. Known for his wise-cracking sense of humor. Quickly becomes a womanizer on Ando. Used to fly LAATs for the Lancer Battalion.

**Republic Commandos:**

**Blaze- **Instrumental in training fellow clones while on Ando. Best friend to Viper.

**Viper- **Instrumental in training fellow clones while on Ando. Best friend to Blaze.

**Scouts:**

**Hok**- Leader of the scout squad. Sent to Kamino for deafness. First member of the Legion to come into contact with anyone from Ando. He is also the first deaf clone to regain any portion of his hearing.

**Jagger**- Decommissioned due to deafness. a scout in Hok's squad. Second in command of the scouts after Hok. Originally fully deaf, but eventually regains partial hearing. Known for his preference for being outdoors. Named for the jagged scar down his left cheek. He is the geography and terrains expert on the team and has a deep, abiding respect for the land.

**Sabre***- Decommissioned due to deafness. most cynical member of Hok's squad. Like the other three scouts, he was originally deafened in an explosion, but eventually regains partial hearing due to successful treatments on Ando. Resentful of Xyra and her relationship with Hok, feeling she "took away" their squad leader. He decides not to "waste any energy chasing down women" like his brothers.

**Flex**- Decommissioned due to deafness, a scout in Hok's squad. Originally fully deaf, but regained partial hearing. Still self-conscious about his disability, despite having regained some hearing. Reluctant to talk to women. Earned his name due to his love of dancing. Works down at the docks. Assigned housing with an elderly woman known as Henna.

**Snipers:**

**_Kinks-_**the lead sniper in the Andoan Legion

**_Huii-_** sniper

**_Trail- _**sniper

**_Box-_** sniper

**_Ven- _**sniper

**Scythe**- _sniper_

**Tomm- **313th Legion. Vision-impaired in one eye from a snowspeeder accident on the planet Asuin. Carries a DLT-20A.

**Hugh**- 313th Legion. Missing a hand. Sent to Kamino from the same accident that injured Tomm. Carries identical weapondry and kit to his brother.

**Kaz'harians mentioned in the story: **

**Chor'ux**- a sleepy Kaz'harian who stumbles upon the scout team while out for a midnight snack. He is killed by the scouts.

**Droto**- works with Chor'ux in the dungeons. Tried to beat the prisoners but Chor'ux prevented him from doing so.

**Maar'kux**- cunning leader of all the Kaz'harians. (Appears toward end of story)

**Other:**

**Killshot- **a 501st shinie who is a prisoner in the dungeons on Kaz'haria.

**THE PEOPLE OF ANDO:**

**Aen and Genna **– originally hosting Mako, but as Mako moved more into Karyn's as her apprentice and making friends with Olan and Ciri, Dart began keeping Aen and the little girl company especially after saving Genna's life.

**Ashla**- Captain of the "Manifest Destiny," a research vessel that ends up holding the key to the nerve damage many of the clones have, including Captain Rex. Host to Catcher. Had a little brother who was a paraplegic.

**Auset**- Friend and neighbor to Rosetta. Considered a "fallen woman" by the people of Ando. Takes in Sink, the most critically injured quadriplegic of the clones.

**El'la-**Owns a caf and sandwich stand down at the docks. She has a love for music and dance, and plays music while she works. Flex watches her and describes her as having: "hips that never stop moving. She dances while she works. She seems to have a music inside that cannot be quenched." Flex is fascinated by her but too painfully shy to ever speak a word to her.

**Ewan **- Elderly gentlemen. One of the few male survivors of Ando. Neighbor to Ashla. Brings food and folksy wisdom to Catcher before he gets "back on his feet." Adopted father to Kor, a young boy still traumatized by the war.

**Kor- **Adopted son of Ewan. Fascinated by Catcher, his new neighbor, but painfully shy. Interested in anything having to do with the clones and their crashed ship. A child of the war. Has many psychological issues from losing both parents during the war.

**Henna Hanaford **- an older Andoan woman who acts as host to Flex. She has some skills with tools, and taught the clone these skills. Since she was too old to climbing atop the house, Flex fixed her roof. Henna jokingly refers to Flex as her 'stud.'

**Mrs. Hibbins (deceased) **- an elderly woman briefly mentioned in passing. "Mrs. Hibbins" apparently decided not to have her knee replaced, thereby making a prosthetic knee available for Rex.

**Ian and Ka'te -** An elderly couple that owns a guapa farm. Shy snowtrooper Tomm is fascinated by their herd of guapas, and his fascination with the animals eventually wins out over his terrible fear of actually having to be around civilians. When the clones are matched up with jobs around Ando, Tomm is hired to work at their ranch.

**Jade **- Sister to Xyra. Still somewhat immature compared to her sister (the accomplished scientist) and her cousin (the sea captain.) She works on the ship, but has a talent for art. Before the war, she was a normal, out of control teenager with dreams of going off-world to a university. Everything came to a crashing halt five years ago when the planet dissolved in civil war. Would like to be in a stable relationship but hasn't had much success on that front.

**Jade "Rose" (a.k.a. Lance's "Rose")** – Andoan woman who is in a relationship with Lance. He comments how she always smells like flowers. She is pregnant. First of the Andoan women to get pregnant by a clone. (introduced in Chapter 99)

**Karyn **- Strong-willed leader and warrior of the Andoan people. Trained as a doctor. Originally interested in Rex, but ended up in a passionate relationship with Travis. The three have something of a love triangle before everything finally settles out.

**Killtric and Tiruna **- Taciturn, older Andoan male. Acts as host family to Razor, the paralyzed ex-clone pilot. Strong father figure to Razor.

**Olan and Ciri **– retired elderly couple who take an immediate liking to Mako. Former tailors by trade, they end up making clothing for the new arrivals.

**Rosetta -** Wise, older rancher who shows Rex around town. Originally takes in four of the five paralyzed clones, (all except for Catcher.) (Sink and Razor end up getting different host families later on.)

**Xyra **- Chief Scientist of Ando. Dives into the ocean to save Hok from the grips of the Oppee, but regrets having to kill the deadly beast. Ends up in a very passionate relationship with Hok.

**OTHER CHARACTERS IN THE STORY:**

**Leon-** Leader of a squad of commandos. Reports into General Unduli. Assigned to seek out the location of the two missions legions. As they get closer to finding the Legions, they are captured by the Kaz'harians.

* * *

**More Facts About Ando:**

Ando experiences a thawing in late spring and summer, with milder temperatures. But, the melting snow turns everything turns to a muddy slush. Winters are long. Darkness comes early and severe storms are coming, often lasting for days.

The planet is undergoing change in weather patterns due to the Great Andoan War five years prior. Severe atmospheric damage is causing the winter storms to worsen each year, roughening the seas and dropping temperatures.

Ando Town, (also called Andoville and "Ando" since no other towns survived the war), lies in a naturally protected semicircular bay. The surrounding waters are somewhat heated due to underwater volcanos and thermal vents. These natural conditions attract all manner of ocean creatures who thrive in the waters off Ando Town. For centuries, fishing has been the mainstay of Ando Town and remnants of the town's once enormous fleet still survive.

The town has further natural protection thanks to mountain ranges on the north and south. The mountains also block the worst of the winter winds and storms, making it a comfortable place to live even on a planet with a rough climate.

Most everyone lives within the township itself and abides by a mutually agreed upon set of laws and rules. Times have been tough since the war and shortages are becoming more frequent. But, the people within Ando Town have shown a willingness to work together for their mutual survival.

However, there are some who live far up in the hills. They insist upon living by their own set of rules, and scratch out a substandard living without the benefit and support of those in the township. Due to their violent nature, these mountain people are known simply as "the outlaws."


End file.
